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CINAHL

Finding the Article:

1. Go to the Library Homepage, which can be found at http://www.css.edu/library.xml

2. Click on the Find Articles link.

3. Scroll through the list to CINAHL Plus with Full-text, or click on the “C” to get to the

databases beginning with the letter “C”.

4. For off –campus access to the Library’s database, you will need to click on the green icon

located in the first column of the table listing the databases. Click on the name of the

database to access it on campus.

Click on green icon to log on to database from off-campus.

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5. Type your Library barcode in, and click submit. (Your library barcode is found on the

back of your student ID).

**NOTE: Your Library barcode must be active. If you are not sure if your card is active

contact the Distance Education Librarian, Julie Rustad, at jrustad@css.edu Or at (218) 723-

6535, or 1(800) 447-5444 ext. 6535.

6. Main search screen – defaults to basic keyword search. Use this feature to conduct

simple searches.

TIP: Change to a different Ebsco database by clicking on the dropdown arrow.

TIP: Got a question? Need some help? Want to learn more about this database or learn different searching tricks? Click on the question mark next to the database name to learn more CINAHL Plus with Full Text for the creators of this database..

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7. Advanced Search – used for complex research topics. This feature allows you to search

by Author, Journal, Title, Subject, etc.

***NOTE: Most of your searching will be done using this feature because it will allow you

to combine different topics or concepts together more easily. It will also allow you to narrow

your search more quickly and efficiently.

To use:

• Click on the Advanced Search tab located in the green banner at the top of the page.

• Type keywords into Find box.

• Click on dropdown arrow at the end of the Default Fields box to search title, author,

subject heading, journal title, etc.

• To string your terms together, click on the dropdown arrow at the end of the AND

box. Choose AND, OR, NOT to broaden or narrow your search.

o AND – narrows searches by combining terms. Citations must have all your

terms to be included in results list. Ex. Shellfish AND allergy AND

precautions.

o OR – broadens searches by searching for all terms separately. Citations will

have either term. Ex. Higher Education OR College

o NOT – narrows searches by excluding a portion of a large topic. Citations

will have the first term but NOT the second term. Ex. Dogs NOT Poodles,

Food Allergies NOT Shellfish

• Click Search.

8. Subject Headings – tries to match your keywords to subject headings used in the

database. ***NOTE: Searching with subject headings will give you a more precise

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search because it is only “searching” with in the subject heading fields rather than all

fields.

• To search for subject headings, click on the CINAHL Headings button located in the

green banner at the top of the page.

• Type your keyword into the Browse For box located in the middle of the page.

• Click Browse.

CINAHL Headings button

9. The next page will bring you to a listing of Subject Headings to use in place of

your keywords. Click on the Subject Heading to learn the definition of a

particular term, view the Subject Tree, or use the Subheadings.

Or, send your Subject Heading to the Find box to look for articles. Do this by:

• First, clicking on the box before the subject heading you want.

• Then, click on the dropdown arrow to choose AND, OR, NOT, which is located

below the Browse For box. Click Add.

• On the next page, your terms should be in the Find box. Click Search.

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10. More about Subject Headings: View the Subject Tree to see the narrower and

broader terms associated with a subject term.

To narrow a Subject Heading to a specific aspect, click on the box before the Subheadings. Then,

Click on the dropdown arrow next to ADD, and change to AND. Click ADD. Once you have

clicked ADD, notice that your subject term has been add to the FIND box located at the top of the

page. Click Search.

Broader Term

Narrower Term

Subheadings – used to narrow subject headings to a specific aspect or section of the larger topic

Subject Heading Definition

Subject Tree

TIP: Click dropdown & change to AND. Then, click ADD to narrow Subject heading to a specific subheading. Click Search to find articles associated with this subject heading and subheading.

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11. . Refine Searches – allows you to limit or expand your searches. ex. Scholarly (Peer

Reviewed) Journals.

• Click on the Refine Searches tab above the list of citations.

• Limit your results - choose the limits you want by clicking in the boxes after the

limit or by clicking the option itself. Different options include limiting to Research,

type of journals (under Journal Subsets), Date, Age, Language, etc. Choose the

limits you want by clicking in the boxes before the type of limit or by clicking the

option itself. ****REMEMBER: The more limits you choose, the less articles you

will retrieve! If you get too few, try removing some limits.

12. Results Screen – you will see a list of citations. At the end of each citation you will see

some or part of the following choices:

• No links to Full Text – only the citation and/or abstract available. Does not have

full text.

• HTML Full Text – full-text of the article is available.

• PDF Full Text – full-text of the article is available. The article opens in Adobe

Acrobat Reader.

TIP: To limit to Nursing Research Articles, scroll through the Journal Subset option and choose Nursing. Then, choose Research in the Publication Type.

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• Linked Full Text – links to the full-text of an article in a different Ebsco database or

an electronic journal that Ebsco subscribes to.

• References – lists all of the references used in this article.

• Times Cited – lists all citations that have cited this article.

• Title of article – clicking on the title of the article will bring you to the full citation

that includes the abstract and the subject headings assigned to this citation.

13. Search History – allows you to combine, save, print, or revise, previous searches.

• From the results screen, click on the Search History/Alerts tab directly above citation

list.

• Check the boxes before the search options you want to combine. Click on the

dropdown arrow next to AND. Click Add. Terms will be added to the Find box

above. Click Search.

• To Revise an search, click Revise. Then, choose the Limiters you want, and click

Search.

• To display citations of a previous search, click on the number under the Display

Results column.

To print search history, click on Print Search History

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Full-text Options:

Print, Email, Save, Add to Folder from Ebsco– options located under green banner.

• Print – Click on Print. Make sure full text box is checked. Click Print. Click

Print in printer prompt.

• Email – Click Email. Type in email address and subject line. Click Send.

• Save – Click Save. Make sure full text box and citation choice is checked. Click

Save. Click File (upper left corner), then Save As.

• Add to Folder – Click Add to Folder to add article to folder.

Creating a Folder:

Ebsco gives you the ability to save your search history, results list, and favorite

citations/articles. This is especially useful when doing multiple searches on a specific

topic or when you have little time.

To Create a folder:

1. Click on Sign In to My EBSCOhost. It is found near the top of the page under the

green banner.

2. Click on the I’m a New User found above the boxes for Username and Password.

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3. Fill out the form. Be sure to jot down you username and password for future use.

***Note: Items stored in your folder will only remain there for up to 6 months if they are not

used.

Opening Folder

To open your Folder once it is created, follow steps 1 above. Then, type your username and

password into the corresponding box. Click login.