This guide provides pointers for getting started with your research. It includes links to key library subscription resources, including article databases, journals, and books, as well as open web content. If you would like additional help with your research projects, or with learning how to use library resources, don't hesitate to contact the library.
About Tests and Measures:
Tests and measures are used in nursing for assessment and research.
Types of Tests Measures Include:
- Questionnaires
- Scales
- Surveys
- Psychological tests
Published vs. Unpublished Explained:
- Copies of unpublished test and measures can at times be found within articles, databases, and the open web. In many cases, the author must be contacted directly.
- Copies of published (commercially available) tests and measures are purchased from publishers, but can be identified within articles, databases, and the open web.
Key Resource - eBook:
Measurement in Nursing and Health Research, Fourth Edition by Carolyn Waltz (Editor); Ora Lea Strickland (Editor); Elizabeth Lenz (Editor). Publication Date: 2016-07-28.
"This highly popular resource written in an easy-to-read style and format-- delivers everything nurses and other health researchers need to know about designing, testing, selecting, and evaluating instruments and methods for measurement in nursing."
Tests and Measures Databases and Sources for Nursing:
CINAHL Complete (If you are off campus you will need to enter a username and password. Contact Library staff for current login information.)
An EBSCO suite database, a comprehensive source for nursing and allied health literature.
MEDLINE (If you are off campus you will need to enter a username and password. Contact Library staff for current login information.) provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 5,400 current biomedical journals.
CINAHL Databases - Advanced Searching Tutorial:
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI):
An EBSCO suite database, from the Behavioral Measurement Database Services, is a comprehensive bibliographic database providing information about behavioral measurement instruments. CPTC journal holdings are not indicated.
Additional Databases:
- ETS Test Collection
A database of more than 25,000 published (commercially available) and unpublished tests. Abstract and availability information freely provided. Purchasing options available for some published tests. - CMS Measure Inventory Tool (CMIT)
The repository of record for information about the measures which CMS uses to promote healthcare quality and quality improvement. From The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
How to Find Tests and Measures in the CPTC Library:
- Identifying a test and locating a copy, are often two different steps.
- Use a literature database like CINAHL to identify a test.
- If a copy of the test isn't available in the literature database, try using ETS Test Collection or Tests in Print identify its source.
- Reviews of tests might be found in literature databases, but can also be found in Tests in Print and purchased for a fee.
- Tests and measures are also called instruments.
Statistics in Nursing
Health statistics are used to measure the health of a population or community.
Finding and Using Health Statistics | National Library of Medicine
This course describes the range of available health statistics, identifies their sources and helps you understand how to use information about their structure as you search.
International Data & Statistics:
- Health, Nutrition and Population Data and Statistics
The World Bank’s comprehensive database of Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) statistics. - World Health Organization | Global Health Observatory (GHO) data
International health statistics from the World Health Organization.
U.S. Data & Statistics:
- Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality: Data & Statistics | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Offers the, "Latest statistical portraits of how health care is delivered in the United States." - America's Health Rankings
An annual benchmark report providing a comprehensive state-by-state study of our nation’s health. - County Health Rankings and Roadmaps | Robert Woods Johnson Foundation
"The County Health Rankings measure the health of nearly all counties in the nation and rank them within states." - Data.Medicare.gov
"This site provides direct access to the official data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that are used on the Medicare.gov Compare Websites and Directories. The goal of the site is to make these CMS data readily available in open, accessible, and machine-readable formats. " - FastStats | Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance, organized alphabetically. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data. - HealthData.gov
Makes available HHS data from CMS, CDC, FDA, NIH and other sources. Includes clinical care provider quality information, nationwide health service provider directories, databases of the latest medical and scientific knowledge, consumer product data, community health performance information, and government spending data. - Healthy People
Establishes health benchmarks and monitors progress within the United States. - National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
Key statistics on Veteran population and VA programs.
Clinical Resources
Drug Information
- Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses by April Vallerand, Cynthia Sanoski, and Judith Hopfer Deglin
If you are off campus you will need to enter a username and password. Contact Library staff for current login information. - Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (Orange Book)
Identifies drug products approved on the basis of safety and effectiveness by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) and related patent and exclusivity information. - DailyMed
Contains over 80,000 drug listings as submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At the present time, this Website does not contain a complete listing of labels for approved prescription drugs. - Drug Information Portal
Information available for over 60,000 drugs. - LactMed
The LactMed® database contains information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. - LiverTox
LIVERTOX® provides up-to-date, accurate, and easily accessed information on the diagnosis, cause, frequency, patterns, and management of liver injury attributable to prescription and nonprescription medications, herbals and dietary supplements. LIVERTOX also includes a case registry that will enable scientific analysis and better characterization of the clinical patterns of liver injury. - MedlinePlus
Learn about prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Includes side effects, dosage, and special precautions. - ToxLine
Indexes journal articles biochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals, from the National Library of Medicine.
Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests
Lab Tests Online is an award-winning health information web resource designed to help patients and caregivers understand the many lab tests that are a vital part of medical care. The site is produced by AACC, a not-for-profit organization; proceeds from health-related advertising help support the website's mission.
Practice Guidelines: Databases & Collections
- ECRI Guidelines Trust https://www.ecri.org/solutions/ecri-guidelines-trust
An open access database for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, from multiple organizations. Replaces AHRQ’s defunded National Guideline Clearinghouse. Registration required. - VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines https://www.healthquality.va.gov/index.asp
The guidelines on this site are those endorsed by VHA's National Clinical Practice Guidelines Council.
Finding Practice Guidelines within Other Databases
- CINAHL Complete
An EBSCO suite database, a comprehensive source for nursing and allied health literature. CINAHL Tip: Limit results to the publication type, "Clinical Guidelines”. - PubMed
From the National Library of Medicine, comprises more than 19 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations include links to open access content from PubMed Central. PubMed Tip: Limit results to the publication type, "Guidelines."
Patient Education
- HealthFinder
Consumer health information. - MedlinePlus
Health information for consumers. - The Merk Manual
Find information on medical topics, symptoms, drugs, procedures, news and more, written in everyday language. - Health Reach
Offers easy access to quality health information in many languages that healthcare providers can share with LEP (Limited English Proficiency) individuals. HealthReach is also an important resource for health professionals and public health administrators seeking best practices and population-specific tools, such as cultural backgrounders and tips for effective use of interpreters.
Evidence-Based Practice
"Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a problem-solving approach to the delivery of health care that integrates the best evidence from studies and patient care data with clinician expertise and patient preferences and values."
-AJN 2010. Evidence-Based Practice, Step by Step.
Searching for Evidence using PICO
PICO is a search strategy acronym used to formulating a strong clinical question. It can guide your search for evidence in the biomedical literature. Use a PICO worksheet to:
- Organize your question into concepts
- List potential search terms and searching methods, with examples
- Create an effective search strategy
CINAHL and PubMed are good starting databases for applying PICO to a clinical query search. The databases are available from the homepage of the library. If full text of the article isn’t available directly through the database, contact the librarians for further assistance.
Evidence-Based Practice Tutorials:
- Evidence-Based Practice: An Interprofessional Tutorial | University of Minnesota
An interactive tutorial that includes the five steps of evidence-based practice and how to use PICO. - Evidence-Based Practice, Step by Step | American Journal of Nursing
The purpose of this series is to give nurses the knowledge and skills they need to implement EBP consistently, one step at a time. Articles appeared every two months to allow time for staff to incorporate information as they worked toward implementing EBP at their institutions.
Search Tips Using PICO for CINAHL:
Search Strategy Help:
- Step 1 Enter keywords, they represent the concepts of your search topic. Use "and" and "or" to connect concepts.
- Step 2 Check the "apply related words" checkbox, to search on subject terms related to the keywords entered in the search box.
- Step 3 Select needed limits. Consider, "full text" and "peer reviewed."
- Step 4 Click search.
- Step 5 Review your results and revise as needed.
Tips:
- Using the "full text" limit will remove articles that may be essential in clinical queries.
- Removing limits broaden a search. Adding limits narrows a search.
- Use the "AND" and "OR" options to nest concepts as needed.
- Use the search history link to keep track of previous searches.
- Consider using the "suggest subject terms" checkbox, when you're having trouble finding what you need, and when comprehensive searching of a topic is needed.
Intro: PubMed, which encompasses MEDLINE, is the key biomedical literature database from the National Library of Medicine. It is an open access database. Use PubMed's limits and MESH terms for the best searching results.
Step 1
Enter keywords, the represent the concepts of your search topic. Be as specific as possible.
Step 2
Select needed limits. Include date and availability.
Step 3
Click search.
Step 4
Review your results. Check journal availability in the library's "Find a Journal" database.
Additional tips:
- Using the full text limit removes articles that may be essential in clinical queries.
- Use the "Find a Journal" database to see if the library offers the needed journal in full text.
- Use interlibrary loan for articles the library doesn't offer in full text. Don't pay to view articles.
- Removing limits broaden a search. Adding limits narrows a search.
- Check the "Titles with your Search Terms" box for related articles.