Nursing LRC Tools for Success: Electronic Journals

In Baylor University Libraries’ Introduction to Library Research guide, the definition for a database is “a large, regularly updated file of digitized information (bibliographic records, abstracts, full-text documents, directory entries, images, statistics, etc.) related to a specific subject or field, consisting of records of uniform format organized for ease and speed of search and retrieval.” The J1 textbook, Fundamentals of Nursing, defines a database as “a store or bank of information, especially in a form that can be processed by computer” (Potter & Perry, 2013, pg. 1300).  To search for citations, use databases such as CINAHL or MEDLINE.   Articles are published within journals, but the articles are not searchable through the e-journals tab.  When using the e-journals tab on the Baylor University Libraries website, you will not find articles.  You will find a list of journals that BU has access to. 

References

Baylor University Libraries. (Feb. 13, 2015). Introduction to Library Research Glossary of Library and Research Terms. Retrieved from http://researchguides.baylor.edu/c.php?g=194975&p=1284903

Potter, P. & Perry, A. (2013) Fundamentals of Nursing (8^th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Electronic Journals
Available through Baylor University. Search by the journal name or browse categories. Nursing journals are a subcategory of the Health & Biological Sciences category in the drop down menu. Use this to find out what e-journals Baylor has, not for searching for articles on a topic.

You can browse through journals for articles, but searching for articles should be done through a database, such as CINAHL.  

If you browse through electronic journals, you will miss the print journals available.  Keep in mind that the Nursing LRC subscribes to some journals only in print.  Searching the electronic journals does not search for those available in print.  

If you are searching for articles on a topic, it is more effective to search databases, such as CINAHL and MEDLINE, to find articles.  See Electronic Databases page of guide.