Doing some preparation before you begin your search can set you up for success. To get ready to search, you need to develop an appropriate and useful search topic, determine what types of materials you need, and choose the right databases to search.
This module can help you prepare to search for resources. Explore each of the submodules to discover strategies for developing a topic, choosing the right materials, and selecting the right databases. You will learn how to do the following:
Before searching for information, you'll need to have a topic, whether it has been assigned to you or you've developed it on your own. To focus on the most relevant information, it's helpful to put your topic in the form of a question (we sometimes call this a research question). In this module, you'll discover how to choose a topic for your assignment and turn that topic into a specific question.
Take a look at your assignment. Does it provide you with topic options, or can you select your own?
Do some background searching, and identify a topic angle. Keep in mind: if you are getting too many results, your topic may be too broad. If you are not getting enough results, your topic may be too narrow.
Putting your topic in the form of a question will help you pinpoint the specific aspect of the topic you’re most interested in.
PICO is great for quantitative clinical topics. Concept mapping is good for qualitative or non-clinical topics.
When you develop your topic, you don’t have to come up with the perfect topic all at once. There is a process that you can follow to refine your topic to be specific and relevant. This will ultimately help you when you search as you will have a clearer idea of what you are looking for. Explore the tabs in this box to discover the following steps in the process for developing your topic:
Although finding a good topic may initially feel like looking for a needle in a haystack, choosing a general topic is the first step. To select a topic, start by thinking about aspects of your field or discipline that might be interesting to pursue, such as 'science education' or 'diabetes treatment.' Do some background reading to understand more about the topic.
You can use Wikipedia to get a general orientation to a subject you want to investigate further, but do not use it as a source in your final paper, as it is editable by the public. You can try a test search of your library’s resources to see what kind of results you get. If the topic is too general, you may need to narrow it down; if it is too specific, you may need to expand your search.
The following strategies can help you choose a topic:
It's a good idea to avoid subjects that are too personal or emotional, as these can interfere with an unbiased approach to the research; however, it's also important to make sure you have more than a passing interest in the topic. You will be with this topic for an extended period, and it won't be easy to stick with it even under the best circumstances.
Once you have decided on a topic, take that idea and think about it as a question. What do you want to know about the topic? Putting your topic in the form of a question will help you pinpoint the specific aspect of the topic you’re most interested in. You may want to write out a few questions and then choose the one that is most relevant to what you have in mind.
Once you have an initial question, you will want to do a review of the existing literature to see what resources on your topic or question already exist. Based on what you find, you may decide to alter your question in some way before going too far along a path that perhaps has already been well-covered by other scholars.
In the next tabs, you will discover two strategies (PICO and concept mapping) that you can use to refine your question even further. This will help you ensure you have a useful question that will guide your search. Decide which method to use by considering the following information:
If you’re not sure, try PICO first, and if you find the PICO questions don’t fit with your topic, then try concept mapping instead.
PICO is a technique that you can use to formulate and refine your questions. Watch the video and read the information below to learn more about PICO.
PICO stands for (P)Patient, population, or problem, (I) Intervention or exposure, (C) Comparison, and (O) Outcome. To use PICO, answer questions about each of these elements. Formulating an answerable question using the PICO model could look something like this:
Here are some examples of how the PICO method is used to refine a topic:
Not all topics will work with all PICO categories, so don’t worry if you can’t match the model exactly.
Sometimes it can be helpful to add an additional element to PICO. When you include the Timeframe of the topic, this is called PICO(T). When you add the timeframe as an additional element, you have to ask, “over what period of time?” The examples below show how this technique can be applied in different situations.
In [P]______, do/does [I] ______ result in [O] _______ when compared with [C] ______ over [T] _______?
E.g. In nursing home residents with osteoporosis, do hip protectors result in fewer injuries from slips, trips, and falls when compared with standard osteoporosis drug therapy over the course of their stay?
Are [P] ______ with [I] ______ over [T] ________ more likely to [O] _______ when compared with [C] ______?
E.g. Are female non-smokers with daily exposure to second-hand smoke over a period of ten years or greater more likely to develop breast cancer when compared with female non-smokers without daily exposure to second-hand smoke?
Is/are [I] ______ performed on [P] ______ more effective than [C] ______ over [T] _______in [O] _______?
