GETTING STARTED:

Where to start depends on what you know already and what topic you decide to write about.

• Do you already have a topic and list of references to locate?
  Or do you have a topic or issue you want to investigate, but don't have any journal articles or books yet? Either way, start with Step Two: Search for Information.
• No idea what you want to research? Start with Step One: Find a Topic.
• Wondering how to access journalarticles from off campus? Look here.
• Want to learn to evaluate resources you plan to use for your paper?
  Try Step Three: Evaluate what you Find.
• Do you want to avoid plagiarism and cite your sources correctly?
  Go to Step Four: Cite What You Find.
• Wondering why doing research is so important? Go to Need Inspiration?
  
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Step One: FIND A TOPIC:

• If a topic in one of your textbooks interests you, try to locate articles, books and reports about it (references are often included at ends of chapters).
• Try hard copy or electronic books that deal with a broad subject area e.g: books
  in a university library's RA 395 (Health care policy) or RT (Nursing) areas or
  online books such as Healthy People 2010 or the electronic book Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health (you'll have to log into this one with your last name
  and 14 digit barcode ID number).
• Look through some print (look on current journals shelves of most academic libraries) or electronic journals (look in CINAHL or ProQuest–see Step Two, below) to get ideas on current topics.
             A few recommended journals:   
  • American Journal of Public Health    
  • Journal of Advanced Nursing
  • Journal of Community Health Nursing  
  • Journal of Nursing Scholarship
  • Journal of Transcultural Nursing
  • Western Journal of Nursing Research    
• As you read background resources or scan current journal issues,
  write down some words you can use later to search for more information:
      -- Terms and phrases used to describe your subject
      -- Synonyms and alternate terms used to denote the same concept
      -- Parameters such as location, environment, gender, ethnicity, age group, etc.
      -- Names of important researchers in the field.

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Step Two: SEARCH FOR INFORMATION in journal articles,books &
   theses):

How do I find journal articles on a particular topic?

§         Use a Library electronic journal index (also called database).

§         Some databases cover only journal articles; others also include popular magazines,
      newspapers, book references and other material.

§         Some journal databases are general in nature and cover many topics.
     Others cover a specific subject area like Health Sciences or Nursing.

§    Most articles in library electronic databases are NOT available on the   free Internet through Google and other search engines.
   IF you do find an article you need on the free Internet, you will often
   be asked to pay a fee ($5 to $50 and more!) to view and print it.
     Why pay for what the Library offers free?
·         Instead, use the CSUDH Library Nursing and Health Sciences page    
     for easy and free access to selected electronic databases you often need. 

   All of the resources on the CSUDH Nursing & Health Sciences page are
  available FREE to students and faculty from off-campus computers.

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Find Journal Articles in these (and other) electronic databases:

• CINAHL Plus with Full Text (EBSCOhost):   (pronounced Syn'-all)

- BEST place to start most searches for nursing articles!!!

- Covers 1982 onwards; nursing and 19 allied health disciplines.

- Covers practical and theory-based health and communication.

- Full text of SOME articles and many links to full text included.

-Try this tutorial on CINAHL to learn more about searching CINAHL for articles (this tutorial   was created by librarians at the University of Florida, but you can learn a lot about using   CINAHL by completing the tutorials on this website).

•  MEDLINE (EBSCOhost):

- Covers 1966 onwards; medicine, nursing, nutrition, physiology, dentistry

- Focus is research, uses medical terminology; indexes journals only,
  international scope;

- Full text of a FEW articles, as well as many links to full text included.

• PROQUEST NURSING JOURNALS and MEDICAL JOURNALS (ProQuest):

- Multidisciplinary databases

- Full text of many newspapers plus full text of many but not all articles in a   wide array of health / health communication journals.

How do I access journal indexes when I'm off campus?

1.   Go to the CSUDH Library Nursing and Health Sciences page.      

2.       Click on the red Nursing Journals Indexes button.

3. Click on "Click Here" under CINAHL...

   The CSUDH login screen (see below) will appear.

4. Enter your last name and your 14 digit barcode ID number and click “Login”.

       

Welcome to CSU Dominguez Hills The resources you have requested are available only to authorized CSUDH users (currently employed CSUDH faculty or staff members, or currently enrolled students). Please enter:     Your Last Name   (Example: Smith) Please also enter:     your 14 numeric characters of your CSUDH ID barcode number What is a barcode number: Your barcode ID number is the 14-digit number made up of the 5-digit number 20550 followed by your 9-digit student ID number. Example: 20550982340006 (please do not use spaces, dashes or hyphens)

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Helpful Search Tips for searching all electronic journal databases:

         -type single concepts into the "Find" boxes, but combine these search terms with AND and OR:

         -- Combine search terms using `AND' to decrease the number of articles.

-- Combine search terms (for example, synonyms or related terms)  using the word  `OR' to increase the number of articles.

-- Don't worry about large sets of results in the beginning since combining    different concepts will decrease the total number of results.

-- Apply limits last (see “Limit your results” on CINAHL search page) to further   decrease the number of articles while narrowing or focusing their topic range.   Limits include date of article, English language articles and/or specific    age groups.

-- Use Truncation symbols (* or $) to increase the number of results by allowing
   for variant word endings.
   Note: truncation symbols may differ depending on which database you use.
    An asterisk (*) often works.

-- Use controlled vocabulary / subject headings whenever possible. .

