Have you ever searched Google only to be overwhelmed or disappointed by the results? Health information found online may not be fact- or evidence-based. There's a lot more to nursing research than Googling!
This guide will help you improve your nursing research skills by helping you:
If your research is taking you into unfamiliar territory (it usually does), one of the best ways to gain a working knowledge of your topic is to check out introductory articles and chapters of reference sources, like special encyclopedias and handbooks. Check out the Reference Tools tab for a selection of our print and online reference sources for nursing.
One of the keys to effective database searching is to ask focused, specific questions. You also need to choose your search terms carefully, and combine them in ways that give you control over your search results. The PICO model, described below, provides a framework for constructing questions and search strategies for clinical research questions.
