CINAHL Database Guide

See the screen shot below for further explanation:

• Type a word or phrase in the search box provided.

• Consider using one or more of the optional search limits:

  • Check Full Text if you only want to retrieve complete articles.

  • Check Peer Reviewed if you want only want scholarly/peer-reviewed journals.

  • Use the Journal Subset field if you want to limit the search to Nursing journals.

  • Use the Publication Type menu if you only want Care Plans, Case Studies, Nursing Diagnoses, Research, or Practice Guidelines.

• Click on the Search button when finished. A list of article citations will display.

Click on the Advanced Search link under the basic search box to limit your search by using multiple terms.

1. Type a single search term or phrase in each search box. Your search terms can be keywords, subjects, or even journal titles. Click "Select a Field" to see the possible search types. 

   • If no field is selected, this is a keyword search, which searches all key fields of the article, including the description/abstract.

   • A subject search limits the search to only the subject headings of the article; thus, the articles returned should be more focused on that term.

   • When "All Text" is selected, the entire article text is searched for mention of a term.

2. Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) can be used to add terms to the search or eliminate terms.

3. Click on "add row" to create a fourth search line to add to your search.

4. After searching, add limiters or expanders from the Refine Search column to the left of your results, or click on "show more" in that same column to see the original search limiters.

1. Click CINAHL Headings.

2. Type a term to display a list of all subjects. 

3. You can expand or narrow the subject term by clicking on the heading or choosing "explode."

4. Click on the checkbox in front of the subject term(s) and then click "add" to add the terms to your search.

5. Click on Search to retrieve a list of articles.