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NURS 19469 - Fundamentals of Practical Nursing: Research

Welcome NURS 19469 Students!

This guide leads you 5-stesps that will help you find relevant sources for your determinants of health case study assignment. Use the slider below to review each step before you search the recommended library databases: 1) Select Determinants of Health, 2) Choose Terminology, 3) Brainstorm Keywords, 4) Build the Search, and 5) Pick the Right Database. For more research help, contact your librarian: karen.lints@sheridancollege.ca.

Step 1

Select Determinants of Health

What are determinants of health, and how can they be applied to your case study assignment? Here are a few resource that provide examples of determinants, and explain core concepts:

Can you create a list of determinants of health? Choose a few of interest for your assignment.

Step 2

Choose Terminology

Before you start your search, keep in mind that over the years various names have been used to refer to the original inhabitants of Canada and other Indigenous groups around the world. As a result, any of the following terms could be useful in your search:

  • Indians of North America - the standard subject heading still used by libraries when cataloguing books and other library items
  • Native peoples, Native Canadians
  • First peoples
  • Aboriginal peoples - popularized in Australia, and frequently used in British Columbia
  • Indigenous peoples - popularized by international organizations and generally used in an international context
  • First Nations / Inuit / Metis - legal designations for separate, distinct Indigenous groups within Canada

In addition to these, Indigenous peoples are often identified by anglicized names for specific nations or bands (ex. Iroquois, Huron), linguistic or cultural groups (ex. Prairie or Woodlands tribes), or by their traditional names (ex. Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee). For the full list of First Nations bands, see Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada > First Nation Profiles. For a list and description of common nations and cultural groups in Canada, see Historica Canada > Aboriginal Peoples.

Step 3

 Brainstorm Keywords

Exploring keywords will help you identify an appropriate scope for your research, and also identify important words that you can use in library databases when searching for sources.

Try building a mind map of what you already know about your topic. You can do this on paper, or try using an online tool, such as Mindmup.com

Mind map displaying a list of determinants of health.

You're going to mix and match these words in the database with Boolean Operators to retrieve information that's relevant to your topic. Brainstorm as many words as you can!

Step 4

Build the Search

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) have been around since the invention of search, and they're still super useful today. Here's how to use them:

Housing AND Attawapiskat

AND - Both terms must appear within the results. Use for different terms important to your topic.

Attawapiskat OR "First Nations"

OR - Either of the terms must appear in the results. Use for synonyms or similar concepts.

Housing NOT Income

NOT - the term following should not appear in the results. Use (sparingly) when a word is often used in a different context than you are interested in.

 

Put it all together in a search string to use in library databases:

Attawapiskat OR "First Nations" AND Housing

Before you search, make sure you're searching the right library database for your information need.

Step 5

Pick the Right Database

A selection of library databases have been recommended in this guide for your determent of health case study assignment. Databases have all sorts of information from books, journals, news, videos, images, and more!

The type of publication you choose are important - whether online or in print, scholarly or non-scholarly, traditional or non-traditional. Different publications suit different purposes and provide different kinds of information. Be sure to explore a variety of resources such as:

  • Books (Textbooks, Dictionaries & Encyclopedias) - Great overview and discussions on topics. In some cases, you may find just one section or chapter that's useful.
  • Periodicals (Journals & Newspapers) - These resources are published on a regular basis (e.g. daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, seasonally, or yearly). Each issue of the publication has multiple articles, each written by a different author. Excellent source for getting news, opinions, personal and professional experiences, and more. Credibility and coverage vary by publication.
  • Multi-Media - Resources such as videos, audio, and images (graphs, charts, etc.) can enhance your understanding of topics, or add visual interest to your presentation.

A variety of resources that can enhance your understanding of a topic, or add visual interest to presentations. Databases in the recommended list are organized by type of publication - Books, Journals, Encyclopedias, News, Statistics, and Video.

 Recommended Databases

Select Databases

See our full list of journal databases.

See our full list of ebook databases.

See our full list of reference databases.

See our full list of newspaper databases.

See our full list of databases.

See our full list of video databases.

 More Resources

This guide also has information about Truth & Reconciliation, as well as links to organizations and websites that my be helpful for this assignment.

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