EXS290 Evidence Based Practice Research Guide

When you embark on a research journey it is essential to collect and organize all of the information you gather. You can use whatever format works best for you but it is very important to have a plan on how you will collect and organize the sources you encounter as you research. Not only will this keep you organized but it will make writing that final paper and creating your bibliography (References) much easier! There are a variety of options you can choose from. Here are a few recommended resources to help you organize your research:

• Create accounts in library databases you search and save your search strategies and 'favorite' articles including My EBSCOhost for all EBSCO databases and My NCBI for PubMed. (see tutorials for both of these tools on this page.)
• Use Google Apps! Organize your research in folders and use Google Docs to create and organize your References. 
• Try NoodleTools! Easily organize all your research by project and create Reference pages.

A few other things to consider when documenting your research:

• Be mindful of copyright! Do not upload full-text articles you retrieve from library databases to an open access source. You could be liable for copyright infringement. 
• Make sure you have enough information to create a citation. Not only will you need this when creating your bibliography but it will also help you to get back to the original source.
• Be sure to track the date of when you view an online source (especially websites!). Websites are constantly changing and being updated so what you viewed for your research may not be the same as the most current version.
• When using sources from MCC Library databases, use the tools in the database to email or download articles or look for the permalink or persistent link (look for a lock symbol). Do not use the URL in your browser in MCC subscribed databases - it is not a persistent link!

Creating a MyEBSCO account allows you to save searches, organize articles into folders and share your folders. EBSCO databases include:

• Academic Search Premier
• Health Source Nursing/Academic
• CINAHL
• Medline
• PsycINFO
• Psychological & Behavioral Sciences
• PSYCArticles

Follow the link below for details on creating your own MyEBSCO account:

How to Create and Manage a MyEBSCO account

This brief tutorial provides an overview of My NCBI available through PubMed. Creating a My NCBI account allows you to customize your search interface, save searches and organize articles.

Created by: The University of Alabama Libraries