Nursing Guide

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Nursing Research Video Tutorial
Research Process | Indexes & Abstracts | Reference Works | Super Search | Internet Resources

Suggested Research Process
Use the following steps to completely utilize all major nursing resources in the Salmon Library.
1. Select topic; understand guidelines or parameters set by the instructor.
2. Consult appropriate reference materials for a definition or background information.
3. Check iLink, the on-line catalog to locate books in the UAH Library. On the home page select Books - E-Books to reach the catalog. Most of the library materials in the areas of nursing, and other related areas will have call numbers beginning with the letter R.
4. Check appropriate indexes for peer-reviewed articles, copy or print citations.
5. Determine if the Salmon Library has the periodical by using the Journals link from the library’s home page to search; check the Medical Library of the UAB School of Medicine library journal list (Huntsville Regional Medical Campus) and WorldCat database which contains more than 35 million records describing items owed by U.S. libraries and libraries around the world; each record contains library holdings.
6. Locate articles or materials available at the Salmon Library, Medical Library of the UAB School of Medicine (Huntsville Regional Medical Campus) or Alabama A&M.
7. Request materials not available locally through interlibrary loan. Allows at least 10 days minimum for books/articles.
8. Check for U.S. Government Documents materials through the appropriate indexes.*
9. Please ask for assistance at the reference desk! * = additional information available at reference desk

Indexes and Abstracts
Journals are an important source of current information in the rapidly changing area of the health sciences. The latest developments in research and clinical practice are reported first in the thousands of health sciences journals published each year. Indexes and abstracts are valuable aids in pinpointing specific articles on particular topics. Below are the major indexes and abstracts of interest to nursing students.

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health) 1982-
R RT41 .C857 Extensive coverage of the nursing literature and selective coverage for allied health. Indexes journals, ANA and NLN publications, nursing dissertations, standards of practice, practice acts, books and book chapters, patient education pamphlet material, audiovisuals, software, research instruments, and critical paths. Highly recommended for its comprehensiveness and strong use of nursing terminology. Available online with some full text articles.

MEDLINE 1966- Online Compiled by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), this is the primary index for biomedical journals and the clinical information found in them. Indexes approximately 3,600 international titles. Coverage includes the nursing journals indexed by the International Nursing Index, a product of the American Journal of Nursing Company in cooperation with NLM.

NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES: A SAGE FULL-TEXT COLLECTION
Nursing & Health Sciences: A SAGE Full-Text Collection includes the full text of 25 journals published by SAGE and participating societies, some journals going back 23 years, encompassing over 7,000 articles. It covers such subjects as nursing, social studies of health, nursing research, health services & administration, community / public health nursing, qualitative research, cultural studies, child psychiatry, transcultural psychiatry, adult health nursing, public health, public policy & public administration, health psychology, aging and gerontology, health communication, family studies, physiology, physical medicine & rehabilitation, pediatrics, holistic nursing, nursing theory, pediatric nursing, autism, mental disorders & learning disability, health education & health promotion, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, psychopathology, health evaluation, research methods & evaluation, dementia, and sociology of the family. Every bibliographic record in the Collection links to the appropriate full-text in PDF format.

SCIENCE DIRECT A source for scientific, technical, medical and business research that offers access to more than 1,100 journals across 16 fields of science, including the social sciences.

HEALTH SOURCE PLUS
This index includes full-text for over 255 journals as well as 425 general health care publications and 25 reference books from Advice for the Patient, and thousands of essays from Clinical Reference Systems.

To supplement the primary nursing indexes, you may find the following databases relevant to your research. You may want to check other indexes in psychology, social science, or biology depending on your topic.

PSYCINFO
(was Psychological Abstracts)
Online Covers psychological literature published in journals and selected books. Includes an abstract of article. Available as PsycInfo through the library's home page (on campus) at (http://lib.uah.edu/index.html)

SOCIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS
Online Electronic version of Sociological Abstracts. Provides citations and abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, conference papers, and other materials in sociology and related disciplines. Available under Cambridge Scientific Abstracts on the library reference workstations. http://lib.uah.edu/index.html. See also the Social Sciences Index (REF H1 .S64)

WEB OF SCIENCE
This database from Thomson Scientific is the online version of Science Citation Index, Social Science Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. It is an invaluable tool for citation searching (following research through the years) and determining who is citing your work. Provides seamless access to current and retrospective multi disciplinary information from approximately 8,700 of the most prestigious, high impact research, peer-reviewed journals in the world. Current access goes back to 2003.

