Evidence-Based Practice: Finding Sources and PICO(T) Search Tips

Using the PICOT Method: P (Population) I (Intervention) C (Comparison) O (Outcome), T (Time) to describe your question in writing.

An example of a question and how to describe it might be:

I am looking for articles representing evidence about what can be done to prevent falls in the elderly.  In particular, I would like to know what evidence is available about the prevention of falls in elderly.  I am particularly interested in the use of fall risk assessment to prevent falls in the elderly. 

What is the population?  Older adults, in the hospital or long-term care facilities

What is the intervention?  Falls risk assessment

What is the Comparison?  In this case, there is no comparison intervention or standard of care.

What is Outcome?  Prevention of falls

What is the time it takes to meet the outcome of the intervention?  In this case, time is not measured.

Possible Keywords for Database Searching

(elderly or aged or older adults)

       AND

(falls risk assessment or fall risk assessment)

       AND

(nursing or nursing assessment)     

Other Tips

Look for limiters relevant to a part of your PICO question. Some databases have limiters for age and gender, for example.

Your intervention is the most important part of your question as a subject for searching.

Make sure you know the kind of article you need. Use limiters like "peer reviewed" or "research article" or for a specific type, like "systematic review."

These databases are featured in the videos on this page. Links to additional databases appropriate for evidence-based practice may be found on the Nursing Resources library guide.

You may also wish to try searching Google Scholar. Google Scholar has a "Cited by" feature that can potentially lead you to other articles that may be useful.

GOOGLE SCHOLAR TIPS

• Set up the Library Link setting so links to full-text (complete articles) show up in search results.
  • Click the three lines in the upper-left hand corner.
  • Select "Settings"
  • Click "Library Links"
  • Search for University of South Carolina Upstate, check the box, and Save.
• If you have found a good article in one of the library's databases, such as CINAHL or MEDLINE, search for the article title. You may be able to find related articles by clicking the "Cited By" link.

EBSCO has recently changed its interface. While it retains much of the functionality of the previous version, some things look a bit different. The most significant change is the way Filters/Limiters are displayed and accessed. On the Advanced Search screen you will still find them under the search boxes. On the results screen they are no longer on the left side of search results, but accessed through a Filters button at the top of your search results. See the information about CINAHL on the Nursing Resources Guide for screen shots. The basic strategies presented in this video are not affected by this change.

The JBI Evidence-Based Practice database is now linked directly to the Ovid interface, so you will not go through the landing page shown in this video. While there have been minor updates to the Ovid interface, it still functions as described here.