Nursing Department Research Guide

All Monmouth University students, faculty, and employees have access to subscription databases on campus. Remote access requires entry of username and password for verification. MU username is your student ID (e.g. s0123456). Search the Library's A-Z Database List for a specific database, Databases by Subject, or use links in research guides. 

Use the word "AND" to combine your keywords to make your search more specific.

• example: "substance abuse" AND domestic violence

Use synonyms and alternative terms. Related terms, broader or narrower, will also bring up relevant results. Combine these terms with "OR"

• example: teenagers OR adolescents OR youth

Use "quotation marks" to search for phrases.

• example: "substance abuse"

Use Truncation "*" to search for words with common roots without entering them individually. 

• example: searching for teen* retrieves teen, teens, teenaged, teenagers

In most databases, you can use filters to limit search results to scholarly or peer-reviewed articles. Peer-reviewed articles are reviewed by experts in the same field prior to publication.

How do you know an article is scholarly?

• Limit search results to peer-reviewed or scholarly
• Authors' affiliations are noted
• Research findings are presented with supporting charts and tables
• Disciplinary terminology is used
• Common sections include: abstract, intro/background, methodology, results/findings, discussion/implications, and conclusion
• References are listed at the end of the article
• Typically more than 5 or 10 pages

Google Scholar searches articles, books, theses, and other content. Searching Google Scholar is easy, but it doesn't give you the ability to filter to peer-reviewed journal articles.

If you need to be sure the article you found is from a peer-reviewed journal, use Ulrichsweb as described in the box below.

Always access Google Scholar from the link above or the "Resources" list on the front page of the library website. When you use these links, your MU credentials will be authenticated, giving you access to library resources found in Google Scholar. Look for the "Full-Text @ MU Library" link in your results list. You can also click on the Google Scholar logo above to search using your MU credentials.

One useful feature of Google Scholar is the ability to find articles that have cited an article you already have. See the handout below for more information.

Not sure if a particular journal is peer-reviewed? Check out Ulrichsweb. This database (also found in the A-Z database list from "Quick Links" on the library website) provides detailed information on publications. Look for the referee icon to indicate it is a peer-reviewed journal.

The black and white “ref jersey” icon in the screenshot below indicates that Higher Education is a peer-reviewed journal, but Education Week is not.