In nursing, it is very important to use journal articles to find current research on your topic. While books are excellent for background and reference information, they are not published as frequently as articles. When searching for articles on a current topic, your date range should fall between three to five years, as data and statistics can become dated very quickly. Journal articles can be found by using the library databases that are appropriate for your nursing topic.
The Hoffman Family Library has access to research databases containing reputable nursing publications. Some databases will cover several subjects, while others cover a specific subject in depth.
Citations and abstracts of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news and information for thousands of publications. Most comprehensive nursing and allied health database. CINAHL covers nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines.
The premier full-text medical database. Contains scholarly articles on all health sciences topics.
This link opens in a new windowProvides citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. 99 percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. The database also includes information about the psychological aspects of related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business, law, and others. Journal coverage, which spans 1887 to present, includes international material selected from nearly 2 000 periodicals in more than 25 languages. Can limit by publisher, publication year, publication status, publication type, document type, book type, peer reviewed, language, population group, age group, intended audience, methodology and classification codes.
Full text for more than 4,600 journals, including full text for nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. PDF back files to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles.
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Source |
Description |
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Magazine |
Magazines are written for the general public. They feature lots of pictures and advertisements. The authors of the articles are often staff writers. The content includes information on current events, entertainment and special features. |
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Newspaper |
Information in newspapers is targeted toward the general public. Newspapers usually feature black and white print and photographs. The articles are written by journalists and staff writers. The articles discuss news events and special features. |
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Trade Journal |
Trade journals contain information for professionals within a specific industry. Usually staff writers or industry professionals write the articles. They feature color photographs and industry specific advertisements. The articles discuss news and special features related to a specific industry. |
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Academic Journal |
Researchers and scholars are the main audience for academic journals. They do not feature pictures or advertisements. Research articles make-up the content. They are written by researchers/scholars of a particular profession or discipline. |
When you are searching for articles, your results are more effective when using AND, OR, and NOT connectors. These connectors allow you to link keywords and determine the relationship between them.
The most frequently used keyword connector is "AND". The "AND" connector will narrow your search results and includes both keywords in your sources.
Example: