LibGuides: Physician Assistant Research Resources: Research Databases

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Accessing Resources Off Campus

OFF-CAMPUS ACCESS PROBLEMS?

If you're having problems with off-campus access to an online library resource, the most common reason is that it doesn't recognize you as an authorized user. An easy way to fix this problem is to go to the MyUrsuline webpage and log in. Then continue to use that same browser when accessing library resources.

Research Databases

Textbooks, Reference Books, and More

AccessMedicine
Includes full-text textbooks; "quick reference" components; infographics; drug information; multimedia; cases with quizzes; study tools; and patient education handouts.

EBP Resources

Cochrane Library
Provides up-to-date information and evidence to support decisions taken in health care and to inform those receiving care. Updated quarterly.
Trip Medical Database (click on PICO immediately above the search box)
A clinical search engine for finding high-quality research evidence to support practice and/or care. Describes itself as the internet’s premier source for locating evidence-based content. Online since 1997.

Other Databases

CINAHL Plus with Full Text
Core research tool for all areas of nursing and allied health literature. Provides full text for more than 770 journals, with coverage dating back to 1937.
MEDLINE with Full Text
Comprehensive index for professional medical publications. Includes full text for more than 1,470 journals.
PsycINFO
Largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health, with journal coverage, dating from the 1800s. Produced by the American Psychological Association.
PubMed
Comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Produced by the National Library of Medicine.
UpToDate
A clinical decision support tool that provides drug information (including for pediatrics), drug interaction information, patient education content, calculators for over 20 different medical areas, and downloadable graphics. Available only to PAS students and faculty.

Database Search Tips

Start with one or two keywords, then combine concepts one at a time.

Limiters and filters refine search result lists.
Add limiters (date, article type, etc.) after you're sure your keywords are productive.
Beware that sometimes limiters can eliminate potentially interesting results. This is because databases don't simply look at keywords and titles. Databases also look for your search term(s) in descriptive notes included in records.
Databases use Boolean logic, which means you can combine terms using the uppercase words AND and OR to explore the literature more strategically:
- Use Boolean operators AND and OR to combine terms (3-minute video)
- To broaden/expand results, consider synonyms. Example: heart OR coronary OR cardiac
- Databases typically assume AND between search terms if no operator is present

Use truncation (keyword plus an asterisk) to include variant endings. Example: therap* searches for therapy, therapies, therapeutic, etc.
Use quotation marks to bind keywords as a phrase. Example: "fetal alcohol syndrome"
Use a database's search history and/or advanced search features to review previous searches and combine them to build new ones.

Use a database's controlled vocabulary to refine and focus results.

The term "controlled vocabulary" refers to the specialized set of keywords that each database uses as a means for categorizing its content. Articles within a database are tagged with relevant keywords (which are clickable), thereby making it easy to find related articles.

The PubMed and MEDLINE databases both use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) as their controlled vocabulary. CINAHL's controlled vocabulary is based on MeSH, with additional specific nursing and allied health headings added as appropriate.

Here are some tutorials to help you understand how to take advantage of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH):

Using CINAHL/MeSH Subject Headings
video, 3:32 mins.
Using CINAHL/MeSH Subject Headings on EBSCOhost
PowerPoint, 15 slides
Use MeSH to Build a Better PubMed Query
video, 3:02 mins.

Find Full Text

What to Look for in Databases to Find Full Text Articles:

PDF Full Text Link.
Find It! button connects to full text where it resides in another database.

What to Do for in Databases When Full Text Isn't Available:

Don't see a PDF Full Text link or Find It! button? Or perhaps the Find iI! button didn't work properly? Try searching for the journal title in Journal Finder.
Still can't find the full-text? Submit an Article Request form. We can often provide full-text access right away. If we can't, we will request the article through interlibrary loan (ILL).