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BSN Research Guide

The BSN Research Guide is intended to create a pathway to research tools and resources to assist you with your projects and assignments in the BSN program.

Students and professionals in nursing and healthcare need to understand how to conduct research. Research also helps you respond to the changes in the healthcare environment we are definitely in a state of change, and you want to be sure you have access to relevant information!

Many research resources and tools are available to GC students in the library; knowing which resources are available for your program or course and how to use the resources can sometimes be overwhelming. The guide will help you navigate library resources whether you are an online student, dual credit, hybrid student, or attending in-person.

In this guide you will find:

Start Your Research Below: Find Scholarly Articles

Books & eBooks

Data & Statistics

Evidence-Based Practice

Research & Writing Tools

Streaming Media

Nursing & Allied Health Databases
Nursing Journals (Print and Online)

Nursing & Allied Health Databases

You will access databases and journals to find articles and clinical information on nursing research.

Note about nursing journals: be sure to read the nursing journal descriptions; some journals under the Nursing Journals tab are NOT accessible off-campus.

This list is not conclusive. Please search our A to Z Database List for additional sources.

CINAHL Ultimate This link opens in a new window
CINAHL Ultimate is the largest collection of leading nursing and allied health literature resource for research, providing full text for more of the most used journals in the CINAHL index than any other database. It covers over 50 nursing specialties and includes quick lessons, evidence-based care sheets, CEU modules, and research instruments.
Cochrane Clinical Answers This link opens in a new window
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) provide a readable, digestible, clinically focused entry point to rigorous research from Cochrane Reviews. They are designed to be actionable and to inform point-of-care decision-making. CCAs form a key strand of Cochrane’s Knowledge Translation strategy, providing concise, evidence-based answers to Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) clinical questions based on Cochrane Reviews.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews This link opens in a new window
Cochrane systematic reviews focus on the effects of interventions in health care to support decisions made by policymakers, practitioners, and patients. Their reviews are vetted by the Cochrane Collaboration and must follow extensive guidelines with stringent requirements. Because of that, they are internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care resources.
Health and Medicine (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine contains up-to-date information on the complete range of health care topics. With embargo-free, full-text periodicals, reference books, pamphlets, and hundreds of videos demonstrating medical procedures and live surgeries, Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine ensures that researchers get current, scholarly, comprehensive answers to health-related questions.
With more than 2,500 embargo-free, full-text periodicals, reference books, pamphlets, and hundreds of videos demonstrating medical procedures and live surgeries. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine ensures that researchers get current, scholarly, comprehensive answers to health-related questions. Exclusive features, including Topic Finder,InterLink, and a mobile-optimized interface, support and enhance the search experience.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong, including full text from Creative Nursing, Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Journal of Community Health Nursing, Journal of Nursing Management, Nursing Ethics, Nursing Forum, Nursing Inquiry, and many more. In addition, this database includes the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide which covers 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names.
MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients, their families, and friends. It is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, and a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). MedlinePlus presents high-quality, relevant health and wellness information that is trusted and easy to understand in English and Spanish. MedlinePlus makes reliable health information available anytime, anywhere, for free.
MedlinePlus at a Glance offers information on health topics, human genetics, medical tests, medications, dietary supplements, and healthy recipes. Sourced from about 500 selected organizations. Offers almost 22,000 links to authoritative health information in English and more than 13,000 links to information in Spanish.
Nursing Reference Center Plus
Nursing Reference Center is a point-of-care resource designed for the practicing nurse, as well as nursing administrators, nursing faculty, and librarians. Users can search across multiple resources, including topical Quick Lessons, evidence-based care sheets, patient education materials, practice guidelines, and more.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
PubMed is a free online resource that comprises more than 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
Trip This link opens in a new window
Turning Evidence Into Practice (TRIP) is an EBP search engine. Trip allows users to quickly and easily find high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care. Users can search using PICO question format, and results are broken down by level of evidence. Sources include Cochrane, National Guideline Clearinghouse, PubMed, and more. Links may take you to publisher's pages with a payment option.

See all nursing databases and journals here.

Nursing Journals (Online)

open access, open and free to use This symbol indicates an open-access resource, and a login is not required.

American Journal of Nursing
The American Journal of Nursing is the oldest and most honored broad-based nursing journal in the world. Peer-reviewed and evidence-based, it is considered the profession's premier journal. AJN adheres to journalistic standards that require transparency of real and potential conflicts of interest that authors, editors, and reviewers may have.
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GC Library subscribes to this online journal through EBSCO as part of Journals at Ovid.
Journal of Nursing Regulation
The Journal of Nursing Regulation (JNR) is a peer-reviewed, academic/professional journal published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. It provides a worldwide forum for sharing research, evidence-based practice, and innovative strategies and solutions related to nursing regulation and practice.
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*GC Library subscribes to this online journal through EBSCO as part of Science Direct*
Journal of Professional Nursing
Journal of Professional Nursing publishes manuscripts on baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, educational research, educational policy, educational administration, faculty issues, and education and practice partnerships.
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*GC Library subscribes to this online journal through EBSCO as part of Science Direct*
Holistic Nursing Practice
Features information covering all aspects of holistic nursing, including health-oriented, biobehavioral research and the latest developments in the field.
Journal of Community Health Nursing
Focuses on healthcare issues relevant to all aspects of community practice.
Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety
Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety (JoNILQS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal that aims to provide a unique focus on small-scale quality improvement and safety initiatives that may serve as models for the large-scale application of similar processes and initiatives. The overall goal of the journal is to share ways to improve outcomes in healthcare systems. There is a strong commitment and focus on interprofessional initiatives that provide practical, evidence-based solutions for healthcare issues.
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Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety (JoNILQS) is published semi-annually in spring and fall under the editorship of faculty members at The Baylor College of Medicine, Section of Academic General Pediatrics
Nursing Ethics
Peer reviewed articles covering policy issues, debates, & controversies relating to ethical and legal questions faced by health care professionals with a practical approach to topics related to professionals and the workplace.
Nursing Leadership
Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership covers politics, policy, theory, and innovations that contribute to leadership in nursing administration, practice, teaching, and research.
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Peer reviewed. Edited by Dr. Ruth Martin-Misener., professor and director of the School of Nursing and assistant dean, Research, at the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS.
Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing
Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing is a peer-reviewed journal and top information resource from The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, uniquely bridges knowledge and application, taking a global approach in its presentation of research, policy and practice, education and management, and its link to action in real-world settings.
Journal of Nursing Education
*This journal does contain free and open access articles, but the entire journal is not open access. The Library does not currently subscribe to the paid version of this resource.*The Journal of Nursing Education publishes research and other scholarly works involving and influencing nursing education. Regular features include Major Articles, Research Briefs, Educational Innovations, Quality Improvement Briefs, and Syllabus Selections. The Journal focuses on aspects of nursing education related to undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. Staff development, continuing nursing education, client teaching, and clinical topics not related to teaching-learning in academic programs are more appropriate for other journals.

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BSN Research Guide

In this guide you will find:

Nursing & Allied Health Databases

Nursing Journals (Online)