Find Journal Articles by Topic
CINAHL is the best literature database for nursing literature. Depending on your topic, PubMed (medical literature) and PsycINFO (psychological literature) are the next two databases most useful. UpToDate is an at-the-point-of-care tool used in hospitals and clinics across the country - it is the best tool for finding quick evidence-based information on conditions, disease, and drugs. As nursing is an interdisciplinary field, additional databases are listed below. To browse all UNC Libraries databases, see Databases A-Z.
Research
4 Best Databases for Nursing Students
And, if you’re thinking, “Wait, what about Google Scholar?” I’ll answer you by saying that Google Scholar is a fine tool for what it is. But if you are using Google Scholar to find literature on your topic, you need to take some extra steps. For instance, library databases allow you to limit your results to peer-review journals – or only index peer reviewed journals (e.g., PubMed). Many databases include limits that Google Scholar does not have; to name two really useful limiters: type of article (qualitative, quantitative, systematic review, etc.) and age group (6-12, 13-18, 19-44, etc.). If you do find articles through Google Scholar, use UlrichsWeb to determine if the articles were published in peer reviewed journals.