Research Guides: Nursing: Research Databases

Core Databases

Start your research with these databases, but don't get discouraged if you can't find what you need. Specialized databases can be found in the box below this one.

CINAHL Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Features journal articles, dissertations, conferences, images and book chapters in Nursing and Allied Health professions from 1937 to present. Contains resources related to nursing and allied health; consumer health, biomedicine; and health sciences. Also includes research instruments, diseases and conditions, quick lessons, and evidence-based care sheets.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes over 35 million citations. Covers medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health sciences, veterinary medicine, and public health from 1950-present. Includes links to full text through Quinnipiac.
Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of six databases that contain rigorous, high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. Includes Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Mobile application available.
ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window
Features expert commentary, MEDLINE abstracts and select third-party journals. ClinicalKey includes over 1000 books, more than 600 journals, 13,000 procedure videos and millions of images. Users are able to quickly move from topic overview to in-depth specialty information in order to meet clinical challenges. Also includes the Frank Netter anatomy books and images. Mobile application available.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Provides access to peer-reviewed research and conference literature in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Includes topic overviews, experiments, biographies, pictures and illustrations, as well as articles from over 23,500 academic journals, conference papers, trade publications, books, and links to quality web sites. Note: Per our license terms with this publisher, Scopus data may not be used to to train artificial intelligence tools.

All Medical & Health Sciences Databases

Other Useful Databases

ERIC Resources in Education (EBSCO version) This link opens in a new window
The ERIC Resources in Education database using the EBSCO interface which allows easy import into RefWorks citation manager.
ERIC is a comprehensive database of education research and information. Includes indexing of ERIC documents and over 600 education journals. To check for full text at the Arnold Bernhard Library, click on "Find in a library" and follow the links to our Journal Locator.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
An interdisciplinary archive of over 1,000 scholarly full-text journals. The earliest content dates back to 1665.
LGBTQ+ Life This link opens in a new window
LGBTQ+ Life provides comprehensive coverage of traditional academic, cultural, lifestyle, and regional publications. Other source types such as monographs and reference books, as well as grey literature, including newsletters, case studies, speeches, etc., are also represented. Disciplines covered by LGBTQ+ Life include civil liberties, culture, employment, family, history, politics, psychology, religion, sociology and more.
Ovid This link opens in a new window
A selection of full text medical journals including Lippincott Williams & Wilkens (LWW) Total Access Collection. The LWW Total Access Collection is a collection of over 250 medical and nursing journals that cater to your intensive medical information needs.
PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive database of citations, abstracts and full-text articles from major psychology journals, books, and dissertations. Journal coverage begins in 1894 and includes international material.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive sociology research database. Contains full text for over 400 core coverage journals dating back to 1908, and over 100 priority coverage journals. This database also includes full text for 720 books and monographs, and over 6,000 conference papers.

Instruments & Measures in Databases

CINAHL Ultimate This link opens in a new window

Strategies for finding instruments:
--- To find tests or instruments, search by keyword, then limit the publication type to Questionnaire/Scale or Research Instrument or both.
--- Alternatively, you may search using a keyword, then append the type of measure you are looking for as a keyword (ex: scale).
--- To find reviews of tests, search by instrument name and additional keyword or terms such as test validity, content validity, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, test reliability, test reviews, etc. in the Descriptor field

ERIC Resources in Education (Federal Government version) This link opens in a new window

Strategies for finding instruments:
--- To find a specific test, search by instrument name and limit to Publication Type: Tests/Questionnaires
--- To find tests for a variable, search by keyword and limit results to Document type: Test/Questionnaires
--- To find reviews of tests, search by instrument name and additional keyword or terms such as test validity, content validity, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, test reliability, test reviews, etc. in the DESCRIPTOR field

ETS Test Collection

This is a database of article abstracts that use instruments. It does not contain the actual articles or instruments.

Search by keyword for instruments; once you find one that looks promising, search our other citation databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, etc.) for the article title. Alternatively, if you have a full citation, you may also look for the journal through the journal finder.

