Tip: Avoid Research Limiter Checkbox
You may have used the "Research Articles" checkbox for previous assignments when you were seeking primary research, but you will need to leave the box unchecked to find informative articles.
Tip: Check Article Description
Research-based articles usually contain the word "research" somewhere in the bibliographic citation, found immediately below the article title. You can avoid these articles by looking for the word "research" in the description.
Citation information for research articles may appear as the following:
Tip: Use the Boolean NOT
CINAHL allows you to target the Publication Type field in the advanced search mode, You can change the Boolean operator from AND to NOT, add "research" to the search box, and select the “PT Publication Type” field type.
Informative Articles
Informative articles can be easily differentiated from research articles. While they may be found in scholarly journals, informative articles are more often found in topical or general interest magazines that are not peer reviewed. They may contain glossy photos or give advice to readers. By contrast, we know that research studies typically contain headings such as:
- Objectives/Aims
- Methods
- Data Analysis
- Results
- Conclusions
Informative articles will often refer to research studies to support their report on a given topic ("In recent studies conducted by both Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland . . .").
In this case, the authors of the article have not performed the research themselves, they are merely quoting findings from someone else's primary research.
For example, an informative article may promote the benefits of drinking orange juice, while a primary research article might provide a first-hand report on a study that noted a correlation between orange juice consumption and the reduction of kidney stones.
Sample Informative Articles
Below are samples of informative articles. Select a link and log-in with your Career Account username and password when prompted.
Tip: Refine by Source Types
Find informative articles by refining your result with a "source types" limiter if one is available.
See below for steps to filtering results by "Source Types" on databases provided by EBSCO (i.e., CINAHL, MEDLINE, etc...):
1. Run a search of your research topic.
2. Scroll to the left of the Search Results page, and select "Magazines" from the Source Types limiter.
Click on the “Show More” link to see additional source types. But remember that the specific search terms you entered may not return any articles from magazines.