Use current professional journal research articles to answer foreground questions. A foreground question is specific and relevant to a clinical issue that, when answered, provides evidence for clinical decision making.
Use the 4A process to answer foreground questions: Ask, Acquire, Appraise, and Attribute
If you are asked to find Evidence Based articles, your instructor wants you to review research studies to find supportive evidence of best practices.
When determining whether to use a information from a specific journal, find out whether the journal publishes research articles, and what areas they primarily publish in.
See if the journal undergoes a peer-review evaluation of the articles submitted to them before they are accepted for publication. Learn about Peer Review in 3 Minutes from the NCSU Libraries.
In Ebsco databases, click on the journal title in the Source field for a description of the journal, major subjects covered, and to find out if the journal is peer-reviewed.
Click on "Show More" in the Refine Results column to see an extensive list of limiters. Select Published Date year ranges, English Language, Peer Reviewed, and Research Article.
Search using CINAHL Headings, a structured list of descriptors that reflect the medical discipline. CINAHL headings help you identify the preferred health professions terminology to use in the database. All articles in the CINAHL database are coded using these subject headings.
Use the Publication field limiter in CINAHL Complete to limit your search to a specific scholary physical therapy journal.
Search for articles across all NSCC resources using Ebsco Discovery Search
If the NSCC Library does not have access to the article you need, free electronic document delivery services are available to NSCC students, faculty and staff.
