NUR 304: Concepts in Nursing for the Practitioner Course Guide

Introduction

This page presents an overview of the resources and services currently available to students. Services, resources, and locations are all subject to change, particularly during academic year breaks. What's new at Fogler Library.

General Tips on Library Use

• Not sure where to start?
  • The Fogler Library, USM Libraries, and Off-Campus Library Services Web pages link to online library resources as well as information about the libraries.
  • See Introduction to Library Research for a brief introduction to Fogler Library.
  • The Floor Plan shows where materials are located in Fogler Library.
  • Check the Fogler Library nursing portal and nursing guide, or the USM Libraries nursing guide, for resources selected for your program.
  • Computer problems? See How to Connect.
  • Questions?
• Activate your library card at the Fogler Library circulation desk so you can use library resources off campus. (Distance education students: use the Library Card Application page.) Wait a day or two for complete activation.
• Plan on using a mix of online resources (accessible off campus) and print resources that must be copied or used inside the library. Give yourself enough time to find and copy library materials.
• On the Orono campus your MaineCard permits $16 worth of "free" printing ($0.04/page) each semester. Pay for excess printouts using campus funds. Free printing funds don't carry over between semesters, but campus funds do. Photocopies cost $0.08/page (campus funds).

Databases For Your Literature Review

Use Indexes and Databases (Fogler Library), Find Articles (USM), or the Systemwide list of indexes and databases to find citations or references to journal articles. For additional databases available from Fogler Library, see the list available from the nursing portal. Databases are designed for use worldwide, so they refer to items the UMS libraries don't own.

Searching Databases

Database interfaces

The interface is the "packaging" wrapped around the database. Expect to see interfaces change during your academic career, and to see different interfaces at different libraries.

Examples of different interfaces to the same database:

The EBSCOhost version of CINAHL has a Basic and Advanced interface. Use Advanced Search to get the best results from the database.

Search steps

See the database guides for CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO for detailed instructions.

1. Document your research process--list the databases you used, the search terms you tried, etc.
2. Define your topic and parameters.
3. Identify individual concepts within your topic.
4. Search for each concept separately. Use subject headings or terms from the thesaurus whenever possible.
5. Combine the concepts.
6. Apply limits to the results.

Use subject headings or terms from the thesaurus

• Use the "suggest subject terms" or "thesaurus" feature
• Each database uses its own thesaurus, which is updated annually. Example: MEDLINE's "MeSH" (Medical Subject Headings).
• Use "Explode" to select a subject heading plus more specific related terms
  • In CINAHL and MEDLINE, exploding retrieves all more specific related terms
  • In PsycINFO only partial explodes are possible. (Example: exploding Pain retrieves Neuralgia but not the even more specific Trigeminal Neuralgia.)
• Some topics are best searched by using a subject heading with a CINAHL subheading or MEDLINE subheading attached. Example: Immunization/AE (adverse effects of immunization).
• You can attach multiple subheadings to a subject heading. Example: Otitis Media/DT/SU (drug therapy or surgery for otitis media).
• For CINAHL and MEDLINE, use "Major Concept" within the thesaurus to focus your search--but only if needed.

No thesaurus or subject headings?

• Try alternative terminology: vaccination as well as immunization
• Try alternative spelling: immunisation as well as immunization
• Truncate (use a wildcard) to get variations on a word: vaccinat* to find vaccinating, vaccination, vaccinations... Truncate carefully!

Combine the concepts

Combine subject headings, sets, or search ID #s using ANDs Socialization and Students, Nursing s1 and s2
and ORs. Students, Nursing or Education, Nursing s1 or s2

Apply limits

• Apply limits as needed
• Common limits:
  • year of publication
  • language (or "English-only")
  • age groups
  • gender
  • human (in MEDLINE, PubMed, and some other databases)
• CINAHL also enables special publication type limits, such as "peer reviewed" journals
• Need strategies for finding evidence based literature? See the NUR 505 Course Guide.
• In Pre-CINAHL you can apply some of the CINAHL limits by searching for them within particular "fields." Example: (vaccin* or immuniz* or immunis*) and sb peer reviewed retrieves citations marked as peer reviewed in the "journal subset" field.

Citations/APA Format

From Citations To Articles

See Finding Items at Fogler Library and Getting Articles From Other Libraries.

More information about interlibrary loan:

• Most article copies are free, but sometimes other libraries charge delivery and copying fees. On the request form, indicate the maximum cost you are willing to pay in case there is a charge.
• Paper copies are sent to Fogler Library.
• If you are going to visit another library, call before you travel. Check hours, policies, copying fees, and whether the issue you need is available.

Notes for distance education and USM students:

• In the URSUS catalog, click the link(s) appropriate to your primary campus affiliation and where you are located.
• Some of the links on the Ejournals list may not work for you.
• As appropriate, use USM ILLiad, or the Off-Campus Library Services Document Delivery System to get copies of articles
• Paper copies are sent to your campus library. Only Off-Campus Library Services delivers paper copies directly to your home address, workplace, etc. (and this adds to the delivery time).

Questions?

Created by: Nancy Curtis | Revised: 08/27/2008

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