-- read the online Help to familiarize yourself with the details of searching each different database.

-- When searching CINAHL or other databases, do NOT select the option to limit your search to full text. The databases  themselves contain very few full-text articles, but clicking the  blue "Check availability of Complete Article" icons will link you to many full-text articles in other  databases provided that you have not selected the "full-text" limit.

             -always ask a Librarian (cdales@csudh.edu) if you need additional help!

·         NOTE: many articles are available only in .pdf (portable document format) format.
     You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print them.
     Make sure a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software
     (version 6.0 or newer) is installed on the computer you use.
     Free downloads: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html .

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·        How do I find a journal article when there's no link to full text in the result?

§   Click on the blue "Check Availability of Complete Article"    icon
     at the end of any record where it occurs. Several outcomes are possible:

   1. you may be linked directly to the article
    

    OR

   2. you may be linked to a different  journal index that contains the article
    (try to locate the article yourself, but if you can't find it, e-mail the citation to Carol)

     OR

  3. you may see Holdings Available in Print or Microfilm in CSUDH Library.
                       Click HERE for details.
    If the Library appears to own the date of the journal article that you need, e-mail the citation
    to Carol – the article will be e-mailed to you ASAP    
    
    OR

  4. you may see this screen:
        Full Text of Article is NOT available in CSUDH Library.
        Click HERE to request item from another library.

     Request the article by clicking and filling out the form. 
   The article will be obtained for you from a different library on Interlibrary
   Loan and e-mailed to you but you probably will not receive it for 7 or more days.                 

PLEASE DON'T EXPECT TO FIND ALL OF YOUR ARTICLES THE DAY YOU WRITE YOUR PAPER! InterLibrary Loan sometimes takes as long as 2 weeks, so PLEASE--PLAN AHEAD FOR DELAYS!

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·        How can I improve my searching for journal articles?

§         Use the Thesaurus of the journal index to find correct subject headings
   (also called “controlled vocabulary”)
    e.g: Use the Thesaurus (called “CINAHL Headings” in CINAHL) to find correct subject headings:

§         Click the CINAHL Headings button on the main toolbar at top of screen.

§         Type a term for which you would like to identify a subject heading into the
     Browse box  e.g: breast cancer

§         Click the Browse button (e.g.: you'll see that the correct term for “breast cancer” in      CINAHL is actually “breast neoplasms”).

§         A scope note will define the term as it is used in CINAHL.

§         Use the back arrow to return to search screen and enter the search term
     you located in the Thesaurus.
     ProQuest Nursing and Medical Journals also have their own thesauri.
      Use the thesaurus in any database to find the subject terms that particular database uses      to describe what you're looking for.

TIP: For more detailed help with searching for articles in Library databases,
click the red buttons on the RH side of the Nursing & Health Sciences page
(or use these links):
*Help Finding Full Text Articles
*Journal Article FAQ
*Find a Specific Article.    

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Find Books and Theses

·         FIND BOOKS: Use the Library online catalog (click the “Find Books” button on the
     Library home page ) to find books at the CSUDH Library.

§         Looking for a specific book?  search by last name of author and /or words in title.

If you're NOT looking for a specific book, here are a few suggested Library of Congress subject headings to search:

Care of the sick -- Decision making    Medical care -- Cross-cultural studies
Community Health Nursing                 Nursing-Planning
Evidence-based medicine                    Nursing-Research-Methodology
Family Nursing                                  Pediatric Nursing
Health Promotion                               Public Health Nursing
Health Education                               Urban Health

§ TO FIND THESES written by CSUDH students, click here.

·         FIND BOOKS AT OTHER LIBRARIES:  Use the CSUDH Library online catalog (click
     "Library Catalog" on the Library home page)  and click the gray “Find Books at Other Libraries” tab
     on the right side of the screen.
   As a CSU student, you can borrow from any other CSU Library.
   If you need a CSUDH ID card to help with this process, email Carol.
   You can also borrow books from any public library near your home.

·  If you need a book or thesis owned by the CSUDH Library, but live too far from us to visit the   campus, try first to request the book on interlibrary loan from your local public library. If that   doesn't work, please e-mail Carol with information about the book you need, and we'll arrange to   get it to you.

·   Always check with a Reference Librarian if you don't find what you need!

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Step Four: CITE WHAT YOU USE:

Citations at the end of your paper should be carefully formatted so others can find the journal articles and books you used. The most common style used for citing references in nursing is APA (American Psychological Association) style:

• APA Style.org has free online excerpts from the newest (5^th) edition of the
  APA Style Manual.
• Purdue University Online Writing offers a page with instructions for citing
  most types of resources in APA format.
  
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NEED INSPIRATION TO GET STARTED ON YOUR RESEARCH?

Take a look at this recent journal article to see how your research activities can enhance your professional practice! (if you are off campus when you click on this title, you will probably be asked for your last name and your 14 digit barcode ID number)

The naked researcher: Stripping research down to its bare essentials
Judith Tanner. The Journal of Perioperative Practice. Harrogate: Aug 2006. Vol. 16, Iss. 8; p. 394 (6 pages)

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Prepared by: E. Carol Dales     cdales@csudh.edu

Library Distance Learning Instruction & Services Coordinator                                                      

California State University, Dominguez Hills / University Library, LIB B-218     Ph: 310-243-2088

800 East Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747                                              Last revised August 6, 2007