Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.
This EbscoHost Database holds over 3,000 journals for nursing & allied health. It includes Evidence-Based Care Sheets, books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice & software. (Blazer ID & password required off campus.)
Overall, searching for articles and studies using a particular test is very easy in CINAHL. You can search by TEST NAME, TYPE and SUBJECT. Research Instruments can be searched by keywords, too; here are some examples: Research Instruments, Research Measurement, Questionnaire, Survey, Screening, Survey Research, Evaluation, Scale.
Other Search Tips:
- CINAHL is receptive to truncated searching, so try an asterisk [*] to take care of plurals and conjugations. For example: test* will search for test, tests, and testing. You will receive more results when using the *. You can easily narrow your results by using the left-side menu.
- Try using CINAHL INDEXES when you are trying to find tests. The Indexes are located under the "More" option.
- Tests and conditions are often spelled in various ways, and sometimes contain punctuation. Try your searches using all spellings. For example: PHQ-9, PHQ9, PHQ 9, Patient Health Questionnaire. A simplified or truncated search is also an option: PHQ, PHQ*, as is PHQ-9 OR PHQ9.
- If the Research Instrument is not named in the record under "Instrumentation" and not named in the abstract, look for it listed under the Major and Minor Subject headings.
- If you are using a lot of punctuation (quotation marks, parentheses, brackets) and getting no results, try simplifying your search by eliminating the punctuation.
- Using "AND" is not necessary, but it may help you organize your thoughts. To understand more about Boolean Phrasing, watch this VIDEO.
- Use CINAHL HEADINGS to help you learn associated keywords.
- If you haven't found what you're looking for in 20 minutes, Ask a Librarian! (You can also use the chat box below.)
See Also: the LHL CINAHL Guide
