NRSG 208 Practice Issues for Associate Degree Nursing - Evansville: Home

IvyCat is the Ivy Tech online catalog. It allows you to search your local campus library, all campuses statewide, and Ivy Tech's collection of over 43,000 electronic book.  To acess IvyCat click on the Search & Find section of the library homepage, then select Books.  The IvyCat link is at the top of the page and will open in a new browser window or tab.

Here are some useful tips to help you get the most out of your catalog and database searches. 

• Start with a keyword search. Keyword searches will give you a broad range of results so you can see more of the types of information available.
• Be sure to try multiple searches and search terms. Think of all the possible terms for a topic including alternate names, spellings, or abbreviations. 
• Truncation allows you to search fo all possible endings to a root word. For example using Child* in the databases will find results that contain child, children, childhood, child's, etc. 
• Many of the databases offer special criteria to help you narrow down your search results.  You can tell them to search for scholarly articles only, set specific date range, type of publication, type of patient, and more.    
• Check the article type. Many journals will include editorials and book and film reviews that should not be used as research sources.
• The databases Academic Search Premier, Health Business, and MEDLINE are all owned by EBSCO. When you go in to any of these databases you can click on the blue Choose Databases link at the top of the page and select other databases to search all at the same time.  This will slow the database down a bit, but can save you time in the long run. 

Using the right search terms can help immensely in the research process. Listed below are a few possible terms to help get you started:

• Malpractice
• Vocational Guidance
• Medical Errors 
• NCLEX study
• Medical Laws/ Legislation
• Medical Ethics   
• Quality of Care
• Medical Records
• Electronic Health Records
• Health Insurance
• Leadership
• Management 
• Clinical Competence
• Substance use
• Professioanl Impairment

When using internet sources in a research project it is important to take critical look at the website you are using and to determine if it contains reliable information.  Look for the following when evaluating websites.

Authority- Does the site have an author or sponsoring organization that is qulified and knowledgeable about the topic you are researching?

Accuracy- Is the information on the site correct?  You may need to have a second source to fact check against if you are not sure. 

Currency- Is the website up to date?  Look for copyrights or the date the site was last updated to make sure you are not getting old data.

Objectivity- Is the Information on the site biased?  Look for ads, editorial writings, or other indications that the site is meant to sway the audience to a particular point of view.

Coverage- How comprehensive is the site?  Look to see if the the purpose or goals of the site are clearly given.  Make sure they are not promoting a particular product or ideology.