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Nursing Research Guide

A guide for conducting nursing research at KUMC.

Scholarly Articles

Scholarly journals are peer-reviewed. These reviewers must agree that the article represents properly conducted original research or writing before it is published.

What to look for:

  • Scholarly journal articles often have an abstract, a descriptive summary of the article contents, before the main text of the article.
  • Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. These bibliographies are generally lengthy and cite other scholarly writings.
  • Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The affiliations of the authors are listed, usually at the bottom of the first page or at the end of the article--universities, research institutions, think tanks, and the like.

Examples:

  • JAMA: The Journal of American Medical Association
  • Advanced Practice nursing quarterly
  • The American Journal of Nursing
  1. Is there another point of view or "side" to your information? Are there alternative treatments, and is there debate surrounding your topic? How comprehensive is your information?
     
  2. Scrutinize the methods, calculations, and conclusions.
     
  3. How current is the information?
     
  4. Are there commercial interests biasing the reporting of this information?
     
  5. Is the information reported empirically or sensationally?
     
  6. What are the author's credentials? The reputation of the publisher/journal?
     
  7. Are the claims proven in multiple sources?
     
  8. What does evidence-based medical information report on this topic?

Non-Scholarly Types of Publication

These types of publication may be quite attractive in appearance, although some are in newspaper format in their printed versions. Articles are often illustrated, generally with photographs.

What to look for:

  • News and general interest periodicals sometimes cite sources, though more often do not.
  • Articles may be written by a member of the editorial staff, a scholar or a free lance writer. The author information is called a byline in news sources.
  • The main purpose of periodicals in this category is to provide information, in a general manner, to a broad audience of concerned citizens.

Examples: 

  • The Economist
  • National Geographic
  • Scientific America

Popular periodicals come in many formats, although often slick and attractive in appearance with lots of color graphics (photographs, drawings, etc.).

These publications do not cite sources in a bibliography. Information published in popular periodicals is often second or third hand and the original source is rarely mentioned. Articles are usually very short and written in simple language. The main purpose of popular periodicals is to entertain the reader, to sell products (their own or their advertisers), or to promote a viewpoint.

Examples:

  • Ebony
  • People's Weekly
  • Sports Illustrated 
  • Vogue

Sensational periodicals come in a variety of styles, but most often use a small newspaper format. "Tabloid" newspapers have been a staple in the U.S. since the 19th century. Sensational and tabloid publications use elementary, inflammatory language meant to arouse curiosity, cater to popular superstitions, increase sales, and promote the publisher's political agenda. They often do so with flashy headlines designed to astonish (e.g., Half-man Half-woman Makes Self Pregnant) or by falsely reporting on domestic and international events. 

Examples:

  • Globe
  • National Enquire
  • Star