CINAHL Tutorial - Text Version

This tutorial will give an overview of the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, more commonly known as CINAHL. However, please note that there are several other research tools that may be helpful in finding information about the topic you are researching. I encourage you to explore other options if necessary to obtain the best resources for your assignment.

The library offers a large number of research databases along with our online catalog (Figure 1). We have over 40 different databases in various subject areas. Click on “Research Databases” to see the full list of databases available organized by subject.

These databases provide access to journal articles, book sections, and other digital texts that may not be available via a search engine or free website. The library pays for access to these materials to support you in your academic research. Therefore, you will be prompted to login when accessing these databases from off-campus. Visit the "Accessing the College Network" page for more details.

Today we will focus on CINAHL. This database is located in the Health section of this page. This database provides access to periodicals, books, continuing education units (CEUs), evidence-based care sheets, quick lessons, research instruments, and search strategies. Figure 2 provides brief descriptions of each publication type.

This database defaults to a keyword search; however, you can search this database a number of different ways by selecting another search type in the green navigation bar at the top of the page.

Today we will conduct a keyword search for “handwashing”. Please note that you can limit your search to a particular year range or to only full text-items (Figure 3).

On the results page please note the tabs above the search results for refining your search and/or viewing your search history. Below this you will see the items that result from your search. In this case, the search results total 2411. Just below this, you will see the publication types represented in your results list. In our search we have periodicals, books, CEUs, and evidence-based care sheets. On the left navigation bar below the heading “Narrow Your Search Results by Subject” you will see a list of subjects represented in your search results. If you would like to narrow your search to one of these subject areas within your original search topic click on the appropriate subject heading. (Figure 4)

You can see that on results screen an item’s brief display displays the title, author, publisher, publication year and either a link to the full-text or an icon. (Figure 4) In some records, if the full-text is available you may also have a link in the full detail display of the record. Let’s view the full-text of one of these items.

I will click on the evidence-based care sheets. One item appears in the results display. Now I will click the full-text link. The full-text of the item appears. At this point you can save the file to portable storage device or your H drive, print, and in some documents you have the option to email. (Figure 5)