Nursing Discussion: Database Search, Strategies, and Nursing Research

This discussion board assignment focuses on effective database search strategies within the field of nursing. The student's initial post highlights the use of the CINAHL database, discussing the challenges faced, such as irrelevant search results, and the use of synonyms and Boolean operators to refine searches. The student emphasizes the database's usefulness and recommends it for its access to diverse journals. Subsequent posts provide responses to classmates, offering suggestions for using Walden University Library, Google Scholar, PubMed, and CINAHL, and emphasizing the importance of peer-reviewed journals and research in nursing. The responses also offer advice on using Boolean operators and alternative databases. The assignment showcases the importance of database searching for nursing research and the value of peer-reviewed journals.

Initial post
With rampant technological advancements, several youths tend to spend most of their
time on the internet. This is disastrous because studies note that it contributes to mental
disorders (Young, K. (2017). This is the reason why this area excites me so much. The
database used to search for the article was Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health
Literature (CINAHL). Studies note that this is the largest database with over 5000 journals
(Bramer, Rethlefsen, Kleijnen, & Franco, 2017). While using the database, I experienced
different difficulties. First of all, there were more irrelevant results and I had to use
synonyms. Studies note that using synonyms is likely to yield more relevant articles (Hopia
& Heikkilä, 2019). Besides, I had to use the Boolean operator to refine the search results.
Despite the few difficulties, this database would be ideal and useful to my colleagues
and I would still recommend the database to anyone interested in searching for literature
material. It is because the database provides free access to diverse journals and it is also
essential for reviews on qualitative studies in nursing (Rogers, Bethel, & Abbott, 2017). It
also provides more results and easy to use unlike other databases.
References
Bramer, W. M., Rethlefsen, M. L., Kleijnen, J., & Franco, O. H. (2017). Optimal
database combinations for literature searches in systematic reviews: a prospective
exploratory study. Systematic Reviews, 6(1). doi:10.1186/s13643-017-0644-y
Hopia, H., & Heikkilä, J. (2019). Nursing research priorities based on CINAHL database:
A scoping review. Nursing Open. doi:10.1002/nop2.428
Rogers, M., Bethel, A., & Abbott, R. (2017). Locating qualitative studies in dementia on
MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO: A comparison of search
strategies. Research Synthesis Methods, 9(4), 579-586. doi:10.1002/jrsm.1280

Young, K. (2017). The Evolution of Internet Addiction Disorder. Internet Addiction, 3-
18. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_1
Response to first post
In the nursing profession, one of the basic things is research. Research relies on use of
effective databases such as Walden Library, Google scholar, PubMed and Medline. In your
post, you have explained how you utilized the Walden University Library database
(Academicguides.waldenu.edu,2020). From experience, it is a reliable database because there
is a collection of different journals that are peer reviewed. However, this database does not
have as much articles or journals like Google Scholar and CINAHL. Furthermore, most of the
journals available are only in Abstracts. I would therefore advise that incase you need more
journals; you can utilize the CINAHL database. It is an easier to use database and it has over
5000 peer reviewed articles (Glanville, Dooley, Wisniewski, Foxlee, & Noel-Storr, 2019).
However, you will be expected to learn how to use the Boolean operator in order to improve
the search strategy.
References
Academicguides.waldenu.edu. (2020). Databases A-Z. [online] Available at:
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/az.php [Accessed 27 Jan. 2020].
Glanville, J., Dooley, G., Wisniewski, S., Foxlee, R., & Noel-Storr, A. (2019).
Development of a search filter to identify reports of controlled clinical trials
within CINAHL Plus. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(1), 73-90.
doi:10.1111/hir.12251

Response to second post.
It is good you utilized the Walden Library as the database to get your article or
journal. The Walden Library is a reliable database. It contains several articles from different
nursing fields. However, this database is restricted to Walden University students. It is
therefore necessary that you learn how to use other reliable databases like google scholar,
PubMed and CINAHL (Headings, C. I. N. A. H. L, 2018).
Personally, I find CINAHL as an ideal database since it contains more research
articles as compared to Walden University library. Furthermore, you can utilize the Boolean
operator to tailor your search so that you end up with relevant or specific article (Brown,
2018). As a nurse, research is imperative. It is therefore important that we all get acquainted
with relevant databases.
References
Headings, C. I. N. A. H. L. (2018). The Cinahl Database.
Brown, R. E. (2018). Database Searching Tips.