Getting Started
Before you can begin a search, you need to think about your assignment and your research topic. First, answer these questions about your assignment:
1. What type of research assignment is it?
2. How many pages are required?
3. What type of sources are required?
4. Are topic suggestions supplied by your instructor?
Now, within the context of your assignment, you need to brainstorm a topic. This is a great time to use Google or Wikipedia. If you only have a broad topic in mind, such as “diabetes” you will quickly become overwhelmed in your research. Such a broad topic is not appropriate for a 5-page paper. You want to develop a topic that is narrow enough to give you direction and boundaries, but broad enough that you can find appropriate sources.
The goal of your brainstorming session is to develop a research statement or question to guide you through the research process.
As you search for topic ideas, you can use some of these tools:
Listing
List can be a great way to simultaneously narrow a broad topic and create potential keywords for searching.
For example, start with a basic or broad topic: nurse burnout. Then jot down everything that pops into your head (or catches your eye online) about burnout, stress, retention versus attrition, etc.
You can also create a list of opposites. This is a great strategy for argumentative essays, as you will need to explore multiple viewpoint
Nurse Burnout |
Stress Anxiety Compassion fatigue Staff shortages Shift work Trauma Self-care Support Mental health |
Mindmapping
Another popular form of brainstorming is mapping. Start with your general topic in the center. Then, as you begin to brainstorm, branch off into different clusters or subtopics. There are many free mapping tools online, or you can use paper and pencil.
How can you prevent nurse burnout?
Too broad. Open-ended questions can be a good start for brainstorming. Googling this question will take you down many paths, but most notably you'll need to answer this: Who is doing the prevention - the employer or the nurse? That will dictate the methods of prevention, such as lowering staff levels (employer) versus using meditation (nurse).
Yikes! But the good news is, in asking these questions, you may have stumbled onto your focused topic! You might consider comparing two different approaches to coping with stress, perhaps group support versus individual self-care, or physical activity versus meditation. Comparing interventions can give you focus.
For nurses experiencing signs of burnout, which is more effective at improving stress levels: spiritual or mindfulness coping strategies or physical recreational activities?
Note: Your initial search question does not need to be this complex at the start. It may also change as you learn more about your topic.
Now that you have a research topic, you’re ready to create your search terms! You might be tempted to type your research question into a database -
STOP!!
Databases use keywords and subject terms to find articles. Phrases and sentences will not yield relevant results. Instead, focus on the the most important words in your research statement.
For nurses experiencing signs of burnout, which is more effective at improving stress levels: spiritual or mindfulness coping strategies or physical recreational activities?
Next, you will need to find synonyms (similar terms). Because some people say “soda” and others say “pop,” your first choice of keywords may not yield the best results. Grab your thesaurus or Google and start jotting down terms in groups. Consult a medical thesaurus to learn the language of your profession. If you are writing an argumentative essay, you should also create an “opposing” side or antonyms.
nurse nursing healthcare workers |
burnout compassion fatigue work-related chronic stress |
coping strategies self-care |
spirituality mindfulness meditation self-talk journaling |
physical activity recreational activity hobbies exercise dance yoga walking / hiking |
Here are some additional non-NMC videos.
National Library of Medicine
You have an assignment, topic, and keywords. Now what?
Your first urge may be to simply Google your topic. While this a good tool for brainstorming and gathering some general background information, Google may not have the appropriate resources. Ask yourself, What type of information do I need, and how do I get it?
Information Need | Source Type | Where to Get It |
---|---|---|
Background |
Books Encyclopedias |
Library catalog Encyclopedia websites |
Current |
Newspapers Magazines Trade journals Scholarly journals |
Library databases Websites (news, magazines, etc.) |
Research & Scholarly | Scholarly journals |
Library databases Google scholar (may not have full-text) |
Statistics |
Government sites Scholarly journals Industry reports |
Websites Library databases |
Periodicals can include newspapers, magazines, trade journals, and scholarly journals. Each type of publication serves a purpose and audience. Generally, you will want to use scholarly journals/peer-reviewed articles for your research papers, but magazines (trade or popular) may provide inspiration or examples to illustrate a point. For instance, you might use an article from Women's Health to demonstrate the information patients are reading regarding nutrition and weight loss and how it may be misinterpreted.
Popular | Trade | Scholarly | |
---|---|---|---|
Appearance | Glossy pages, lots of ads, illustrations | Glossy pages, illustrations, ads targeted to specific industry interests | Plain cover and paper, black and white graphics (rarely color), few to no ads |
Audience | General public | Professionals, members of a particular industry | Researchers, professionals, educators |
Content | News, general interest, personalities, entertainment | Industry trends and news, advice and techniques | Research studies, methodologies, theories, literature reviews |
Authority | Articles written by staff writers, rarely in-depth, few to no references | Articles written by staff and freelance authors; few to no references |
Articles written by researchers and field experts. Bibliographies contain extensive, scholarly references |
Accountability | Editorial review | Editorial review | Peer-reviewed/refereed by other experts in the field |
Example Covers & Titles |
Cosmopolitan Newsweek Entertainment Weekly |
Psychology Today PC World American Libraries |
Journal of the American Medical Association Applied Radiology |
Example Articles | "Ditch dieting, get healthy" - Shape |
"Obesity Therapy: Reason for dieting affects dieting behavior" - Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week |
"Environmental and genetic pathways between early pubertal timing and dieting in adolescence: distinguishing between objective and subjective timing" - Psychological Medicine |
Peer Reviewed
Peer-reviewed articles go through a rigorous validation process prior to publication. An article is submitted to a journal, it is reviewed by a panel of experts in that subject area to evaluate the research methods, results, and conclusions. This is why researchers (and your instructors) prefer peer-reviewed articles for research. Your instructors want you to find and use the best.
It also introduces you to the conversations in your field of study. Scholarly articles allow researchers to discuss their findings and anticipate and seek out new discoveries.
Empirical Studies
Use these guidelines to determine if an article is an empirical study.
Is it a research study?
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Currency - the timeliness of the information
Another thing to consider - does the website's copyright date match the content's currency? Or is it just a standard range?
Relevance - The importance of the information for your needs
Authority - The source of the information
Note - to help answer Authority and Purpose questions, check out a website's About page
Accuracy - The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content
Purpose - The reason the information exists
Note - to help answer Authority and Purpose questions, check out a website's About page.
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Schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with a librarian
Call 402.354.7251 or Email library@methodistcollege.edu