Activity 4

Finding Empirical Research

1. Access the Alvin Sherman Library at www.nova.edu/library/main/ and click on the the Electronic Resources link at the top of the page.
2. Click on Databases.
3. Select NSU Patrons, input your last name and University ID number (this is your N#), and click on the Submit button.
4. Under Browse by Database Name select the letter that corresponds to the database name, (For example, select the letter "P" to see all of the databases that begin with this letter. Repeat this step to view other databases by name.
5. Select one of the following subject indexes to find an empirical research article:

Psychology Articles:

PsycINFO
Select PsycINFO (CSA), and type in your key search terms.
You can use the same topic and search terms that you used for Step 1. In a separate search box, type the word empirical study and select the methodology field option from the pull-down menu on the right.

NOTE: You may also want to select Journal by either clicking on the Journals tab on the result page or by limiting by Journals as a Publication Type (scroll down to do this). You may also select Peer-reviewed journal as a Publication Type or by clicking on the Peer-Reviewed Journal tab on the result page.

Education Articles:

ERIC
Select ERIC (CSA), and type your key search terms in the search boxes. You can use the same topic and search terms that you used for Step 1. To limit the results to research-related materials, in a separate search box, type 143 and select the Publication Type field option from the pull-down menu on the right to focus on research articles. 143 is the publication code for research in ERIC only. NOTE: You may also want to select Journal in the Document Type field to limit your results to just journals.

Medical Articles:

MEDLINE
For MEDLINE (FirstSearch), and type in your key search terms. Limit your search by selecting Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, or Meta Analysis in the Article Type Phrase pull-down box.

For MEDLINE (Ovid), after you are done constructing your search, click on limit. From the Publication Type, select Clinical Trial (this will automatically include all four phases), Controlled Clinical, Randomized Controlled Trial, or Meta Analysis. If needed, you may include Validation Studies. NOTE: Research is NOT a Publication Type in MEDLINE (OVID), however you can type in 'research' as a MeSH term and combine it with your other search terms.

CINAHL
For CINAHL (EBSCOHost), select your key terms (preferably as MH Exact Subject Heading or as MW Word in Major Heading or MM Exact Major Heading), construct your search, and then click on limit. You can select from Clinical Trial, Research or Systematic Review.