Finding Articles
- Use Library databases to locate articles in professional nursing journals
- http://www.wpunj.edu/library/ercsub_sci.shtml
- CINAHL: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
- This database indexes over 2,700 journals as well as selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, book chapters and dissertations.
http://ezproxy.wpunj.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.asp?profile=cinahl
- Health and Wellness Resource Center
- This database provides access to medical, statistical, health and wellness information.
- http://ezproxy.wpunj.edu:2048/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/paterson1?db=HWRC
- Medline
- This database of the National Library of Medicine provides access to citations from over 4,800 biomedical journals covering topics such as medicine, nursing, and health care systems.
- http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search?hid=106&sid=f1682bd9-6edf-45a4-9bcb-eca045f8968c%40sessionmgr107
- Nursing and Allied Health Collection: Comprehensive
- This database provides access to nearly 400 full text journals including 300 peer-reviewed journals in the fields of nursing, biomedicine, and the health sciences.
- http://ezproxy.wpunj.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.asp?profile=nyh
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Searching Tips
Limit your results: from the Basic search screen, select publication type = journal article, select a publication date range, select English language, select an age group category (if appropriate).
Refine your search: combine terms by using AND. For example, searching for Roy adaptation model and self esteem will find articles with both terms.
Review subject headings: subject heading categories may provide you with additional related search terms.
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Evaluating Articles
When searching in a database, critical thinking skills are essential. Before wasting time and paper, it is wise to spend a few minutes reading the citation and/or abstract information and to consider the following details:
- Author: who wrote this and what are his/her credentials and affiliations?
- Source: is this a scholarly, professional, popular, or trade publication?
- Publisher: who is responsible for producing this? government? university? corporation?
- Date: when was this published?
- Audience: for whom is this written? general public? scholars? researchers? practitioners?
- Purpose: what is the point? Are the findings clearly stated? Are there clear biases?
- Data: is research methodology explained? Are charts, graphs, illustrations clearly presented?
- Conclusions: do the findings support the thesis?
- References: are there footnotes and citations leading to related work?
- Compare: how does this article compare with other articles in this field?
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Finding Journals
Many articles, but not all, are available full text through the databases mentioned above. You may need to locate a journal through another database or use the Library's in-house print collection. To see if the Cheng Library has access to a journal, type in the journal title here: http://www.wpunj.edu/library/ejournals.shtml
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Interlibrary Loan
If you are interested in a book or article that the Cheng Library does not own, we can obtain a copy for you using interlibrary loan. This service is free for students. Please keep in mind that it may take two weeks or longer for these materials to be available.
http://www.wpunj.edu/library/ill_proxy.shtml
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Research Instruments, Surveys and Tools
Print Resources
- Encyclopedia of nursing research, 2nd ed. / Joyce Fitzpatrick, ed.
- Call Number: REF RT81.5.E53 2006
- Instruments for clinical health-care research, 3rd ed. / Marilyn Frank-Stromborg and Sharon J. Olsen
- Call Number: REF RT81.5.I57 2004
- Measurement of nursing outcomes, Vols. 1-4 / Carolyn F. Waltz and Ora L. Strickland, eds.
- Call Number: RT85.5.M434 1988
Online Resources
- Health and Psychosocial Instruments Database
- Search site using keywords, selecting Primary Source as a limiter will refine results.
- http://ezproxy.wpunj.edu:2048/login?url=http://gateway.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&MODE=ovid&PAGE=main&NEWS=n&DBC=y&D=hapi&LOGOUT=https://liberty.wpunj.edu/library/ERClist/erclist.cfm
- Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, CAPS Instruments
- http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/projects/instrumentindex.html
- Indiana University at Bloomington, Alcohol Research and Health Information Questionnaires
- http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/aquest.shtml
- RAND Health: Surveys & Tools
- http://www.rand.org/health/surveys_tools.html
- Stanford School of Medicine: Research Instruments
- http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/research/
- University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute's Sound Data Source Instruments
- Click SDS Instruments Library link for a list of publicly available instruments
- http://adai.washington.edu/sounddatasource/
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Evidence-Based Practice Resources
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Under the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, AHRQ supports research and collects data concerning the safety, quality, efficiency, cost and access of healthcare services.
- http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcix.htm
- Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
- This independent, non-profit group maintains this site which contains links to guidelines, preventive services, summary reports about clinical outcomes.
- http://www.icsi.org/guidelines_and_more/
- National Guideline Clearinghouse
- An initiative of the AHRQ, this is a comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents.
- http://www.guideline.gov/
- SUMSearch
- This search engine designed by the University of Texas Health Science Center combines met-searching and contingency searching for medical evidence. The results list is organized by category and includes links and information about journal articles, guidelines, reviews, as well as text books and research.
- http://sumsearch.uthscsa.edu/
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APA Style Guides
Quick overview for citing resources: http://www.wpunj.edu/library/apa.shtml
For citing electronic resources: http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
The 5th edition of the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual is available at the Library's Reference Desk and on the 2nd floor, BF 76.7.P83 2001.
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