Guide to Nursing Research Online

Guide to Nursing Research Online

Enhance your online nursing research skills with this collection of the best websites and search engines for nursing research, along with useful research tips. Having effective online nursing research skills can greatly impact your academic success in nursing school and your career. Nursing and medical practices evolve rapidly, and being able to conduct nursing research online helps you stay updated and informed.

Conducting research involves knowing how to utilize nursing literature search engines and how to evaluate the information you find. This ensures you can differentiate between reliable information that supports evidence-based nursing and misleading information that might affect your patient care abilities.

This guide is designed to assist you in finding and using the most reliable nursing research websites and other research tools. Whether you need a writing guide for nurses, continuing education materials, or just want to expand your knowledge in the field, this guide has you covered.

Conducting Online Research for Nursing Students

You can accomplish most of your nursing research online, but remember that certain sources might not be available on the internet. Your school’s library could have print journals that aren’t published online, and some important books might only exist in print.

Your school or hospital librarian is an invaluable resource for finding materials online or in print. If your institution doesn’t have a particular book or article, the librarian can often obtain it through an interlibrary loan service.

For sources not available online, consider using both online nursing research tools and print resources.

Refining Your Search Results

During online research, it’s crucial to filter out unreliable sources and locate search results relevant to your topic. Fortunately, Google searches and other nursing literature search engines provide tools to help you narrow down your research and find the most trustworthy results.

Filter by domain type: For instance, government and education sites generally have no financial interest in selling products or services. They carefully review information before publishing it. To filter for authoritative domains, add site:.gov or site:.edu to your search query.

Filter by specific site: If you know a particular site is a reliable source for a topic, you can search exclusively on that site using Google. Just add site:[website address] followed by your search term.

Filter by date: This ensures you get the most recent information on a topic. After entering your search query, click on “Tools” and select a time frame under “Any time.”

Filter by exact keyword or phrase: This provides more precise results, particularly for broad topics. To filter for a specific keyword or phrase, enclose the search query in quotation marks.

Exclude specific keyword or phrase from results: This helps eliminate unwanted results like sales listings. Add a minus sign before a term or phrase (e.g., stethoscope -“for sale”).

Besides open web searches, you can utilize specialized nursing literature search engines like the ones listed below.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar offers features tailored to finding the most relevant professional literature on a given topic. In addition to refining your search by date, it displays related articles and other works by the same author. If a full-text version of an article is available online, Google Scholar provides a link. Otherwise, you can check if your library has the article or can obtain a copy for you.

Google Scholar also indicates how many other papers cite a specific source. While this doesn’t guarantee the reliability or currentness of an article, it indicates the article’s influence.

The search engine also includes tools to help you manage research projects and write papers. You can create citations in various standard formats and save articles to lists, making it easy to organize content according to different topics or assignments.

If you want to stay updated on a specific topic, refine your search to show preferred results, and then choose “create alert.” This will result in emails notifying you of new articles as Google Scholar indexes them.

Online Research Tools

While Google is the most popular search engine, there are other online resources available. Students can use several search engines and databases specifically designed for academic searches. Many of these sites offer free or discounted services to students, and your school’s library may also grant access.

The list below describes some common resources for academic research, including sites focusing on online research for nurses.

General Academic Research Tools

BASE: Bielefeld Academic Search Engine provides results in various academic disciplines. About 60% of indexed documents are available for free. Results must meet high academic standards for relevance and quality.

CGP: The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications lets users search for official documents published by the U.S. government, including current and historical sources.

CIA World Factbook: The Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook offers information about 267 countries and other entities worldwide. This includes data on history, people, geography, government, and economy, along with maps.

ERIC: Hosted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, ERIC uses a formal review process to determine which scholarly articles, papers, reports, and other documents to include in its index.

iSeek Education: This resource compiles scholarly materials from noncommercial providers, such as universities and government sources. The searchable service allows users to bookmark items for future reference.

National Archives: This searchable catalog includes descriptions for 85% of the National Archives’ holdings, encompassing documents, web pages, images, audio files, and videos. Users can access over two million digitized government records.

