Subject Guides: Nursing: NURBN 1001 a running start

Your most important "getting started" links

Contact the Library

(Librarians love questions!)

Face-to-face hours

Online chat

Telephone

Ask the Library (online form)

FAQs (frequently updated)

QuickSearch

(Like Google for Library resources)

Find ebooks (⅓ of our collection), journal articles, streaming video, physical items on our shelves, and more! Also includes a feature that does part of your referencing for you.

eBooks guide

(How to find and use our eBooks)

About a third of our collection, available 24 hours, every day. Also, how to cite and reference them.

FedCite

(APA referencing guide)

Lots of examples, instructions, and tips on APA citing and referencing. To get started, click where it says APA 6th ed.

CINAHL

(Search only the nursing journals!)

Oh, and some allied health stuff. But mainly nursing!
Also includes a feature to do part of your referencing for you.

Library 101 guide

(Getting started with the Library!)

Common things students want to know or do.

Search Builder

Building a database search strategy

~~What is your quest?~~ What is your research question?
Research question:

Type your research question into the box above, then click the Next button (below).

Continue reading these instructions (they change on each step) and clicking the button to progress to each new step.

Concept 1

Concept 2

Concept 3

Exclude this concept

Ready-to-use search strategies

Search strategy for Scopus:

Search strategy for other databases:

Copy and paste the search strategy into Scopus or your preferred database

Although rewritten from scratch, this search builder owes a huge debt of thanks to Ray White of UWA Library for his presentation to the online SpringyCamp Australia 2017.

When was this source published?

How old are the references and data used?

Has this source, or its data, been updated?

Does this type of information get updated?

Is there likely to be more recent information available elsewhere?

Is this information relevant to your assignment? Is there likely to be better information?

Is this aimed at the correct audience?

Is it for nurses and nursing students, and/or other health professionals?
Has it been simplified for patients or their relatives, or the general public, without a health sciences background?
Is it too highly technical, using language and knowledge aimed at very specific readers (such as researchers in genetics)?

Who wrote it? What are their qualifications?

Where do they work? Who do they work for?

Are they likely to have a good understanding of this field?

Do they know about variations in cases, complications, side effects, alternatives?

Is the information reliable?

Can you find the original source?

What is the quality of the presentation? Are there significant errors?

Do the conclusions match the data?

Have all sides been considered?

Why has the article been written?

Is there any obvious bias? Is the author or their employer likely to get a benefit out of the recommendations?

Is it recommending a particular course of action or therapy? Do the data support this? Are any alternatives considered?

CRAAP game

Useful Word tips for referencing

If you are using a Mac, you will usually have to use the Command or Apple key instead of Ctrl.

Only in Word

Ctrl+T - formats the selected paragraphs (or references) with hanging indents

Sorting by A-Z - Word has a feature to sort selected lines or paragraphs (or references) alphabetically. Select your references, and click the A-Z button on the Home tab.

Note: if you don't select your references first, all the paragraphs in your essay will be sorted alphabetically - this is a bad thing, select your references first.

screenshot of Word, indicating locatrion of A-Z sorting icon or button

Changing case - Word has a feature (look for the Aa button) to change case, so you can quickly change it to correct sentence case. (Hint: Ctrl+click will select a whole sentence, which often is enough to select a book or journal article title)

Sentence case is what you want, but sometimes going straight to sentence case doesn't work in Word - if this happens, select your article or book title, first change it to lowercase, then change it to sentence case.

You may also need to manually edit it afterwards to start a sub-title with a capital letter.

screenshot from Word, indicating location of icon to change to sentence case

Use them everywhere

Remember, as it mentions above, if you have a Mac then use Cmmd instead of Ctrl

Ctrl+A - select All

Ctrl+C - Copy

Ctrl+X - cut (think of X = )

Ctrl+V - paste (think of V = put it here)

For easier selecting : Put your cursor where you want to start selecting, then hold down Shift and use the arrow keys on the keyboard to "drag out" the area of selection.