Resource Types
A journal article is a scholarly and peer-reviewed publication that presents original research, reviews, or analyses on a specific topic. They are typically written by experts in the field and published in an academic or professional journal.
You will likely be required to use journal articles for most, if not all, of your references.
You can access journal articles in the CF Library's databases. For nursing-specific literature, search these databases directly:
- CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window CINAHL Complete is a comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 1,300 journals.
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window Cochrane, a global independent network, gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research and presents it in searchable databases, e.g., Systematic Reviews, Controlled Trials, and Clinical Answers. Special Collections of curated content are also searchable on more than 30 healthcare topics, to include, Cancer Research, Public Health, and Mental Health.
- MEDLINE with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Ovid - Full Text Nursing Collection This link opens in a new window Ovid contains full-text and images for more than 100 journals spanning traditional specialty areas like pain management, maternity care, surgical nursing, nursing management and evidence-based nursing. This collection includes clinically-relevant tools in diagnosis and care procedures, practitioner journals, and more.
You can find more nursing or health sciences databases by going to the Database A-Z List and selecting the appropriate subject in the drop-down menu.
View searching tutorials for CINAHL, Ovid, or Cochrane here under the Databases tab.
Books and eBooks can be useful as supplemental information for your research or studies. You can search for them with the library catalog.
If you are browsing the physical shelves, you can look within these call numbers for books on nursing and other health sciences:
Books and eBooks can be useful as supplemental information for your research or studies. You can search for them with the library catalog.
eBooks are the same as print books except they are available to read online. Many libraries, like ours, will offer more resources in eBook format because they are less expensive to hold and can be updated more easily. Keeping up-to-date resources is especially important in health sciences.
eBooks, like books, are useful for getting background information on a topic, due to their broad reach. To locate available eBooks in CF's catalog, apply filters. See the image below as a guide.
If an eBook is available, you will see a green "Available Online" link on the item record in the catalog. Clicking on that link will usually take you to a separate section of the record that lists the databases through which you can access the eBook. Sometimes, it will be available automatically as a PDF.
See below for an example off opening the eBook within a database--in this case, Rittenhouse. The eBook will open in a new tab or window.
One benefit of eBooks is they often come with features, such as downloading and printing pages or full chapters, citation generators, accessibility options, and perhaps most usefully, a search function.
Researching Tips and Tutorials
This section is under construction.
See general research help at this guide or within CF Library's video tutorial library.