Finding Nursing Journals

The screenshots below are taken from the EBSCO database Health Source: Nursing/Academic. The interface and functionality are identical in Academic Search Premier and CINAHL, other high-quality scholarly databases housing many nursing articles (PLEASE NOTE THAT CINAHL ONLY OFFERS 2% OF ITS ARTICLES IN FULL TEXT). When conducting scholarly searches in EBSCO databases, be sure to do the following:

1. Tick the checkbox for Peer Reviewed (Image 1). This will eliminate general interest periodicals like Time and People from your search. While this is helpful, you still need to assure that any returned articles meet your instructor's criteria (publication date, length, topic, etc...).

2. You should also use the date limiters shown in Image 1. Typically scholarly nursing assignments require articles no older than 5 years old, but please consult your specific instructions or contact your instructor if you are not sure of the age requirements.

3. Image 2 shows what a general keyword search for "medication errors" returns. Keyword searches only return results containing a given keyword somewhere within the article or bibliographic description. Subject heading searches, however, return results about a specific subject. Luckily, subject headings are available on EBSCO search results screen. They are located under the "Refine Results" heading highlighted in Image 2.

4. Once we add the subject heading "medication errors," we are left with only 115 results. All are published within the last 5 years, are peer-reviewed, and are specifically about the topic of medication errors. This is how you should be searching for scholarly articles for your assignments! Using the date, peer reviewed, and subject heading limiters can immediately narrow down your results list to a more manageable and helpful set. If you encounter any difficulties, contact your nursing library liaison at rkrzanowski@carrollcc.edu or 410-386-8337. Please see the ProQuest databases tab to learn how to search those databases and the E-Journal Finder tab to learn how to immediately determine if CCC holds a journal title.