MARCIVE
Online Index to government documents from 1976+. May be searched by subject. Available through the reference workstations and on the library's home page under "Gov. Info."

 

SELECTED REFERENCE WORKS

Diagnosis and Treatment.

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, REF RC55.M4
Standard reference with diagnosis and current therapy in concise format.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) REF HL455.2 .C4 D54
Classification guide for mental disorders.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary,
REF R121 .M89
Includes nursing and allied health as well as medical terms with many illustrations and helpful appendices.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia & Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Allied Health, REF R121 .M65
Presents detailed descriptions, heavily illustrated with numerous appendices.

Encyclopedia of Human Biology REF QP11 .E53
Multi-volume set with subject index and a section on how to use the encyclopedia..

Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary REF R121 .T18
For the nursing student with 24 appendices and nursing diagnoses diagnostic divisions..

Drugs

Physician's Desk Reference REF RS75 .P5
Contains information on FDA approved drugs, indexed by name of manufacturer, product name or product category.

Drug Facts and Comparisons (REF RS 250 .F332)
Organized by therapeutic drug classes to facilitate comparisons among drugs..

Statistics

Health United States REF RA407.3.U57a 1994
Produced by the Dept. of Health and Human Services

Mental Health United States DOCS HE20.8137:
Produced by the Dept. of Health and Human Services

MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Periodicals)

Alabama Health Statistics (various books) REF HA 221.
Includes mortality and natality statistics and statistics by county.

Vital Statistics of the United States REF HA202 .A22

Other

Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (REF R733 .A46)
Presents information about alternative methods for the maintenance of good health and the treatment of illness.

Annual Review of Nursing Research (RT81.5 .A55, Loc: N3)
Research reviewed by persons knowledgeable in field. Indexed in CINAHL

Gray's Anatomy (REF QM23.2 .G73)
Standard reference for anatomical study

Merck Gerontology Manual (REF RC952.55 .M47)
Provides information of clinical relevance to the care of elderly patients..

Principles of Health Care Ethics (REF R724 .P69 1994)
Papers written by health care workers on a wide variety of topics..

Cecil's Essentials of Medicine (REF RC 46 .C42)
Guide to internal medicine, including biologic basis of disease processes, clinical characteristics of diseases, and diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Guide to Clinical Preventive Services (REF RA 427.2 .U24)
Guide to effectiveness of screening tests for detection of disease, immunizations, and counseling for risk reduction. Produced by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (REF RJ 401 .A43)
Information on common and unusual infectious diseases affecting children.

Measurements for Long-Term Care (REF RT120 .L64 B4 1998)
Lists instruments such as scales and surveys. Includes descriptions & properties of each instrument.

SUPER SEARCH
Searches up to 15 different databases and hundreds of online resources from the UAH Library at one time with just one search. As a federated search feature, it provides the user with one interface which serves as a bridge to all the other available information sources (magazine/journal databases, library catalogs, encyclopedias, etc.)

Selected Internet Nursing Related Sites

Health & Nutrition | Medicine | Nursing | Testing

Health and Nutrition

      Information about the disease, programs, services and advocacy efforts.

      This site is dedicated to helping persons who face cancer. Supports research, patients services and early detection.

      Discusses a healthy lifestyle with emphasis on lowfat and low calorie food choices. Any calorie conscious person can tabulate their daily caloric intake at this site.

      Information on heart disease, stroke and prevention are available at this site. A risk assessment quiz is at the site to alert you to any high risk factors in your lifestyle. It also provides a resource guide to Nutrition, exercise and other Websites about stroke and heart disease.

      Health news, chats and advice from CNN.

      Activities aimed at increasing awareness of the 5 A-Day campaign. Separate sections target children, teachers and adults with information pertaining to fruits and vegetables. Includes games and quizzes as a way to improve knowledge of the Food Guide Pyramid.

