This document provides instructions for nursing students on how to use the CINAHL database. It outlines 9 steps to create a CINAHL account and practice searching, including finding a known citation, designing a original search, and saving and accessing results. Contact information is provided for the nursing research librarian Robin Featherstone for help with CINAHL or nursing research questions.

1. Second Year Nursing: CINAHL
October 6, 2008
Robin Featherstone,
Research & Instructional Librarian (Nursing)
rfeathe@uwo.ca
(510) 661-2111 ext: 86383
http://www.lib.uwo.ca/programs/nursing
http://uwonursinglibrarian.blogspot.com/
UWONursLibrarian (AIM)

2. Places to go for help
• Call or email me (Robin) with nursing specific
research questions or CINAHL problems
rfeathe@uwo.ca
(519) 661-2111 ext: 86383
• Try the reference help desk with access
problems, password problems, etc...
tayref@uwo.ca
(519) 661-3168

3. CINAHL Practice
• Create an account
• Find a known citation
• Design a search from scratch
• Save your work
• Get it at Western

4. Step 1: sign in
↓
← Step 2: select “Databases by Title”

5. Step 3: select
“C” (for
CINAHL) ↓

6. Step 4:
scroll
down
↓
Step 5: select
CINAHL→

7. Step 6: sign in to My
EBSCOhost →

8. ←Step 7: select
“I’m a new user”

9. Step 8: Enter your
information...
Doesn’t have to be your
UWO username and
password (but it might be
easier to remember)
Step 9:
Submit
↓

10. Done!
You now have an account
with EBSCO.
This means you can save
your searches and your
selected articles.

11. CINAHL Practice
• Create an account
• Find a known citation
• Design a search from scratch
• Save your work
• Get it at Western

12. Find a known citation
Witcombe, B., & Meyer, D. (2006, December 23). Sword
swallowing and its side effects. BMJ: British Medical Journal,
333(7582), 1285-1287. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from
CINAHL database.
Ashton, J. (2007, December). Sniffing glue is still a public health
problem in adolescence. Journal of Epidemiology &
Community Health, 61(12), 1037-1037. Retrieved October 6,
2008, from CINAHL database.

13. CINAHL Practice
• Create an account
• Find a known citation
• Design a search from scratch
• Save your work
• Get it at Western

14. Design a search from scratch
• I am looking for articles about using gum to
stop smoking
o Searching one concept at a time
o CINAHL headings vs. keyword search terms
o Using the search history
o Combining concepts using AND
o Limiting results

15. CINAHL Practice
• Create an account
• Find a known citation
• Design a search from scratch
• Save your work
• Get it at Western

16. Save your work
• Saving your search vs. Saving your folder
• Printing your search strategy
• Printing, emailing, exporting citations

17. CINAHL Practice
• Create an account
• Find a known citation
• Design a search from scratch
• Save your work
• Get it at Western

18. ←Step 1: Select the “Get it @ Western” button

19. ←Step 2: Select “Go” to link to the full-
text of the article through our online
subscriptions.

20. The link should take you to
the full-text of the article.
Look for the PDF link →
which will open a version of
the article complete with
page numbers (essential for
quotations).

21. ←If we don’t have an electronic version
available, try the UWO Catalogue to find
the call number for the print version

22. ←Note the call number so that you can
find the print version in the library.

23. Robin Featherstone
rfeathe@uwo.ca
(510) 661-2111 ext: 86383
http://www.lib.uwo.ca/programs/nursing