Searching for nursing concepts
Concept analysis helps you understand exactly what a nursing concept means in research so you can explain it clearly and apply it in patient care (Avant, 2017).
Practical search and evaluation strategies to support your NURS 2111 assignments and presentations. Learn how to:
- Translate guest speaker narratives into effective search terms
- Choose databases for nursing-focused research and narrow searches to nursing journals
- Find concept analysis articles
- Identify credible patient and family health literacy resources
- Apply critical reading to concept analysis articles and tips for managing the research process
Video walkthough: Searching for nursing concepts
(Updated video coming soon)
Tips for finding and evaluating scholarly articles for your concept analysis and presentations.
This video walks you through some tips for searching for scholarly articles on your nursing concepts.
You may find it helpful to pause the video and try out the demonstrated searches as you go along.
The patient experience
Practice using patient stories to spark your search.
Watch this short video and note any terms or ideas that could become your search keywords.
This video is part of the The Truth of It video series, which features interviews with Canadians who have been diagnosed with cancer.
CINAHL Headings
Use subject headings to find articles about the concept itself, not just articles that mention the word.
Example: searching “caring” as a CINAHL Heading narrows results to articles specifically tagged for that concept.
CINAHL headings address the patient experience.
You can search the CINAHL headings for possible concepts. For example:
- uncertainty
- hope
- empowerment
- coping
Try these useful headings in your search where appropriate:
- "nurse patient relations"
- "patient family relations"
- "professional family relations"
- "attitude to illness"
- "attitude to health"
- "attitude to death"
- "nurse attitudes"
- "patient attitudes"
- "decision making"
- "support, psychosocial"
Other useful CINAHL features for your project
Filters that make your search more relevant: - available when using the advanced search screen:
- scholarly (peer reviewed)
- Note: This limit is helpful but not perfect, it filters out some (but not all) content that would not be suitable for the assignment
- research article -
- Note: Another helpful but not perfect limit, it does not capture all the research articles in CINAHL. For example, it misses recently added research articles that have not yet been tagged, but can also focus results
- publication date
- English language
Google Scholar search
Find research beyond CINAHL - but connect through MRU Library links for full text.
Remember to set up your Library Links in Google Scholar so you see “Full Text at MRU.”
Using the cited by feature in Google Scholar
Find newer research that builds on older, relevant articles.
Great for tracking down more recent studies when the perfect concept analysis is out of date.
Health literacy resources
Locate reliable patient- and family-oriented information.
Think about what would help a client or family understand your concept in plain language.
[Liknks to reliable patient- and family-oriented information sources (e.g., Health Canada, MedlinePlus, provincial resources).]
[tips for searching for patient-level materials]
- The Online Health Information Aid: tips and resources for the public on finding, evaluating and using online health information. A creation of graduate students, librarians and researchers, mainly from McGill. Maintains a list of useful websites and tutorials
- McGill Library - patient education and consumer health. Links to resources and tips and information on finding, creating and evaluating patient health information materials.
Critical reading of concept analysis papers
- Is it a concept analysis?
- Is it peer-reviewed?
- Does it fit your topic/narrative?
- Summarize in your own words to ensure your understanding.
Example: Concept analysis in action (as per Walker and Avant, 2019)
Based on: Becker, J. N., & Foli, K. J. (2022). Health-seeking behaviours in the homeless population: A concept analysis. Health & Social Care in the Community. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13499
Tip for critically reading a concept analysis: As you read, look for these basic parts and think about how the authors connect their findings to nursing practice. Ask yourself: Do the examples and definitions make sense? Could you apply them in a clinical or community setting?
| Basic part of a concept analysis | What the authors did |
|---|---|
| 1. Pick the concept | Chose health-seeking behaviours in people experiencing homelessness. |
| 2. Decide the goal | Wanted to explain what this concept means in this group so care could be improved. |
| 3. See how others use it | Looked at how the term is used in everyday language and in research from nursing, sociology, psychology, and medicine. |
| 4. Find the key features | • Distrust of health services due to stigma • Meeting basic needs (food, shelter) before health • Waiting until symptoms are severe before getting help • Trouble getting care because of cost, transport, wait times, or not knowing services exist |
| 5. Give a clear example | Shared a detailed “model case” showing a person whose story included all of the key features. |
| 6. Give other types of examples | Included borderline and opposite examples to show what the concept is and isn’t. |
| 7. Show what comes before and after | Before: homelessness, stigma, barriers to care. After: delayed care, worse health outcomes. |
| 8. Show how to measure it | Suggested things you could track, like how often people delay care, reports of distrust, or barriers they face. |
Why this helps: Seeing each step broken down in plain language makes it easier to spot these elements when you read a concept analysis yourself. It also shows how research findings can translate directly into better patient care and communication strategies in nursing practice.
Organization and presentation tips
searching isn't a linear process - capture and track your work to help keep you organised.
Start at google for example, to keep track of the following:
- Your search topic
- Limits/Filters, such as age, date range, language, etc.
- Databases searched/to search such as PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar etc.
- Concepts and like terms
- Search strategies
Organize your search notes so your talk flows logically.
Your goal: synthesize, don’t just quote.
Common roadblocks & fixes
Not sure what counts as a nursing journal for your assignment?
[answer tbd]
How can I make ethical use of generative AI for this assignment?
[tbd - check with the assignment or course and university guidelines...]
Can’t find the article’s DOI?
- Most scholarly articles list the DOI on the first page of the PDF.
- If it’s missing, search CrossRef by author or title.
Hitting a paywall?
- Don’t pay, check if you’re logged in through MRU Library.
- Use the “Full Text at MRU” link from your search results, or paste the article title into Library Search.
- If you have tried these methods and still cant get access you can choose to find another artticle or ask us to order a copy for you by inerlibrarry loan (takes a few days or up to a week or more dependng on the availability)
Asked to log in at a publisher’s site?
- Use the library’s database link so you authenticate through OpenAthens.
- If you land on a paywall page, back up and enter through the MRU Library site instead.
References & further reading
Avant, K., C. (2017). Concept analysis. In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Nursing Research (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NDY3Nzc5NA==?aid=103855
Walker, L. O., & Avant, K. C. (2019). Strategies for theory construction in nursing (Sixth edition.). Pearson. [catalogue link - print book]