E.g. Are self-reporting interviews and parent reports performed on children aged 5-10 more effective than parent reports alone over a four-week consultation process in diagnosing depression?
In [P] ______, do/does [I] ______ result in [O] _______ when compared with [C] ______ over [T] _______?
E.g. In emergency room visitors, do hand sanitizing stations result in fewer in-hospital infections when compared with no hand sanitizing stations over a year-long pilot period?
Do/does [I] ______ performed on [P] ______ lead to [O]______ over [T] _______compared with [C] _______?
E.g. Do regular text message reminders performed on patients recently diagnosed with diabetes lead to a lower occurrence of forgotten insulin doses over the first six months of treatment compared with no reminders?
A concept map or mind map is a technique where you connect your topic to related words. It may help you analyze your question and determine more precisely what you want to search. Watch the video to see a basic demonstration of this technique, and read the instructions below for more information.
Here’s how to create a concept map of your topic:
This mapping technique aims to improve the depth and clarity of your question. Like the other methods of question refining, its purpose is to help you organize, prioritize, and integrate material into a workable research area, one that is interesting, answerable, realistic in terms of resource availability and time management, objective, scholarly, original, and clear.
Before starting your search, it’s essential to know what types of resources you need. Double-check your assignment to identify which types of resources your instructor has asked you to use. Some of your assignments will leave this choice up to you, while others will require specific types of resources. This module introduces you to some of the types of resources you may need to use. It also explains the difference between quantitative and qualitative studies so that you can identify what type of study a source is.
If you’re not sure what types of resources to look for, check your assignment outline or ask your instructor.
Resources that are peer-reviewed have gone through a special process to make sure the information is high quality.
Filtering is an evaluation that happens to an original unfiltered article that has already been published. Filtered information has been evaluated for quality by someone not involved with the original research and may make recommendations for clinical practice (e.g. systematic reviews). Unfiltered information is original research, whether or not it is peer reviewed (e.g. research articles).
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) means using the best evidence to make decisions about patient care. Some of your assignments may require you to evaluate the information you find using the hierarchy of evidence, which will help you identify the “best” evidence.
There are many different types of resources that you can find during your search. The types of sources you use will depend partially on your topic and the requirements of your assignment.
Explore the tabs in this box to discover information about the following:
Information comes in many different formats. Some types of resources are academic, while others are popular and informal. Understanding the various types of content available to you will make it easier to plan your research. Click below to learn more about the various types of information sources.
From an information perspective, print and ebooks are the same. The main difference between them is access. Print books are physical items, whereas ebooks are digital files that can be accessed from a variety of devices.
Book publication can take a long time. First, the author researches the topic, then they write a draft. The unpublished manuscript is then sent to a publisher to be edited, rewritten, and finally ... published.
This can be a lengthy process and explains why even if a book is released less than a year ago, it likely doesn’t contain up-to-the minute information.
Why use books/ebooks?
Books provide overviews, background, history and introductions as well as in-depth examinations of topics. They are useful when you are looking for in-depth information on a topic, or background overview of a subject area.
When researching a topic for your academic work, you may be asked to find “scholarly” / “academic” / “research” / “peer reviewed” journal articles.
These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but not all articles are peer reviewed, and there are slight differences between these categories.
The main thing to note is that all of these types of articles are found in journals (as opposed to magazines, newspapers, or books).
Journals can be found through your library’s databases or sometimes on the web (if the journal is “open access” - meaning there is no pay wall before you read the articles).
Some journals (categorized as “peer reviewed journals”) specifically publish articles that have been peer reviewed. In order for an article to be published in a peer reviewed journal, it has to go through a formal submission process which includes a peer review stage where experts ensure the accuracy, originality, significance, and other characteristics of the research before it is accepted for publication. These articles are highly regarded because the findings and results have been reviewed by experts in the field. Therefore, peer reviewed articles are viewed as credible and authoritative.
In a research article a researcher, or group of researchers, present findings of their research. These articles can also be considered academic and scholarly, and they may be peer-reviewed.
The terms academic and scholarly journal articles are used interchangeably, and can also sometimes be peer reviewed research articles, but can also be opinion pieces or book reviews if they are published in peer reviewed journals. When you search for a journal article, make sure to look at the title and content. If your instructor wants you to find a full-length research article, you don’t want to choose an opinion piece or book review.
