This exercise is designed for:
Second Year Physical Therapy Students
It will cover four types of research tools:
How to get there:
1. From the NOVA Libraries site, click on Books & More (middle of the page).
Things to know about the catalog:
Subject (LC Subject) Searching: This is the most precise kind of search. It is based on specific words that have been assigned to topics by librarians. Do this search when you have a general topic and you know (or can easily guess) the subject heading.
Example: the official subject heading for "heart attack" is Myocardial Infarction.
Keyword (Anywhere) Searching: Do this kind of search when you don't know the specific words that have been assigned to your topic, or when you want to search a combination of topics.
Take your research question and break it down into the most important words and phrases, and use AND in between.
Example #1:
Research Question: How many books/DVDs do the NOVA libraries have on physical therapy?
Hint: Physical therapy is a general topic. Try a Subject (LC) search.
Your search can be: physical therapy
Example #2:
Research Question: How many books/DVDs do the NOVA libraries have on stroke rehabilitation?
Hint: Now you are combining topics: stroke and rehabilitation. Try a Keywords (Anywhere) search.
Your search can be: stroke AND rehabilitation
The NOVA libraries subscribe to a number of e-book (electronic books) collections, several of which support nursing.
How to get there:
You should see a menu that looks like this:
Things to know about eBooks:
R2 Library, Net Library, and Stat!Ref have over 700 core titles in nursing and allied health. See also Gale Virtual Reference Library for medical encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Database to try:
Health Reference Center Academic
How to get there:
Do a search!
1. Be sure to select Home at the top of the screen(see picture).
2. In the search box, type physical therapy AND pain control.
Note that you can limit your results to full-text (complete) articles, peer-reviewed journal articles, documents with images, etc.
3. Click on SEARCH.
4. You should get a set of results that looks something like this:
Note that while the first two articles are not available in full-text, the third is. See "How do I find the Full-Text of an article?" (below) for instructions on how to locate the full-text.
To print, email, or save articles, or to get assistance with creating a citation for an article you have on the screen, use the Tools box that appears
next to the article:
Database to try:
CINAHL
How to get there:
Do a search!
1. Let's say you're interested in finding articles from peer-reviewed journals on the therapeutic uses of animals. First, scroll down to Search Options and place a checkmark next to Peer Reviewed on the right-hand side. This will ensure that all of your results come from peer-reviewed publications.
2.. Go back to the search box at the top of the screen and type animal assisted therapy in the search box.
3. To locate the official subject heading for animal assisted therapy, place a check in the box next to Suggest Subject Terms (see picture below).
4. Click on Search.
CINAHL will show you a screen that looks like this:
5. Pet Therapy looks like the heading we want. Place a checkmark next to Pet Therapy.
After you've selected a subject heading, a subheading menu opens to the right, along with the Search Database button (see picture below). If you wish, you can choose to search for subheadings of Pet Therapy. If you don't choose any, you will search for all information on Pet Therapy.
6. Click the green Search Database. CINAHL will perform a search for you using the offical subject heading of Pet Therapy, plus any subheadings you have selected.
You should get a list of results that looks similar to this one:
For information on locating the full-text of an article, see previous instructions.
7. To change any of your search options/limitations, choose Show More (Options Set) on the left.
Database to try:
MEDLINE(PubMed)
How to get there:
Do a search!
Remember how we searched for (and found!) the official subject heading for animal therapy in CINAHL? MEDLINE (PubMed) has a similar tool called the MeSH Database. MeSH stands for Medical Subject Headings. You can use the MeSH Database to look up the official Medical Subject Heading for your topics.
1. To enter the MeSH Database, either select MeSH from the drop-down menu at the top of the page or click on MeSH Database (under More Resources on the right-hand side).
2. Let's say you want information on alternative medicine. Once in the MeSH Database, type alternative medicine into the search box and click Go:
You should get something that looks like this. The MeSH Database is telling you that the official Medical Subject Heading for "alternative medicine" is Complementary Therapies.
3. To search for articles on Complementary Therapies, place a checkmark in the box next to the term, then use the drop-down menu at the top to select Send To Search Box with AND (see picture below).
4. Your subject heading will appear in the search box. Next, click Search PubMed :
You should get a list of results that looks similar to this one:
Medline (PubMed) does not have a large percentage of full-text articles, but it is still a very useful finding tool. To locate the full-text of an article, use previous instructions.