      Searchable database of reviewed and non-reviewed Internet resources relating to health, as well as links to specific area such as alternative medicine, consumer information, drug use, dental health, fitness, organizations, nursing, pharmacy, women's health, and more.

      The purpose of this site is to support the AMA's ongoing mission to promote art and science of medicine for the betterment of public health by providing timely information on matters important to the health of America.

      Government source for consumer health information.

      HON's mission is to guide lay persons or non-medical users and medical practitioners to useful and reliable online medical and health information.

      Clinical experts provide current medical information and news on health topics.

      Health information from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine.

      NCADI is the world's largest resource for current information and materials concerning substance abuse.

      Discusses what comprises a healthy lifestyle. Emphasis is on lowfat and low calorie eating plans. Can calculate the calories in the foods you have eaten.

      Frequently updated portal for healthcare, chat forums, health quizzes, news and consumer product updates.

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Medicine

      This sites details about AMA's work which includes the development and promotion of standards in medical practice, research, and education; strong advocacy agenda on behalf of patients and physicians; and the commitment to providing timely information on matters important to the health of America.

      This searchable site provides health information that is government sponsored. It has links to the National Center for Health Statistics and various topics such as women's health.

      Electronic drug reference and drug therapy management site. Provides full monographs for the most common and classic drugs in clinical use.

      Directory for healthcare consumers and professionals.

      Provide access by subject to evaluated Internet health information.

      Information on diseases and disorders.

      Dedicated to collecting hospital Websites. Their goal is to provide "a simple and globally accessible way for patients, medical researchers, and physicians to get information on any hospital in the world."

      Free encyclopedia of mental health information created by a Canadian psychiatrist, Dr. Philip Long.

      To promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of the public health.

      Search and view full-text articles from the current editions of over 20 medical journals, or select only articles on themes such as AIDS, Cancer, diabetes, immunology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, medical economics, and women's health which appear in the journals.

      Resources collected by the William H. Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins.

      Find health reports, resources, organization information, and news. It also highlights important health news and emergencies throughout the world.

      Directory of medical sites maintained by Yahoo

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Nursing

      Provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; cost, use, and access. Information from AHRQ's research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

      Includes international nursing resources arranged in a hierarchical structure with broad categories such as associations, boards of nursing, colleges & universities, etc.

      The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (ACCN) is the national voice for America's baccalaureate- and higher-degree nursing education programs. This site includes nursing standards, position statements, accredited schools of nursing, nursing statistics, associations and much more.

      This metasite directory provides comprehensive resource lists in health-related subjects.

      A collaborative effort of the Taubman Medical Library, the School of Nursing at The University of Michigan, and HealthWeb project. Sites are selected and evaluated by health science librarians at 22 academic medical centers in the Midwest.

      Web version of the Merck Manual with comprehensive medical information in plain text or the new interactive version. Contains information on anatomy, aging, genetics, drugs, death and dying, heart and blood vessel, lungs and airways, bone, joint, and muscle, hormones, blood, cancer, immunities, skin, infections, and much more.

      This site provides information regarding many health questions as NHIC is a health information referral service. NHIC puts health professionals and consumers who have health questions in touch with those organizations that are best able to provide answers.

      A part of NIH that supports clinical and basic nursing research aimed at establishing a scientific basis for patient care.

      Advances quality nursing education that prepares the nursing workforce to meet the needs of diverse populations in ever-changing healthcare environment.

      Is a gateway to evaluated, quality Internet resources, aimed at students, researchers, academics and practitioners in the health and medical sciences.

      To help further the knowledge and understanding of Nursing for the public, and to provide a forum for medical professionals and students to obtain and disseminate information about Nursing and medically related subjects. This Website is dedicated to the continuing education and involvement of Nursing Professionals and Allied Healthcare providers.

      Nursing Spectrum offers career resources (thousands of current jobs!), news and featured articles and education. Nursing Spectrum's self-study programs give an option to decide when and where we are ready to learn.

      This sites provides over 2300 nurse links, nurse chat rooms, discussion, bulletin boards, student nurses info and interaction, a nursing search engine, an ER, an issues section on the nursing shortage, nursing polls and much more.

      Links to health research and expert advice including most popular site listings.

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Websites with links to resources on testing instruments and surveys:

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