Trade magazines or trade journals publish articles aimed at people working in a particular field. The content focuses on information about working in the profession, trends, and news related to that field or trade, rather than academic research.
Consider this type of source to be more practical than the more theoretical and philosophical academic journals.
Popular magazines publish articles that typically focus on information from pop culture. Articles are usually short, with a casual tone, and often have images embedded throughout.
In comparison, scholarly articles are long, black and white, and have statistical tables and graphs included as part of the research. Academic papers also have a long list of references available at the end of the paper.
While popular magazine articles are informative, and often mention academic research, they may not be the best choice to include as part of academic research. However, you may be able to track down the original study that the popular article mentions and use that as one of your sources.
Open access journals are online academic publications, made available to readers without subscription fees, free of charge. Traditional publishers (e.g. Sage, Oxford University Press) also make some of their content available through open access.
Open access articles can be found through Google, Google Scholar, or any other search engine, as well as through the college library.
When using open access literature for academic work, make sure to evaluate the content critically.
Grey literature refers to materials published non-commercially. These materials can be made available by the government, academia, non-for-profit, business and trade organizations, in print and digital formats. Examples of grey literature include:
It is sometimes more current than published research, and it is a great way to supplement your research, providing your project with a full picture viewpoint. You can find grey literature online, by searching Google (or another search engine), and/or Google Scholar.
There are different types of research studies that examine information in different ways. The different types of studies fall into two categories:
Below are some of the most common types of research studies in each category; keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list. Most of the study types below are typically published in scholarly journals, but some are also published in non-journal databases such as the Cochrane Library.
A meta-analysis involves combining the results of multiple studies using statistical methods. It is often, but not always, part of a systematic review.
A systematic review is a review of the evidence on a specific research question that uses a systematic methodology. It is similar to a literature review, but it goes more in-depth and aims to consider all the existing literature on a research question. It should address a specific, answerable question. It may or may not include a meta-analysis.
A scoping review is similar to a systematic review, but it aims to address broader and often exploratory research questions. Scoping reviews are often conducted to identify gaps in the literature.
A randomized controlled trial is an experiment comparing two or more interventions. Participants must be randomly assigned to the intervention groups, one of which is the control group, which does not receive an active intervention. If neither the participants nor the researchers know which group each participant is assigned to, this is called a “double-blind” RCT; this is considered the gold standard.
A cohort study follows one or more groups of research participants, known as cohorts, over time. These studies can take months, years, or decades to complete. The participants in each cohort are similar to each other in some way (e.g., age, occupation, socioeconomic status). At various points in time, the researchers will measure the impact of an external factor. This type of study is observational, unlike a randomized controlled trial, where the researchers control the intervention. Cohort studies are often used to identify risk factors for diseases.
A case-control study compares a group of people who have a disease (the cases) with a similar group of people who do not have the disease (the controls). The researchers will look for historical factors to help explain why the cases have the disease. This type of study is especially useful when studying rare diseases since it allows researchers to start by identifying affected individuals and then matching them with controls.
Many important documents are produced by associations and regulatory colleges, such as the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO). These documents are considered grey literature. They are not peer-reviewed, but they have been produced by experts in the field and are considered essential forms of knowledge. They are typically freely available on the organization’s website.
While scholarly journal articles may contain information about specific drugs, they typically don’t include extensive details. Instead, detailed drug information is available in specialized databases, where you can search for a drug and find information about things like:
When you find health sciences articles that report original research studies, this research tends to be empirical, meaning it’s based on observation or experience. Empirical research can be divided into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. Most topics fit better with one or the other.
Once you know what type of material you need, you can determine what interface to use to find this material. This module explains three types of search interfaces (databases, discovery layers, and search engines) and helps you determine which database(s) or tool to use to find the type of material you need.
It may be a database, a discovery layer, or a search engine like Google.
A specific database is the best place to look for some types of resources, such as scholarly articles, whereas a discovery layer or Google Scholar are preferable for other types of resources.
You can find journal articles in a discovery layer, but going to a specific database will give you more powerful search options.
Choosing a search interface will depend on your topic and the type of material you’re looking for. Explore the tabs in this box to see some of the most common databases and other search interfaces that you may have access to through our library or that are available on the web. There are many excellent databases not listed here, so please consult our A-Z list for more options. The search interfaces are categorized by the following types of material you can find in them:
Below are some of the most common databases that are recommended for finding journal articles, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and narrative reviews.
