University Assignment: Database Search for Clinical Question Evidence

This assignment focuses on a structured database search to locate relevant literature supporting a clinical question. It involves identifying keywords, search terms, and comparing two databases: CINAHL and PubMed. The student demonstrates the search process, including Boolean operators, limiters, and the use of search history. The assignment highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each database, ultimately choosing CINAHL for its focused results and user-friendly interface. The student references relevant sources to support their findings, providing a comprehensive analysis of the database search process for clinical evidence.

Databases for
Clinical
Question
Name of Student
Name of University
Authors Note

Cumulative Index of
Nursing and Allied
Health Literature.
CINAHL can be used
because it is a good
source of primary studies
that provide qualitative
data (Wright, Golder &
Lewis-Light, 2015).
PubMed can be used
because it has a huge
array of journals and
papers.
It is easily accessible
and can help in nurses
extract necessary useful
information for
informed practice.
Research
Question: In
adult male shift
workers is a
ketogenic diet
better than a
calorie
restriction diet
for long term
weight loss?
CINAHL PubMed
Male Workers
OR Adult Male
AND Ketogenic
diet OR Calorie
Restriction AND
Weight loss
Male Workers
OR Adult Male
AND Ketogenic
diet OR Calorie
Restriction AND
Weight loss
Open Access,
Last 5 Years
Open Access,
Last 5 Years
313 Results 258 Results
• CINAHL has been chosen because
it is the largest database that
provides nursing related journals. It
has over 1,300 journals indexed.
• CINAHL requires a subscription to
access the database and the journals
are free for those who have a
subscription (Wright, Golder
& Lewis-Light, 2015).
• Disadvantage: Many papers are
citation or abstract only
(Limitations of Search Databases,
2020)
• PubMed has been chosen because
it is, and primarily accesses the
MEDLINE database and others.
• PubMed is one of the most easy to
access, and user-friendly places to
search for necessary papers and
studies (Williamson & Minter,
2019).
• Disadvantage: It can return many
irrelevant results unless advanced
search is used. It is sometimes
ambiguous (Pylarinou, Kapidakis
& Ligoudistianos, 2019)
CINAHL has been finally chosen from both the options due to –
1. The results are always targeted and focused on the keywords.
2. It is relatively user-friendly and many limiters can be used.
3. The search returned more open access results than PubMed.
4. The journals are free to access on subscription.
5. It provides good quality Systematic Reviews as well. (Wright, Golder &
Lewis-Light, 2015)

Reference
Limitations of Search Databases. (2020). [PDF]. Retrieved 24 March 2020, from
https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/neru/documents/limitationsofsearchdatabases.pdf.
Pylarinou, S., Kapidakis, S., & Ligoudistianos, S. (2019). Extracting Useful Information from
MEDLINE/PubMed. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 19(1), 66-73.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15323269.2019.1580113
Williamson, P. O., & Minter, C. (2019). Exploring PubMed as a reliable resource for scholarly
communications services. Journal of the Medical Library Association :
JMLA, 107(1), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.433
Wright, K., Golder, S., & Lewis-Light, K. (2015). What value is the CINAHL database when
searching for systematic reviews of qualitative studies?. Systematic reviews, 4(1), 104.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0069-4