There are a couple of ways to effectively search for articles in CINAHL. One option is to use the basic search box in the middle of the screen to search by phrase or keyword, such as bedsores.
There's also an advanced search, which allows you to enter multiple keywords in multiple boxes/lines to structure your search. For example, you can search for bedsores and adult patients and turning.
Another option is to use the CINAHL headings rather than searching by keyword. Under the advanced search, click "CINAHL Headings." If you search for your keyword(s), you'll see a list of subject headings, which are the terms that CINAHL uses for your keywords. This can be helpful when the word you're searching for is not the standardized term. For example, CINAHL refers to bedsores as "pressure ulcers." Clicking the "Major Concept" and/or "Explode" boxes can also give you suggestions about additional concepts to add or keywords to search for.
For more information on using CINAHL, view our tutorial video here.