PubMed is a very large database, containing more than 32 million citations and abstracts, all focused on the health sciences. It is also a free database, meaning that even when you are no longer a student, you will still be able to access it. PubMed contains many open access articles, which anyone can access for free, in addition to journals your library may provide access to. PubMed is an excellent source for all health-related topics; however, if you find your search returns too many results not directly relevant to Nursing, you may want to try a more specialized database, such as CINAHL.
Visit the PubMed website.
Finding as many health sciences articles as possible
The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), is a large database that focuses on topics related to Nursing and Allied Health. It provides access to hundreds of journals, many of which are peer-reviewed. A search in CINAHL will typically return fewer results than a similar search in PubMed, but the results will likely be more relevant; although there is a great deal of overlap, CINAHL contains some material not in PubMed.
CINAHL is available in our A-Z list.
Finding articles that are specific to nursing and allied health
The Cochrane Library is an excellent source for systematic reviews on all health sciences topics. Please note that Cochrane contains other types of materials as well, including trials; if you are looking for systematic reviews, you should focus on the results labelled Cochrane Reviews. A search in Cochrane will almost always return fewer results than the same search in PubMed or CINAHL, but if you are looking for systematic reviews, Cochrane is the best place to search.
A link to Cochrane is available in our A-Z list for reference purposes and to view their freely available content, but SLC does not have full access to this site.
Finding systematic reviews
Google Scholar is another information source for scholarly materials, especially journal articles. If you want to conduct a broad search that covers various subject areas, Google Scholar may be a good choice; however, it has significant limitations. First of all, it covers a broad range of subjects, so your search results will likely include materials not related to the health sciences. Second, it does not have as many advanced search options as databases like PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane, so you may not be able to focus your search as well (this is particularly challenging when you consider that a Google Scholar search may return millions of results).
Visit scholar.google.com
Finding as many articles as possible, across a range of subject areas.
Finding PDFs.
You can typically find the most detailed drug information in a specialized database. Your institution’s library may provide access to additional drug information databases beyond the ones listed here, so please consult your librarian. Here are two of the most commonly used databases for drug information.
Grey literature is typically not included in library databases or discovery layers, so you will have to search the web using a search engine such as Google. Here are some tips for finding grey literature:
If you are looking for grey literature published by a particular organization, you may want to go directly to their website. For example, you could go straight to the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) Access Data and Reports page.
Keep in mind that grey literature is not peer-reviewed, nor is it considered a “scholarly” source. If your professor asks you to find six peer-reviewed articles for your literature review, grey literature would not count towards the six articles; however, high-quality grey literature would usually be acceptable to include as additional sources. If you’re not sure, check with your professor.
Documents such as Practice Standards and Practice Guidelines from regulatory bodies such as CNO and RNAO are considered grey literature. These documents have been written by experts in the field, and they are considered an essential form of evidence. They are freely available on the organization’s website. Here are some examples:
When you search for material, there are three main ways that you can search: in a database, through a discovery layer, or through a search engine.
Read more about these three choices below.
Databases are searchable collections of resources on a variety of subjects. Databases are subscription-based; college libraries pay the subscription fees so that you, as a student, can access the information.
Libraries buy database subscriptions from vendors, like EBSCO, ProQuest, Gale, and Ovid, to name a few. You can think of vendors like cable company providers: Bells, Rogers, Shaw - and their content packages. We sometimes use the term platform when referring to a vendor’s search interface.
You can find the following types of material in a database:
A discovery layer is a multidisciplinary search tool. Discovery layers are like search engines (think: Google) for library content.
Using your library’s discovery layer, you will be able to find the following types of material:
Note on magazine articles: a discovery layer is usually the best place to search for articles from trade magazines and popular magazines. Although these may also be available in specific databases, some databases are limited to scholarly journal articles.
There are some differences to searching with a discovery layer instead of in a database:
If you are looking for physical library resources such as books, or e-content such as ebooks and streaming videos, the discovery layer is an excellent tool. If you are looking for journal articles, you can always start with the discovery layer, but you will likely need to move to a database to use the more powerful search interface.
A search engine, such as Google (or Google Scholar), is an interface for searching the web. You probably use search engines in your everyday life. Although Google should not be your only tool for finding information for your course assignments, it is a good choice for some types of materials.
Search engines are a good place to search for the following types of information: