LIBRARY GUIDE TO NRS 3071 - Research Basis of Nrs Practice

Asking is fundamental to the evidence-based decision-making process.
A "well-built" question should include four parts, referred to as PICO that identify the patient problem or population (P), intervention (I), comparison (C) and outcome(s) (O).

Example: How do alternative breast cancer treatments improve the quality of life for young adult females?
P= young adult females with breast cancer 
I =  alternative therapies 
C= patients who don't use alternative therapies 
O= quality of life improvement

Suggested nursing databases with evidence-based literature:

CINAHL Complete is a comprehensive and highly-authoritative database for research in nursing and health sciences. How to Export to Refworks

Cochrane Library A collection of databases that contain evidence for healthcare decision-making. Includes systematic review abstracts, technology assessments, economic evaluations and individual clinical trials.

PubMed (MEDLINE) The National Library of Medicine's free interface for MEDLINE, the premier database for biomedical journal citations. How to export to RefWorks

View entire list of Nursing related databases
 

Handout for Finding Nursing Articles in CINAHL

In-class activity - handout
 

• Problem formulation - which topic or field is being examined and what are the component issues?
• Literature search - finding materials relevant to the subject explored
• Data evaluation - determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretations - discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

EBP Steps:

1. Problem Identification: Converting information needs into an answerable question
2. Finding the Evidence: Finding, with maximum efficiency, the best evidence with which to answer the question
3. Critique: Determining the merit, feasibility and utility of evidence
4. Summarize the Evidence: Combining findings from all evidence to make a practice recommendation
5. Application to Practice: Incorporating the recommendation into a clinical setting or organization
6. Evaluation – Determining the effective of the practice over time

• National Guideline Clearinghouse is a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.
• TRIP Database is a clinical search tool designed to allow health professionals to rapidly identify the highest quality clinical evidence for clinical practice.
• The NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries (formerly PRODIGY) are a reliable source of evidence-based information and practical 'know how' about the common conditions managed in primary care. (UK based)

This guide was originally created by Julia Rodriguez, Associate Professor at Kresge Library.

Julia Rodriguez is currently the Health Sciences and Scholarly Communications Librarian. From 2008 to 2020, her professional focus also included serving as the nursing librarian and this content is the result of that work.

Database tutorials:
CINAHL tutorials
PUBMED tutorials

EBP tutorials:
Evidence-Based Practice in the Health Sciences: EBP Nursing Tutorial (UIC)

Analyzing Sources & Literature Review tutorials:
Essential Elements of a Literature Review guide (UC Santa Cuz)
Conducting Literature Reviews - detailed guide (USC)

The OU community has free access to RefWorks, a citation management system that helps you generate a bibliography from your list of references automatically formatted in any common citation style.

Learn how to use Refworks tutorials

Citation Style Guides:

APA 7th Style Guide (by Santa Fe College Library)
Sample paper