Nurse Anesthesia (Doctoral)

Quick ways to find a "citation" for a reference -- in APA, AMA, MLA style:

1. Paste article title in OneSearch – click on the “quotation marks”
2. Paste article title into Google Scholar -- click on Cite
3. Send citation from database to RefWorks
4. Databases often have a "cite" feature -- look for it -- EBSCO and ProQuest vendors do

As you start a research project ---

1. Think about how you will name the documents -- including the publication year and/author might be helpful.

2. Whether you use a citation manager (RefWorks or Zotero) or not it is best practice to save the full-text document on your own computer in a folder so you always have it.

3. Bookmarking --- the library home page, the program resource guide and anything else you use frequently can save you time.

4. As you actually search -- having the important tools open in different tabs can help navigate to the material needed quickly.

For example: Have the library home page, RefWorks, 1 or 2 databases open, and Google Scholar.

PubMed:

1. Linking to PubMed via the library page will show AHU icon if school subscribes
2. Steps to exporting to RefWorks on RefWorks Guide
3. Using Advanced search allows more focused searching
4. Using MESH (medical subject headings) helps focus searching.

Database Features:

1. Most databases have some type of citation assistance – citing in APA, AMA etc.
2. Most databases have a way to group and save articles together.
3. Don’t forget to use limiters – clinical trial, quantitative, full-text, years etc.
4. Most databases have a search by subject option.
5. Keyword vs. Subject searching gives different results.

Searching Tips:

1. Make a list of search terms – brain storm synonyms; the databases will offer subject terms
2. Subject searching and keyword searching IS different. Subject searching is more focused. Using MESH subject headings can help focus.
3. For a thorough search you will need to use more than one source or database.
4. PubMed is a good database and worth the time to learn. Accessing via the Library Databases links what AHU subscribes to show in PubMed.
5. Google Scholar is also a good tool to use, but it is NOT the only place to go.
6. There is no one perfect tool to cite, we all still must know the rules for the citation style you are using – APA, AMA, MLA etc. There are many tools that help save time with citations, but you must still look the citations over for accuracy.