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Master of Science - Nurse Practitioner

Guide to support students in the Nurse Practitioner Master of Science program

Scholarly vs. Popular Resources

Scholarly vs. Popular Resources - 3:13

CINAHL Search Videos 2024

CINAHL Searching 2024: Nursing and patient advocacy - 5:11

Subject Searching in CINAHL - Evidence-based practice (2025) video

Effective Searching in CINAHL - EBP 2025 - 2:33

Improving Your Results

How can I improve my search results?

If you got too few results try one or more of these tips:

  • Use an OR with synonyms to broaden your search

  • Consult a thesaurus or index for more search terms

  • Reduce the number of concepts

  • Use more general terms

  • Use truncation to get variations or alternate spellings of your term

  • Use the broadest search possible (usually Keywords in most databases)

  • Check your spelling

  • Check to see if you used AND and OR properly

  • Check to see if you are using the best database for your topic

If you get too many results try one or more of these tips:

  • Use an AND to narrow your search

  • Use more precise terms

  • Use subject headings instead of Keywords

  • Consult a thesaurus or index for more narrower terms

  • Remove truncation

  • Search in a specific field, such as the Subject or Title field, instead of searching Keywords

  • Use limits such as language, years or document type.