Skip to Main Content

NU430 - Community Health Nursing: Finding Articles

A research guide for nursing students in NU430.

Finding Nursing Articles in Online Databases- CINAHL Complete

1.  Start out at the library’s homepage, https://millikin.edu/academics/staley-library

2.  Click on the link for “Find Articles, Audio, & Video- Search Databases.”

or click on the “Staley Library Databases” link in myMillikin

MyMillikin Library Databases Icon

3.  That will take you to the database page. Under “Databases by Subject” click on Nursing.

4.  We have several nursing and health sciences databases. Most of your searches should begin with CINAHL Complete (The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), which is the best database for research nursing topics. Click on "CINAHL Complete."

5.  The main CINAHL search screen has three boxes. Begin by typing the main concepts you've identified from your research question into separate boxes and click "Search."

 

6.  Now you will have some results. Scan through the first page of results to judge whether your search retrieved what you were hoping for.  

If not, take a look at some of the limits across the top of the screen. Try limiting your results by year, source type, or click on "All filters" to open a new menu on the right of your screen.

Or, consider trying some different search terms. You may need to break your research into several different searches. 

 

Pre-Limiting Your Search in CINAHL Complete

There are other, useful search limiters on the main search screen, below the search box that allow you to limit your results to certain options before you even perform your search. Look for the "Search Options" area of the screen.

Search Options

  • If you need to find an article in a nursing journal, select "Nursing" from the "Journal Subset" limiter

Screen shot of journal subset limit

  • If you need an author to be a nurse, use the "First Author is Nurse" or "Any Author is Nurse" limiters

Screen shot of nurse author limit

  • You may need a "Peer-Reviewed" article, an "Evidence-Based Practice" article, or a "Research Article."  There are limits for these as well!
Screen shot of peer-reviewed limit Screen shot of evidence-based practice limit Screen shot of research article limit

 

  • You may want to limit your journal to "English Language," or limit your results to the languages you are able to read (hold down the "ctrl" button on your keyboard and click on each option to choose multiple languages).

Screen shot of English language limit

Language limit

  • Your professor may ask you to find article within the last five years. Use the publication date for this!

Finding Nursing Articles in Online Databases- ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source

This database does not have as many specific limiters as CINAHL, but is still useful for locating sources for your care plans.

1.  Start out at the library’s homepage, https://millikin.edu/academics/staley-library

2.  Click on the link for “Find Articles, Audio, & Video- Search Databases.”

or click on the “Staley Library Databases” link in myMillikin

MyMillikin Library Databases Icon

3.  That will take you to the database page. Under “Databases by Subject” click on Nursing.

4.  We have several nursing and health sciences databases. Click on "Proquest Nursing & Allied Health Source."

5. Start by typing your search term(s) into the search boxes at the top of the screen.

6. Next, scroll down the page to the search options to find the option labeled "Document Type." Choose "Evidence Based Healthcare," then click "Search."

7. Results will be limited to evidence-based practice publications like systematic reviews, evidence summaries, and best practice information sheets.

PubMed: Short Tutorial Videos

Not all articles will have the full text available for free. If you find yourself encountering paywalls for access, use the Find It! option to put in an interlibrary loan request for the article. 

Using the Advanced search option also allows you to keep track of your query strings and the number of results each had. This is useful when working on a literature review.

Use the "Cite" button to get started on your citation. Make sure to change the format to APA before copying the citation. Make sure you check capitalization and punctuation as those can sometimes be slightly off.