Respiratory Care

Finding Journal Articles involves the following steps:

1. Accessing the Databases
2. Selecting a Database
3. Developing a Search Strategy
4. Filtering Search Results to Peer-Reviewed articles

Some additional steps:

1. Saving and Citing 
2. Checking if an article is Peer-Reviewed

Details for each step are provided below.

Accessing the Databases

1. Starting from the library homepage https://www.library.txst.edu/rrc.html, click Databases.
2. On the Databases page click in the Subjects field and select Respiratory Care from the drop down menu, click Search. 

Selecting a Database

1. On the Databases page, the databases considered the most useful to Respiratory Care are listed under Best Bets!  However, there may be other useful databases listed so be sure to go through the entire list.
2. As you go through the list of databases, note the following about each database:
   1. Types of research (e.g., articles, systematic reviews, clinical trials, videos)
   2. Content (e.g., health journals, clinical trials, clinical practice guidelines)
   3. Dates of coverage (e.g., 1949-Present) 
3. To select the database, click the title of the database, on the following page click Access Database.
4. If you are accessing the database off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your NetID and password.

*Google Scholar:

1. Access Google Scholar on the Databases page so you will see the option FindIt@TxState with your search results. This options allows you to see if the full text of an article is available through the library. 

Developing a Search Strategy

Once you have selected a database(s) you will need to come up with a search strategy to search for articles in the database.  The following steps will help you create a search strategy.

1. Identify keywords
2. Search Database for Subject Terms/MeSH terms for concepts
3. Add commands to the search string
4. Find additional keywords

Identify Keywords

1. Keywords are the main concepts from your topic/research question.
2. Eliminate unimportant words (e.g. for, in, of, on)
3. Tip:  don't use U.S. or America as keywords unless the results include a lot of articles on other countries. Doing so could exclude articles that don't specifically mention the terms U.S. or America.

TIP: Brainstorming alternate keywords for your search terms may increase the number of results you retrieve. 

Example:   Search Term: physical activity

                  Alternate keyword: physical exercise

Add Search Commands to the Search String

Most databases recognize the following commands:

Put it all together

The search string above will bring back articles that mention the following terms:

pediatric patient AND asthma AND inhaled corticosteroid

pediatric patient AND asthma AND controller medication

Find Additional Keywords

It is unlikely that you will find all of the articles you need with your first search string.  You will have to try different search combinations using different keywords. There are a couple of places to find additional keywords in a database:

You can find additional terms in the subject terms found in an article record. If there is an article in the results list that looks remotely useful, click on the title to bring up the article record then scan the subject terms.

You can also find additional keywords by searching for your existing search terms in the Database thesaurus.

Filtering Search Results 

Once you have perfected your search string and returned viable looking results, you may need to filter the results list, especially if you have more than 20 results.  At the very least you will want to limit the results to Peer-Reviewed articles.

Many databases have filter/limiter tools that allow you to filter the results.  Look for these tools on the search interface.  

The example below shows the limiters for Peer-Reviewed and publication date in CINAHL Ultimate:

The Show More option in CINAHL allows you to narrow to more limiters including:

Save and Cite your Sources

Many databases have tools that allow you to save articles or export them to a Citation Manager, and most databases have a citation generator.  Be sure to...

• use the Permalink tool to link to the article (don't use the url because it won't work)
• use the Cite tool to get a citation for any article you use
• export articles to a citation manager (if you use one)
• check your citation to make sure it is correct

The tools below are from the database CINAHL Ultimate, but most databases have tools so be sure to look for them!

Checking if an article is Peer-Reviewed

If you are unsure if an article is Peer-Reviewed you can use the database Ulrichsweb to find out.

1. Note the name of the journal the article is published in or the ISSN number of the journal.
   1. The ISSN is better because it will bring up the exact journal.  If you use the name of the journal you will probably get multiple journals with the same title.

   2. You might have to do a Google search for to find out the ISSN of the journal:

      1. Example Google search:  "Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development" ISSN

2. Access the database Ulrichsweb from the Database page.
3. In the search box on Ulrichsweb enter either the name of the journal or the ISSN.
4. If the journal is Peer-Reviewed, you will see a referees jersey.

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO ACCESS DATABASES.

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO SEARCH DATABASES for articles USING EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES SUCH AS KEYWORD SEARCHING, CONNECTORS, AND OTHER EXCITING TIPS!

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO FIND ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS IN A DATABASE.