OCLC: The OAIster catalog gathers open-access resources from libraries, museums, archives, and cultural heritage organizations.

CORE: CORE aggregates open-access research materials from sources worldwide, indexing them in a searchable database. The public can use CORE at no cost.

Nursing Research Tools

CINAHL Complete: The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature offers an extensive database of research materials for nurses and students. The site provides full-text access to resources, including journals, care sheets, and continuing education modules.

MedScape: Medscape provides the latest medical news, research updates, case studies, continuing education opportunities, and disease and drug information for healthcare professionals globally.

National Institute of Nursing Research: As part of the National Institutes of Health, NINR supports nursing research. The website hosts information about research conducted through their programs.

Nursing Reference Center: This resource offers diverse materials for nurses, such as care sheets about diseases and treatments, drug information, advice on treating patients from different cultural backgrounds, patient handouts, and lessons on diseases and conditions.

PubMed: Operated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, PubMed is a searchable database providing abstracts and full-text articles from journals, books, and other publications related to life science and medicine.

Sigma Repository: This open-access database houses nursing research and practice materials created by nurses. The Sigma Theta Tau International nursing honor society sponsors this free resource.

Evaluating Sources

When conducting web research, assessing the reliability of your sources is crucial. Using information from untrustworthy sources can

harm your research quality and lead to incorrect conclusions.

To evaluate an online information source’s credibility, ask yourself questions to gauge its quality. The following questions, along with tips from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago Press, can assist in evaluating source reliability.

Who Is the Author?

Identify the author or creator of the article. Check their credentials to determine if their education and experience qualify them as an authority on the topic. You can also search for their other works or additional information.

If the source doesn’t specify an author, examine the domain to see if it belongs to a reputable entity.

What Is Its Purpose?

Examine both the article and the hosting site. Who is the intended audience? Is the information aimed at academics, experts, or the general public? Why was it written and posted? Is it meant to inform or educate, or does it try to persuade readers to adopt a particular view? Does it serve as a sales pitch for a product or service?

Reliable sources are usually noncommercial and aim to educate readers without undue persuasion.

Does It Appear Professional?

As you view the website and read the article, pay attention to any grammar or spelling mistakes. The site’s content should appear organized and polished. Disorganized content and errors in the text suggest unprofessionalism, as does the use of inappropriate language.

If the site prioritizes images over text or seems focused on selling products or services, it may not be a dependable source for scholarly information.

Is It Objective?

Academic sources should exhibit objectivity and avoid presenting opinions as factual data. Consider whether the information provided is based on facts or opinions. Does the author display any bias? Is the information officially endorsed or approved by an organization? If so, ascertain whether the organization has an official stance on the topic.

Is It Current?

When researching scientific and medical subjects, it’s essential to find the latest information. Scientific knowledge advances quickly, resulting in frequent new research.

Check the publication date indicated on your source. If it’s several years old, seek more up-to-date sources on the same subject. If a website hasn’t been updated recently, its information may be outdated.

What Links Does It Include?

The links within your source can offer insights into its credibility. These links should relate to the source’s purpose or the topic under discussion. Generally, a source should link back to research that supports its claims. You can find this information within the text or in a references list.

Click on the links to ensure they work properly. Broken links might indicate outdated information.

Organizing Your Research

During online research, you’ll likely encounter a vast amount of information. To prevent feeling overwhelmed, it’s essential to stay organized before, during, and after your search. Additionally, remember to properly cite all your sources.

Developing a consistent system for locating and organizing information can enhance your research efficiency and accuracy. Here are some basic tips to help you manage and organize your online research.

Keep Track of Sources: As you conduct research and take notes, record the source of each piece of information. This will simplify the process of creating accurate citations later on.

Find the Original Source: Instead of citing an article discussing information from a book or published study, locate and cite the primary source in your own research.

Bookmark Web Pages: When you discover a webpage containing relevant information, use your browser’s bookmark function to save the link. Some browsers allow you to organize bookmarks into folders.

