Nursing Subject Guide: NURS208

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This paper requires APA style for formatting and citations. Your program will provide more detailed information and examples, but the library is an additional resource to help you master APA style.

The APA Citation tab provides links to handouts on citations and formatting (just how do you format those hanging indents, anyway?) plus information on citation tools available in the library's resources (like CINAHL) to help you with your citations.

The library has extensive APA help that will make the process a little less intimidating. 

Remember that your main source requirement for this paper is current nursing journal articles, but books can serve as some additional professional sources with good content. 

Below are some general book recommendations for the NURS208 paper.  We also have books on more specific topics such as vaccination, end of life care, physician assisted suicide, medical marijuana, and more.  (See the Nursing Theory/Theorists section for relevant books if you are writing the honors paper). 

If we don't have a book or article that you need, you can request it and we'll do our best to get a copy for you.

The following are some suggested online sources related to the NURS208 paper.  

When choosing a topic for your paper, the main thing to keep in mind related to library resources is that you are required to use a specific number of current nursing journal articles; this means articles published in nursing journals (as opposed to other types of journals like medical journals) within the last five years.  

It makes sense to be sure you can find enough current nursing journal articles before you settle on a topic.  Some topics may not be well-covered in the nursing literature but instead in journals in other disciplines (e.g., bioethics, social work).  Other topics may have ample nursing journal articles but not within the last five years. 

You're encouraged to work with Karla Block, the nursing librarian, to brainstorm topic ideas or to determine if you'll be able to find the right number of current nursing journal articles to meet the requirements.  It's also a good idea to talk over your topic idea with your reader. 

These full text articles are available through the library's databases and can be accessed by logging in with your myTC3 username and password. The articles may be useful as you think about ideas for your NURS208 paper. 

General information about finding articles within the nursing field can be found on the Find Articles tab.  Here are some specific tips related to finding articles for the the NURS208 paper.  Also check out the Library Handouts for Nursing tab for nursing-related library handouts about finding articles, or see the two handouts linked below for information about how to get the full text of articles, as well as how to limit your search to current nursing journal articles.

If there's an article you need that we don't have in full-text, you can order it and we'll do our best to get it for you (most articles arrive within a day or two). 

CINAHL is the recommended starting point to find current nursing journal articles.  See the CINAHL tab for information about using CINAHL Headings to search by subject heading.  This strategy may work well for the NURS208 paper since this strategy allows you to focus your search using the "ethical issues" subheading.

Sometimes you may be unable to find enough current nursing journal articles using CINAHL.  In that case, you're encouraged to work with Karla Block, the nursing librarian.  You can also branch out to some of the library's other databases, which may have unique nursing content not found in CINAHL. A full list is available, with some good choices listed below.    

The library has several general nursing theory books (they tend to cover multiple nursing theorists and their theories). Several of these books are listed below. The library also has books from individual nursing theorists (such as Dorothea Orem)  or about specific nursing theories (such as Leinginger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality).  Please ask for help if you need assistance locating appropriate resources. 

NursingTheory.org is a popular website that may help you find a relevant nursing theory if you are doing the honors paper. While informative, the site is not considered an academic source for the purposes of your NURS208 paper; it's recommended that you seek out more suitable academic sources to cite, such as books or book chapters, journal articles, websites from academic institutions, etc. If you have questions about the appropriateness of sources, feel free to contact Karla Block, the nursing librarian, or one of your instructors.