Guide Feedback
Did you find what you were looking for? Submit a Guide Feedback form to let us know what you liked or didn't like about this guide!
What's in this Guide
This guide is intended to help you with your research in Nursing. On this page, you'll find a few suggestions for searching for nursing articles and tools for understanding evidence-based practice, point-of-care reference, and peer-reviewed articles. These will help you with the basics of healthcare research. On the left, you can use the tabs to navigate to specific topics in nursing to find book suggestions or web resources. You'll also find tips for PICO assignments, nursing videos, and tools for citing and writing. This guide is updated continuously, so be sure to check back for more resources. For any questions, don't hesitate to contact your subject librarian.
Jump to a topic below:
Databases & Peer-Reviewed Research
Nursing students at Augsburg are required to use peer-reviewed articles in their research. What does "peer review" mean?
The peer-review process refers to scholars in the field examining research articles prior to their publication in a journal. This process helps add credibility and validity to research published in those journals. Watch the 3-minute video below from Deakin Library for an animated explanation of the peer-review process.
Databases are a great starting point for finding peer-reviewed articles. Most of the journals available through these databases are peer-reviewed, but you can filter results to only include peer-reviewed articles or look up the specific journal title's publication process to be sure. The following databases are recommended for nursing:
- CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
CINAHL, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, offers full-text articles in fields such as nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and other allied health disciplines.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowComprises over 26 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. Produced by the (US) National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine.
- Access Medicine This link opens in a new window
AccessMedicine from McGraw-Hill Medical is a comprehensive online medical resource that provides a complete spectrum of knowledge from the best minds in medicine. AccessMedicine is guided by a preeminent Advisory Board that includes the medical field’s top academic experts.
Websites
In addition to databases, reliable websites can be helpful resources as you conduct your research. The following websites are good sources for health care information.
- Minnesota Department of HealthFind Minnesota-specific public health information and reports about diseases and conditions, minority and multicultural health, policy, and more.
- Health, United StatesHealth, United States is an annual report on the health status of the nation. It contains detailed tables and charts on health status and its detriments, birth and death rates, life expectancy, health care resources, and much more. The site includes the report from 1975-Present.
- Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)An easy-to-use site containing information and statistic on many issues in the field of Community Health. Find your topic in the A-Z list at the top of the page. Their WONDER site is an easy-to-use system for finding statistics.
- EthnoMedProvides information for health care providers working with immigrant and refugee populations. Search by clinical topics or by culture to learn about medical and cultural norms in those groups.
2025 Update
Beginning in January 2025, previously available federal information has been removed from government websites, including the CDC and Office of Minority Health.
Information and datasets can be found through the Internet Archive or other web resources.
Check our Preserving Open Data Guide for more information..
Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-based practice refers to the act of providing care based on the most recent research and knowledge, rather than relying on traditional methods or personal opinions. When using evidence-based practice, clinical decisions are made based on three factors:
- Research evidence
- Clinical experience
- Patient preference
The pyramid of evidence displays different types of studies or information. The quality or strength of the evidence increases from the bottom to the top of the pyramid.
CFCF, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Point-of-Care Reference
- UpToDate This link opens in a new windowUpToDate is a clinical decision support resource. You must register for an account the first time you use it.
Want to take UpToDate on the go?
The UpToDate® Mobile App offers:
- Voice Search: Use your voice to conduct a search.
- Persistent Login: Log in once — the app saves your credentials.
- CME/CE/CPD: Earn and redeem credits anytime, anywhere.
- Drug Interactions: Analyze drug-drug, herb-drug, and herb-herb interactions.
- Bookmarks and Search History: Easily locate previously viewed topics.