About CINAHL Complete: About CINAHL Complete

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Searching

SEARCHING IN CINAHL COMPLETE

• Enter your keywords into the search boxes at the top of the screen. 
• As you type, suggestions will come up. Use your own keywords or any database suggestions in your search. 
• The default Select a Field option will search all fields in records as well as the full text.  
  • Use the dropdown menu to search specific fields.  For example, you can search just by title, author, or subject headings. 
• The Limit your results section under the search boxes has available filters. 
  • Filter by Published Date. Especially useful if you see many older titles.
  • Filter by Full Text. To only see articles available in full text. 
  • Filter by Peer Reviewed. To see only peer-reviewed articles.
  • Filter by Evidence-Based Practice. To see articles about the application of Evidence-Based medicine.    

NAVIGATING RESULTS 

• Search results will look familiar, as they are similar to the ones in OCLS QUICKsearch and other EBSCO databases like Business Source Complete. 
• Results will be displayed by Relevance. You can change this to sort by Date, Author, or Title. 

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Subject Terms

KEYWORDS VS SUBJECT TERMS

Keywords

• Keywords are what you type into Google.
• They are important words or phrases that describe the key concepts of your topic.
• When you search for keywords, the database looks in any part of the article (e.g., title, abstract, author, text, etc.) for the keyword.
• Using keywords can return too many or too few results because the database is only searching for the word or phrase you typed in.
• Many times, the search results are irrelevant and not about your subject. 

 

Subject Terms

• Subject terms are words that have been given to an article and identify its subject and main topics.
• These words are pre-defined by the database.
• You must know what the Subject Term is to search for them.
• Subject Terms can be found in the databases’ Subject Terms or Thesaurus link, usually found in the top menu.
• Search results will be more relevant than a keyword search since the articles will be about your subject. 

 

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Systematic Reviews

SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

CINAHL contains many systematic reviews published in journals.

Once you have set up your search, here is how you can limit your results to only systematic reviews in CINAHL:

1. Scroll down the page below the search boxes until you find the Publication Type box.
2. In the Publication Type box, select Systematic Review by finding it in the list and clicking on it (it will then be highlighted).
    

   

3. Click on the Search button to run your search.

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Randomized Controlled Trials

RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

Randomized controlled trials are the studies commonly used to support systematic reviews and are a high level of evidence. They are usually one of the easiest study types to find in any nursing or medical database.

Once you have set up your search, here is how you can limit your results to only randomized controlled trials:

1. Scroll down the page below the search boxes until you see Randomized Controlled Trials.
2. Click in the check box below Randomized Controlled Trials.
    

   

3. Then click on the Search button to run your search. 

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Cohort Studies

COHORT STUDIES

Cohort studies are a type of longitudinal study, or observational study, that analyze risk factors by following groups that share a common characteristic or experience over time. Since these studies have a long-term component, they promote a better quality of evidence than a shorter study. There are also fewer of them, and they can be harder to find.

Here is an example of a search for a cohort study in CINAHL:

1. Set up your search. For example, in the first search box, you could enter: Neonatal
2. In the second search box, enter any additional keywords. For example, you could enter: "Infection Control" 
   1. Note: Putting quotation marks around phrases tells the database to search for these words as a phrase and not as individual words.
3. In the third search box, enter: "Cohort Study"

4. Then click on the Search button to run your search.

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Case Studies

CASE STUDIES

A case study, or case report, is a research method involving a detailed investigation of a single individual or a single organized group. Case studies may be prospective (in which criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available) or retrospective (in which criteria are established and cases are selected from historical records for inclusion in the study).

Once you have set up your search, here is how you can limit your results to only case studies:

1. Scroll down the page below the search boxes until you find the Publication Type box.
2. In the Publication Type box, select Case Study by finding it in the list and clicking on it (it will then be highlighted).

3. Click on the Search button to run your search.

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Other Filters

OTHER FILTERS

CINAHL offers a number of filters or limiters that can help you find only specific types of studies. 

Scroll down the page below the search boxes to locate these filters or limiters. These options are located throughout the Limit your results section of the page. 

Clinical Queries

This filter can be used to find articles that are clinically sound. The five options are:

1. Therapy
2. Prognosis
3. Review
4. Qualitative
5. Causation (Etiology) 

To get the most results, select all three sub-divisions: High Sensitivity, High Specificity, and Best Balance. 

Select your options by scrolling the box and clicking your choice to highlight. 

Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple options. 

Publication Types

This limiter box allows you to select specific article types. We've already shown how to use this limiter for systematic reviews and case studies; other useful publication types for evidence-based practice include Clinical Trial and Meta Analysis.

Select an option by finding it in the list and clicking on it (it will then be highlighted). 

Research Article

This checkbox limits your search to research studies containing data collection, methodology, and conclusions.

Click the check box below Research Article to select this option. 

Evidence-Based Practice

Using this limiter will limit your results to EBP research articles, including clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews, as well as articles from EBP journals and about EBP.

Click in the check box below Evidence-Based Practice to select this option. 

Note: With this limiter, you will need to evaluate your results to determine what type of evidence each article contains. 

Guide to CINAHL Complete / Tutorials

TUTORIALS