Record Complete Citations: Don’t rely solely on URLs. When you find data you plan to use, note down all the details needed for a comprehensive citation in your bibliography.

Note Useful Websites: When you come across a dependable website that offers valuable information, make a note of it so you can return to it for future research.

Online Tools for Research Management

EasyBib: This tool assists you in enhancing your writing, taking notes, avoiding unintentional plagiarism, and adding citations in various styles like MLA, APA, and Chicago. Basic services and MLA citations are available for free, with additional access available through a monthly fee.

Endnote: This software package is designed to manage references and bibliographies. It offers research tools and enables teams to collaborate on documents, files, and other materials. The software is available with student pricing.

Mendeley: Geared toward science and technology research, Mendeley helps users store and organize research documents and files. It manages citations and allows users to connect within a research network.

RefWorks: This web-based reference management tool stores your reference database in an online portal. Some universities offer their students free access to RefWorks.

Zotero: A free, open-source software, Zotero assists users in finding research materials and organizing information. It manages citations, documents, and other research materials.

Referencing Online Sources for Nursing Students

When you create a research paper or presentation, it’s important to follow a consistent format and provide a bibliography of all the sources you used. There are different styles for this, like the APA (American Psychological Association) style commonly used in nursing and the AMA (American Medical Association) style for medical research.

These styles set rules for writing, such as punctuation, accepted abbreviations, headings, and how to format statistics and tables. They also outline how to list your citations, including the order of information and punctuation. This makes it easy for readers to find the sources you used.

APA Style

Here are some examples of APA style from the Purdue Online Writing Lab:

Articles From Online Magazines

What’s a DOI?

When an article is published online, it gets a unique digital object identifier (DOI). This DOI is like an ID for the article and a link to it on the internet. APA style suggests including the DOI in your citation if available.

With DOI

Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Publication Date). Article Title. Magazine Title, Volume Number, Page Range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://doi.org/10.0000/0000

Example:

Brownlie, D. (2007). Tips for effective poster presentations. European Journal of Marketing, 41, 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

Without DOI

Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Publication Date). Article Title. Magazine Title, Volume Number. Retrieved from https://www.magazineurl.com/full/url/

Example:

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). Buddhism’s perspective on human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from https://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Newspaper Articles

Format:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article Title. Newspaper Title. Retrieved from https://www.newspaperurl.com/

Example:

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Link between psychiatry handbook and drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/

E-books

Format:

Last Name, A. A. (n.d.). Book Title. Available from https://www.ebookurl.com/full/url/

Example:

Davis, J. (n.d.). Birdsongs of the Northwest. Available from https://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=1-9780931686108-0

AMA Style

AMA Style is for medical research, and it’s maintained by the American Medical Association. Here are some examples from the Arizona Health Sciences Library and the USciences website:

No Author Name Provided

Format:

Organization Name. Title of Specific Item Cited. URL. Accessed Date.

Example:

International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMED-mail Website. https://www.promedmail.org. Accessed April 29, 2004.

Author Name Provided

Format:

Author A. Title. Website Name. URL. Updated Date. Accessed Date.

Example:

Sullivan D. Major search engines and directories. SearchEngineWatch Website. https://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156221. Updated April 28, 2004. Accessed December 6, 2005.

Online Journal Article With Six or Fewer Authors — DOI Included

Format:

Author A. Title. Journal Name. URL. Publication Year;Volume(Issue):Page Numbers. doi.

Example:

Florez H, Martinez R, Chakra W, Strickman-Stein M, Levis S. Outdoor exercise and Vitamin D in obese people. J Steroid Biochem Mol Bio. 2007;103(3-5):679-681. doi:10.1016 /j.jsbmb.2006.12.032.

Online Journal Article With Six or More Authors — DOI Not Included

Format:

Author A. Title. Journal Name. URL. Publication Year;Volume(Issue):Page Numbers. Accessed Date.

Example:

Siris ES, Miller PD, Barrett-Connor E, et al. Identifying low bone density in postmenopausal women. JAMA. 2001;286(22):2815-2822. https://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/286/22 /2815. Accessed April 4, 2007.