Library Tutorial for Nursing

Last update: 7 November 2007,
by Maureen Bell

Section 7. Searching for journal articles on a topic

Warning Do not use the Library catalogue for this search, as it lists journals but not individual journal articles.

Instead you will need to use databases to find details of journal articles on your subject. You'll find a list of databases of interest for nursing on my web page.

Database checklist

When using a new database it's a good idea to check its features using the Help option.

1. Use of Boolean (logical) operators - in most databases they can be in lower case, but PubMed requires that they are in upper case, so it's important when searching PubMed to use AND, OR, NOT to connect your search terms. Click here for PubMed's explanation of how Boolean logic works. (If you click on the Next link at the left of the Boolean logic page you'll go to a page which provides an animated demonstration.)

2. How do you truncate terms to search for plurals etc.? Some databases such as Health Source: Nursing have multiple options, whereas PubMed uses only one truncation symbol.
Click here for PubMed's explanation of how its truncation symbol works.

Health Source: Nursing uses two different symbols

An asterisk allows for any number of characters, or the absence of a character.
For example, comput* to find the words computer, computers, or computing.

A question mark is used to replace a single character.
For example, if you type ne?t you will find all citations containing neat, nest or next. You will not find net because the wildcard replaces only a single character - it doesn't allow for the absence of a character.

3. Is there a thesaurus which will allow you to use a standardised language to search? How does it work?
Click here for an explanation of PubMed's thesaurus (which is called MeSH)

4. How do you search for articles by an author, or in a particular journal?

5. How do you display references, or mark them for saving, printing, or emailing to yourself?

6. Can you link to the full text of articles, or will you need to find print articles in the Library?

Search Strategy

Before you search for information you'll need to formulate a search strategy. Below are some tips on how to do this.

1. Identify the key concepts .

2. Work out alternative terms for these concepts.

3. Decide whether you want to restrict your search to a certain population or group

4. Decide whether you want to restrict your search to a particular type of article - eg. systematic reviews.

5. Remember that practice helps, and that there is no such thing as the perfect search - a strategy which may be fine for an essay may be totally inadequate for a thesis topic.

6. You may find it helps to clarify your thinking if you use a logic grid, in which you group related concepts or synonyms - see the example below

Supposing you want to find articles on nursing management of anxiety in cancer patients. Below are some possible options for searching - can you think of more? As there are three distinct concepts involved in this search we will use three columns

cancer

oncol*

stress

anxiety

coping

nurs*

You would need to OR the individual words in each column, and then AND the groups of words together - remembering to use brackets to preserve the logic of your search. Click here to check on Boolean logic (the use of logical operators, and the importance of brackets in search strategies).

(cancer or oncol* ) and (stress or anxiety or coping ) and nurs*

Try testing this strategy by copying and pasting it into the Find box in the database Health Source: Nursing. You can find the database either by searching for it by title in the catalogue, or finding it in the list of databases on my nursing web page.

Search results

The purpose of searching a database is to get a list of citations telling you where to look for articles on your subject.

The important parts of citations are:- author(s) of article, article title, journal title, volume number, issue number, date, and page numbers - so make sure you save, print, or download all of these details before you look for the journal.

Check how to save, print, or email the results. Saving them is a good idea, as it won't cost you anything, and you'll then have correct details for including in the bibliography in your essay.

Finding the full journal article

A database citation may give a link to a full electronic article, often in .pdf format which you can save or print directly.
If there is no link, or a faulty link, the Library may still have the journal in electronic or paper format - so always search the Library catalogue under the journal title. There are instructions on how to do this in Section 3.

For an electronic journal link to the appropriate volume number, issue number, and pages

For a print journal you'll need to make a note of the location and call number, then go to the shelves to find the volume number, issue number, and pages that you need.

Return to Section 6

Return to Tutorial contents