Looking for the highest quality of evidence?
Use filters in the advanced search in CINAHL Complete to limit your results to specific research and evidence-based methods.
a. Peer-Reviewed: Journal articles that have been reviewed by experts on the topic and revised based on feedback.
b. Evidence-Based Practice: A subset of journals known to publish evidence-based research studies and reviews.
c. Randomized Controlled Trial: Experiment where individuals are randomly assigned to an experimental or control group to test the value or efficiency of a treatment or intervention
d. First Author is a Nurse: If this limiter is applied, then you will only retrieve records where it is confirmed that the first author of an article is a nurse, according to credentials noted in the article.
e. Publication Type: Broad categories for research studies and other sources. (e.g. case study, clinical trial, systematic review, meta analysis).
Features found in the abstract view of an article:
1. Major Subjects - subject headings are applied to each article and link to other relevant articles.
2. Cited References - links to sources cited in the original article that could be relevant.
3. Tool Bar - use the tool bar to save, print, email, and generate an APA citation for the article.
The CINAHL® Subject Headings is a controlled vocabulary collection that assists in more effectively searching the database. Articles in CINAHL are tagged with terms, but you can search for terms and add them to your search.
1. Go to CINAHL Subject Headings.
2. Add terms related to your topic.
3. Browse for terms. The official term might be different than what you initially thought to search!
4. Check the box next to a terms you want to add.
5. Include all or select specific subheadings for an aspect of a term, like history or psychological factors.
6. You can also browse for and add additional terms. The builder will remember the ones you've already selected.
7. Search Database.
