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Science and Technology Sources - Handouts: Step by Step with CINAHL

Here you can find the handouts and instructions for using many of the library's Science and Technology databases as well as Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.

Step by Step Searching CINAHL Plus with Full Text

Where to Go

Search CINAHL Plus with Full Text.

Back to Step by Step with Science and Technology Databases.

Have you looked atStep by Step for Finding Books and Using Popular Databases,

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Step by Step with EBSCOHost CINAHL Plus with Full Text

CINAHL Plus is a great place to start research on nursing topics. CINAHL is an allied health database that offers a large number of full text articles on nearly all medical topics as well as Quick Lesson pamphlets. This handout takes you step by step through both basic and advanced searching.

  1. Before you touch the keyboard, think carefully about your topic. Most topics for college level papers have two main ideas in them. If your topic does not have two ideas, then you may want to narrow it down. A good example of a paper topic is the health effects of using a cell phone.

    overlapping circles: cell phones and health

  2. The main ideas in this topic are: cell phones and health. To put these ideas together in a way that CINAHL Plus understands, your search statement becomes: cell phones AND health. The AND is not a word but a logical operator that tells the computer to look for all articles that deal with both health and cell phones. Here is how CINAHL Plus sees your search statement. The overlap between the

    circles is your search results.

  3. To reach CINAHL, start at the library web page. Scroll down to the alphabet of database names, and select C. Then scroll down to CINAHL.

    4. databases A-Z on the library web page

  4. Type your search statement in to the box in Basic Search. Don't forget to check off the Full Text box and include the AND.

    CINAHL database search ready to go
    To remove tiny articles, scroll down and set Number of Pages to greater than 2.

    eliminating tiny articles

    To find pamphlets called, Quick Lessons, scroll down and select Quick Lessons from the box marked, Publication Type.

    CINAHL search box ready to go

  5. Click the Search button to launch your search.

  6. CINAHL Plus presents results ten(10) at a time in a light blue bordered box. You can move among them with the scroll bar and move between pages with the, Previous, Next, and Page Number links.

  7. To see an article's abstract and full text where available, click on its blue title.

  8. To see a full text article in PDF form, click on its PDF icon.


  9. a>To print an article, click on CINAHL Plus' print icon. b> To email an article, click on CINAHL Plus' email icon and fill out the form.
    c> To save an article to a folder you can open at home, login to your personal EBSCO account and then click on the folder icon.
    d>To send a persistent link to your article or search to Yahoomail, Gmail, Twitter, or MySpace: click Share or Bookmark in small print and then choose an option.

  10. To end a search in CINAHL Plus, click the Home icon in the browser's top row or close your browser.

Advanced Searching with CINAHL Plus

If you are visually oriented, want more space and flexibility, or plan to try several related searches, then CINAHL Plus' Advanced Search is for you.

  1. Instead of using an AND between ideas in a search statement, in Advanced Search, you fill separate rows with your ideas, one row per idea.

  2. You can also put two or more synonyms for one idea together using OR, a logical operator joins synonyms as a single idea.

  3. In Advanced Search, fill in the multibox. Select Full Text, and click Search.

    A CINAHL Plus advanced search