As you know, CINAHL is the library's primary nursing database. MEDLINE is another library database that has broader coverage of medical information. Both are good sources of Level 1 & 2 evidence. Their interfaces are very similar, so instructions for finding Randomized Controlled Trials in both databases are provided on this page.
You can search these two databases separately, or at the same time. Together they have a LOT of limiters for narrowing down to the kinds of articles you need, so be sure to check out these instructions.
To search both at the same time, use the link below.
Many of you are probably familiar with CINAHL as the library's primary nursing database. Access it from this link, or from the library's list of Nursing & Health databases.
Here are some hints to eliminate some of the review articles, meta-syntheses, and other non-research articles from your CINAHL results.
1) Look at the Search Options area below the search box. Find the "Publication Type" box and scroll down to select "Research" (be aware that there are a lot of publication types in the list!). This is also the area where you can limit your results to peer-reviewed articles and set the date range.
2) Once you have your results, look carefully at the information under the article title where the authors' names, date, and other citation information appear. The publication type is in parentheses, like this:
3) Remember, the "Publication Type" limiter weeds out some, but not all non-research articles. Consider this example where the article is listed with multiple publication types:
Again, these limiters are designed to reduce the number of articles you have to sift through, but they do not guarantee that any given article is appropriate for an assignment. You still have to look at the article and use the guidelines on this tab to decide if it will work.
1. Go to CINAHL or MEDLINE from the library's list of nursing databases. Click on "Advanced Search" beneath the search box.
2. This gives you three search boxes instead of one. If you want to separate your P,I,C, and O terms into their own search boxes, you can add a fourth search box by clicking on the plus sign to the right of the bottom box.
3.Advanced Search also gives you an extensive array of Search Options and Special Limiters. Let's take a look at the relevant ones for this assignment:
3a. The first area are the normal Search Options you're used to seeing in CINAHL. In this section, set your date range (5-year limit) and check the Peer Reviewed checkbox. Scroll down.
3b. Look for the Publication Type box and scroll down to select Randomized Controlled Trial. There is also a checkbox just above it for Randomized Controlled Trials-- you can use either to limit your search to this type of article.
3c. MEDLINE has the same Publication Type box. Scroll down and select Randomized Controlled Trial from the list.
3d. If you decide to search CINAHL and MEDLINE at the same time using the link on the left side of this page, you will see one set of limiters for CINAHL and one for MEDLINE. Both areas have a Publication Type box, and you will need to select Randomized Controlled Trial in BOTH of them in order to search accurately.