PsycInfo This link opens in a new window

Strategies for finding instruments:
--- To find a specific test, search by instrument name in the first search box level; in the second search level, type in the word appended and select the Tests and Measures field from the pull-down menu to the right of that search box.
--- To generally search for a test, type your keyword into the search box and select the Tests and Measures field from the pull-down menu to the right of that search box.
--- To find reviews of tests, search by instrument name in the first search box; add additional terms such as Test Validity or Test Reliability the second search box and select the Subjects field from the pull-down menu to the right of that search box.

PubMed This link opens in a new window

Strategies for finding instruments:
--- Use MeSH terms or keywords that describe the type of instrument you are looking for (examples: Surveys and Questionnaires[MeSH], Psychological Tests[MeSH],) in conjunction with your topic. If using the MeSH term(s) in the example, make sure to include the bracketed text.
--- Search by instrument name or acronym
--- To find test reviews, use keywords such as validity or reliability in conjunction with your topic, or use MeSH terms such as validation studies[pt], validation studies as topic[mh], reproducibility of results[mh]. If using the MeSH term in the example, make sure to include the bracketed text.
--- ASK A LIBRARIAN for assistance.

SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window

Strategies for finding instruments:
-- To find tests or instruments, search by keyword, then append the type of measure you are looking for as a keyword (ex: scale) to your search (example: Happiness AND questionnaire).
-- ADVANCED OPTION: perform the search above, then use the filters on the left side to further narrow your results. The most useful is the Limit by Subject filter.
-- To find reviews of tests, search by instrument name and add additional keyword or terms such as test validity, content validity, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, test reliability, test reviews.

Instruments & Measures on the Web

AHRQ National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
NQMC is a public resource for evidence-based quality measures and measure sets. NQMC also hosts the HHS Measure Inventory.
Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute, University of Washington – Screening & Assessment Database
This database is intended to help clinicians and researchers find instruments used for screening and assessment of substance use and substance use disorders. Some instruments are in the public domain and can be freely downloaded from the web; others can only be obtained from the copyright holder. Provides a searchable engine, brief description of each scale and its intended use, a general description of its psychometric properties, reference articles that support this description, cost, who it is normed on, length of time required to administer the scale, and who to contact to obtain copies.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The AACAP has published over 25 Practice Parameters. The Parameters are published as Official Actions of the AACAP in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Summaries and full text parameters are available. The AACAP Practice Parameters are designed to assist clinicians in providing high quality assessment and treatment that is consistent with the best available scientific evidence and clinical consensus.
APA Online Guide to Accessing and Using Psychological Assessment Instruments
This website provides general guidance of how to locate and stay abreast of most current published and unpublished psychological tests and measures.
National Center for PTSD: Assessment -- Department of Veteran Affairs
The National Center for PTSD provides information on many assessment instruments used to measure trauma exposure and PTSD, as well as DSM-5 Validated Measures.
Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences
Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences is provided for information purposes only. Due to US copyright laws, the site is unable to provide copies of these instruments. To obtain any of these resources, you can: 1. Check the library holdings to determine if we have the source. 2. Request from Interlibrary Loan. Compiled by Helen Hough, Health Sciences Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington.
University of Miami Measures Library
The Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research: El Centro aims to advance capacity for research with non-English speaking participants through this collection of measures with Spanish translations. Source articles and instruments provided when available.
WALMYR Scales website
Provides access to brief standardized assessment tools that can be used for assessment and the monitoring of practice outcomes. Information regarding the psychometric background of the available tests is provided, and links are available to view a sample of many of the scales.

Finding Full Text Articles

Click the icon in the database results and you will be linked directly to the full text or PDF if QU has access to the article

If QU does not have access, you are linked to the Journal Locator page where you will see the “Request via Interlibrary Loan” link. Clicking the link opens ILLiad, QU’s interlibrary loan program and automatically fills the citation information into a new ILLiad request so you can request a copy of the article.

There is no charge for requesting articles through ILLiad and most ILL requests are filled within 2 business days.

Can't Find What You're Looking For?

If Quinnipiac does not have full text access to the journal articles that you are looking for, you may order them through Inter-Library Loan, free of charge. Please allow two weeks (maximum) for delivery.

Nursing

Core Databases

Other Useful Databases

Instruments & Measures in Databases

Instruments & Measures on the Web

Finding Full Text Articles

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