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NURS 3305 - Nursing Informatics

General Hints

When searching the article databases:

  • Focus on major concepts, which are single words or short phrases that are generally no longer than three or four words.
  • Leave off short words, such as a, an, the, on, of, off, that do not add meaning.
  • Avoid entering your entire question or part of your question (word for word) as your search. This confuses the database.
  • Combine your major concepts with the search operator AND.

EXAMPLE:

Research Question:

Does stress play a role in postpartum depression?

Major concept #1:

stress

Major concept #2:

postpartum depression

Search strategy:

stress

AND postpartum depression

Truncation

For search terms that may have alternate endings, such as obstetric or obstetrics, consider using truncation.

As shown in the examples below, include an asterisk after the root word. There is no space between the root word and the asterisk. Hold down the Shift and 8 keys together on your keyboard for the asterisk. 

EXAMPLES:

Obstetric* will find the words obstetric, obstetrics, or obstetrical. [Note that there is no space between the c and the asterisk.]

Birth* will find the words birth, births, birthed, or birthing.

Synonyms / Alternate Search Terms

Keep in mind that authors may refer to the same concept using different terms. When searching, be sure to consider synonyms or alternate terms for concepts.

EXAMPLES:

For labor or delivery, also consider: childbirth, birth, obstetric.

For bearing down, also consider: pushing.

For complementary therapies or alternative therapies, also consider: hypnosis, homeopathy, or other names of therapies. Also, consider why these therapies are used: stress, relaxation.

Some terms have alternate spellings, so keep this in mind. If you were searching for articles on preeclampsia, you might also try pre eclampsia. Similarly, for water birth, you might also try waterbirth.

If you are searching for articles that discuss the use of a specific drug, also consider the generic name. Also, consider the type/class of medication. For example, Cytotec is a brand name medication and the generic is misoprostol. This medication is a prostaglandin.