Nursing Library Orientation: Searching for Articles

Research databases are the tools for finding the articles you need. They:

• Index the journal articles of a specific subject area or discipline.
• Allow for searching by keywords and, in the sciences and clinical fields, by subject headings (controlled vocabulary).
• Provide for combining concept terms using logical operators to get more relevant results.
• Offer ways to limit to further customize results.
• Provide output options, including printing, e-mailing, downloading, or exporting results to reference manager software.

The most frequently used research databases in nursing are:

When searching in a research database provided by Kent State University, click on the "FindIt at Kent State" icon in the article display!

Search effectively!

Try using a search strategy worksheet to identify key concepts in your topic:

• Write out a clear, detailed statement of your topic.
• Identify the concepts embodied in the topic statement.
• List words which authors would use to describe your topic concepts.
• Build a search from the concept words.

Watch this video on how to create an effective search strategy.

These tutorials show you how to conduct searches in the two databases used most in Nursing, CINAHL and MEDLINE.