LibGuides: Nursing: EVALUATE YOUR SOURCES

Steps to Evaluate

Click on the sub-pages to explore how to evaluate your sources:

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Video: Research 101: Credibility is Contextual

Video: Research 101: Format Matters

Evidence-based nursing

What is Evidence-Based Nursing?

"An ongoing process by which evidence, nursing theory and the practitioners’ clinical expertise are critically evaluated and considered, in conjunction with patient involvement, to provide delivery of optimum nursing care for the individual."

Source: Scott, K. & McSherry, R. "Evidence-Based Nursing: clarifying the concepts for nurses in practice." Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; 18(8): 1085-95.

Introduction to Evidence-Based Nursing
From the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Toronto

Sample Articles on Evidence-Based Nursing

Theory in Practice
Evidence-based nursing: clarifying the concepts for nurses in practice Aim. To provide a critical analysis of key concepts associated with evidence-based nursing (EBN) to substantiate an operational definition for nurses to use in practice. Background. Despite the plethora of literature surrounding what evidence-based nursing is and is not and how it differs from its cousins, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice, nurses still struggle to get evidence into practice. Several reasons for this have been reported, for example, a lack of understanding about what evidence-based nursing means or time to engage with and apply the evidence into practice. Design. An in-depth critical review and synthesis of literature was undertaken.

Learn More

Evidence Based Nursing Introduction
From the UNC Health Sciences Library
Sample scenarios, searches, completed worksheets and CATs for evidence-based nursing
Scenarios for diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, harm, systematic reviews, and qualitative research.

Why Evaluate Sources?

Your academic career and personal reputation depend on it!

If you use poor quality sources, your research paper could contain errors, overly-biased information or out-of-date facts

Instructors will check your sources to see if you have made good decisions about where you found your information

Knowing how to evaluate will help you make better decisions in other areas of your life, such as:
finding accurate medical information, voting on issues during election time, presenting reliable information to your coworkers in a meeting...etc.