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NUR 308

Hints and suggestions for Nursing Research 308

ORGANIZING AND SHARING RESEARCH ARTICLES

As you search for articles, they can be hard to keep track of.  You will have articles for your forums, articles for your capstone, articles you want to share, articles you printed out, ....  It can be a little overwhelming.

  • The tools that follow should help you to stay organized.  Even if you prefer to print out your articles to read them, please be sure and save them in a folder or in your capstone wiki so that you can locate them more easily at a later time.
  • Do not forget to use Google Drive folders to keep your materials organized.
  • Please contact the library if you need any assistance in using these tools.  We are happy to help!

Google Drive Folders and Subfolders

What is the advantage of using a folder?  Why can't I just save it to my desktop?

You are welcome to save your articles to your desktop.  However, we all know that computers crash and computers have issues.  Even if you save your articles to your desktop, you are encouraged to also save them somewhere else in case of computer issues.

There are several advantages to using a Google Drive Folder:

  • All articles, regarless of their source, can be stored in this folder.
  • Your one personal Google Drive Research folder works in all of the KCU databases.  If you do a search and find one article in Medline and another article in CINAHL complete, both articles can be saved to the same folder.  When you go back to read the articles, you only have to open your folder, not each individual database.
  • You can do all of your researching in one session and read the articles at a later time
  • The folder is available to you on any computer, not just your personal one.  You can open it while you are on your lunch break, while you are waiting on kids to pick them up, or while you are fixing dinner.  It will also open on your tablet or your smartphone.

Can I share my articles with my other capstone group members?

      ​Absolutely!  Sharing Google Drive folders is easy.  Just click on the sharing icon and add other group members' emails.

Do other platforms have "Folder" systems?

Yes.  

  • In JSTOR look for the "My JSTOR" account set up.
  • In PubMed look for the "Favorites" system.

CAUTION:  Do have a backup plan for saving articles, however, be cautious.  Sometimes too much technology can be detrimental to your research process.  Use what works best and efficiently for you, but do not feel that you have to use every piece of technology that is presented to you.

 

 

Permalinks

Permalinks are stable URLs to your articles.  These can be accessed in many databases.  

  • For EBSCO databases, you will need to click on the Permalinks icon and then copy and paste the link into your document, email, etc.  The icon is located on the toolbar on the right side of your article screen.
  • For JSTOR,the permalink is called a Stable URL.  You will find it at the top of the page if you click on the article title or at the top of the first page of the PDF of the article.
  • For PubMed the permalink used is actually a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).  You have probably seen them in your citations in previous research courses.  This persistent identifier is located at the bottom of the short description of the article.  Click on the link and it will take you to the full text of the article.  It is very small so it is easy to overlook.
Article Icon descriptions
ICON DESCRIPTION
This icon is at the top of the bar.  It will send your document to the printer.  Use the printer dialog box to set up parameters such as double sided copies or layouts.
This is the second icon on the bar.  It will allow you to email the article directly to yourself or to someone else such as your professor, your tutor, or a group project member.  Emails from the article screen will say that they are from "ephost@epnet.com".  You will need to put your name somewhere in the subject line or the comment section so that if you send the article to someone else, they will know who is emailing them.
This is the folder icon.  EBSCO allows every student to set up a Folder.  Articles from any EBSCO database can be stored in this folder.  Articles remain in your folder until you delete them.  This saves time (you do not have to keep looking up the same articles over and over again) and money (you do not have to spend $.10 per page printing in the library).  It also means you can stay organized throughout your research process.  This will help you to store your individual articles and then read them later.  Articles that you want to share within your group can be shared through a different folder or through permalinks on your wiki.  Watch the video tutorial provided on the left to set up your folder.

This icon links you to the citation feature of articles.  Clicking on this icon opens a box that allows you to scroll down through a list of different citation styles and copy and paste your citation into your document.  Use this as a starting point only.

  • Citations need to be made for any material or ideas from material that you have used for your research paper, presentation, or project.
  • Citations from this source should be checked against the style manual that the course instructor has designated.
This icon is called a Permalink.  Permalinks allow other readers to directly access an article without having to use the search screen within a database to locate it.  For your purposes, this would be a great tool to use to share articles on your group capstone project.  You can paste the links onto a document within the wiki so that everyone can access it.
This icon represents social media tools such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.  It may be helpful to you at some points in your project, but remember that your capstone work needs to appear in your wiki.