Nurs303: Finding Health Information Online

Publication Types

Journal literature allows for access to more current information than books. There are many journal article types.
Popular periodicals vs Scholarly journals communication: Popular communication informs and entertains the general public. Ex: Time. Scholarly communication disseminates research and academic discussion among professionals within disciplines. Ex: AJN: American Journal of Nursing
Research articles are journal articles that describe individual research studies. Well designed research studies provide the foundation for evidence-based practice. Example: Newton, 2006.
Peer-reviewed articles are evaluated by other researchers and experts in the field before being accepted for publication. Peer review generally indicates a higher level of credibility or validity to the article.
Review articles are journal articles that summarize a number of studies on the same topic. Example: Connor-Ballard, 2009.

Core textbooks summarize current standards of care, based on the experiences of expert clinicians and the results of research studies.
Textbooks are concise and easy to scan for relevant information, but ...
Textbooks are expensive and take several years to publish, so information in them may be incomplete or inaccurate if new knowledge has been developed, which is especially likely regarding therapies.
Locate books using:
- HealthLinks: Ebooks: Browse and search for full-text electronic textbooks on health-related topics.
- UpToDate
- UW Libraries Catalog for print textbooks.

PubMed | Search Tips
Hint: Use Limits to refine your search. Can select from: Type of Article (such as Review, Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial, Practice Guideline); Human; Languages (English); Dates (published in last 10 years); Subsets (Nursing Journals); Tag Terms (Title); and more.
CINAHL Plus | Search Tips
Hint: In Limit your Results, can choose a variety of options: Research Article; Publication Types (Review, Clinical Trial, Research, Systematic Review, Practice Guidelines); Journal Subsets (Nursing or Core Nursing); Published Date; Peer Reviewed; and more.

The Web is a good place to find information generated by sources such as: professional associations, government agencies, or educational institutions.
It is important to remember that information on the Web is essentially unregulated.
Google
Advanced Google

Limit search to:
- File type, i.e. PDF, PowerPoint
- Date
- Occurrences, i.e., in title
- Domain, i.e., .edu, .gov, .com

Search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
Find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, universities, etc. as well as scholarly articles available on the Web.
Access to full text only available with subscription.
Now links to full text articles the UW subscribes to (Select UW Libraries from the Scholar Preferences link. Enter Washington in the search box, select UW from the list, and save preferences).
Caution: Not a reliable sole source for searching scholarly literature.

Evaluation Strategies: Web sites should be evaluated similarly to print resources.

Evaluate using the Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites checklist [pdf].
Determine the type of site by analyzing Web Site Addresses. The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) includes the name of the host computer, which can indicate the purpose of the Web site.

APA Style Guide. HealthLinks guide to the most frequently used citation types, such as journal articles, books, and Web sites.
APA Style Guide to Electronic Resources [pdf]. Examples of electronic references from the American Psychological Association.

Janet G. Schnall, MS,AHIP
schnall@u.washington.edu

Joanne Rich, MLIS,BS(Pharm)
jrich@u.washington.edu

Last updated: April 13, 2009