Overview
Research Help
- Research 101An overview of research terms you'll need to know for your classes. Learn the different types of sources, what peer-reviewed means, and what evidence-based practice is.
- Background ResearchStart out just learning some basic information about your topic. Use the library's sites to find reliable information to on your topic.
- The PICO MethodLearn how to use the PICO method to define your research question. This is the first step to finding research articles on a topic.
- Searching for EvidenceLearn how to actually search for research journal articles. Get tips to search more effectively, so you find exactly what you want.
- Evaluate Your EvidenceLearn how to formulate a research question, understand a journal article, and judge whether or not it answers your question.
What is Research?
What is Health Research?
In the medical and allied health fields, researchers conduct scientifically-designed experiments to answer specific research questions. Each study builds on previous research to add a new piece of evidence to the larger puzzle. The goal of health research is to improve understanding of a particular field or subject area in order to improve technology, care, and decision-making.
Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-based Practice
As a practitioner, it's important to develop an evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP focuses on combining current research evidence with a practitioner's own experience and judgement and the patient's preferences . It's a three-part approach called the three-legged stool of EBP.
Clinical research can usually be found on special websites that search peer-reviewed journal databases. Our library has subscriptions to some of these journal sites.
Read more about EBP in a peer-reviewed article from Credo Reference.
What Does Peer-Reviewed Mean?
What Does Peer-Reviewed Mean?
Peer-reviewed sources are have been reviewed for quality by experts before they are published, which is different than many websites.
All of the links to library collections are peer-reviewed. This means that you can generally trust information from the library's collections more than the information on the Web.
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Peer-Reviewed |
NOT Peer-Reviewed |
|
Created by healthcare professionals, health researchers, or other experts |
You don't know who wrote the information |
|
Reviewed for quality by experts according to professional process |
You don't if anyone checked the author's facts |
|
Lists the sources and/or research used to create these materials |
You don't know where the author got her or his information |
|
Guaranteed to meet the highest quality standards in the field |
You can't rely on the quality of information |
| ACC's Peer Reviewed Collection | Not Peer Reviewed |
| Credo Reference | Wikipedia |
| Nursing Reference Center | WebMD |
| Rehabilitation Reference Center | Drugs.com |
| SMART Imagebase | Google Images, YouTube |
| CINAHL + w/ Full-Text | Blogs, discussion forums, social media posts |
| ProQuest Databases | Ask.com, ehow |