Nursing

This guide has been created to supplement Information Literacy and Evidence-Informed Practice Library instruction for students in NURS 270. 

PI(C)O is an acronym that stands for: Patient (or Population), Intervention, Comparison, Outcome.

PI(C)O is a technique used in evidence based practice to:

• Frame answerable questions from a clinical scenario
• Identify key elements in the question
• Structure database searches

VIDEO: Using PICO to turn a clinical scenario into an effective search (3:55)

Tools for Defining Types of Research Articles

Basic definition of Nursing Research: Nursing research should involve nurse researchers, have implications for nursing, and is often (but not always) published in nursing journals. Nursing research contributes to Nursing Knowledge and advances the Discipline of Nursing.

CINAHL Subject Headings are "Under Construction"

As of Fall 2025, the "relevant headings" search in CINAHL Headings  is currently not working well - to make sure that you can effectively find articles for your PICO, use these methods for finding subject headings: 

Subject Headings from your Basic Search Results

1. Start with a simple search on your topic, including one or two concepts from your PICO
2. Note the subject headings listed beneath relevant articles from your search results

Use the "Term Begins With" search option in the CINAHL Headings search tool

1. Enter a term from your PICO into the CINAHL Headings tool and select "term begins with" before selecting "search."
2. Select the relevant term and review its definition and usage
3. Make note of any subject headings or search terms you can incorporate into your article search. 

Basic definition of Nursing Research:

Nursing research should involve nurse researchers and include implications for nursing practice. While nursing research is often published in nursing journals, nurse researchers are frequent contributors to cross-disciplinary research published in interdisciplinary journals. Nursing research contributes to nursing knowledge, advances nursing practice, and recommends improvements for patient care experiences. 

What is a Subject Heading?

• Subject headings are assigned words or phrases for a specific topic that make a database easier to search. 
• An effective subject heading draws possible terms for a topic under one word or phrase, so a searcher does not have to guess at all of the words used to describe a topic.
• Subject headings often have a proprietary name, such as MeSH (Medical Subject heading), or CINAHL Headings

Where do I find for Subject Headings?

• Most databases include a searchable collection of subject headings.  Look for a link that says thesaurus, headings or index. 
• You can also find subject headings with a keyword search: Look for the subject headings in the record of relevant articles.
• **Subject headings differ from database to database.  Don’t assume that what works great in one database will work well in another!

Keywords and Subject Headings – there is a difference!

• Searching with subject headings is often the most effective and precise way to search a database.  
• You can also use Subject Headings in your keyword search! This is an effective way of expanding your search to retrieve more results on your topic. 

Sometimes you need to expand your search beyond the basics.  These databases may supplement the nursing research you have found in CINAHL. Check out subject guides such as psychology, social work or sociology for more ideas.