A diverse team of nurses in scrubs

College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare subject guide

Welcome video

Welcome to your subject guide for students of the College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare. As a healthcare student you need to be able to effectively find and use relevant academic, professional and research information sources. The role of our subject librarians are to provide the resources and help develop the information literacy skills that you need.

Below are links to a range of such resources and video tutorials to help you use them effectively. There are discussions of key knowledge areas and also some practice exercises to make sure you are developing your knowledge and skills. Contact your subject librarians below if you need any help or advice. Emma is on-site at Reading and Sunny looks after Social Work.

The guide is in narrative form, so you can start at the beginning and work down to the end in sequence if you wish to get a complete overview of our resources, how to use them and how they relate to each other. Alternatively, select from the menu below.

Jump links

What the Library can offer you

mature male student in the library

How can we help? Begin by watching our "library resources and information skills support for CNMH students" video to get an introduction to the resources and support we provide to help you make effective use of information resources in your assignments.

We have a wide range of material to support you both within the Paul Hamlyn Library, the Reading Library and via the Digital Library.

Log in to the digital resources with your student details (student ID number - your username - and personal password). If you are having trouble with your password, you can contact the IT department by visiting our IT Support page. Or, visit our setting your password page so you can register to reset your password yourself.

Where do I begin? Reading lists, ebooks and Libsearch

Student reading in library

Begin with your module’s reading list. View our "using reading lists and e-books" tutorial showing you how to access, interpret and use it. Each module has a reading list which gives access to the books, articles and other items the teaching team would like you to read in order to engage properly with the learning material.

Reading lists can be found in each module’s Blackboard space but you can also search for your reading lists online either by module name or module code.

We try to make sure our reading lists allow you to understand the details and contexts of the area of professional practice the module concentrates on as thoroughly as possible. An important aspect of this is the cultural background that your patients and clients come from. The reading lists endeavour to cover an inclusive perspective, making sure you grasp how health and social care are experienced by all the communities of the UK. We are very open to suggestion of how we can increase this perspective. If you wish to recommend a resource, contact sunny.birdy@uwl.ac.uk.

Many reading lists recommend a wide selection of ebooks; this tutorial also shows how to use ebooks effectively.

Some recommended books are available only in print form. See below for a discussion of printed books, including how to locate them in the library.

Once you've looked through your reading list, you may wish to expand your reading or you may want to find some information on an idea that is new to you or you have limited information about. Use the library's search tool LibSearch to search a wider range of resources.

  • Printed books

    To identify and locate books on your topic, begin with your module’s reading list and then expand your reading using LibSearch.  

    You will find that some titles are available as print copies only, some as ebooks only and some in both formats. LibSearch and your reading list will indicate the location of a printed book by giving its shelfmark, eg 610.73072 NUR. Find out how you use the shelfmark to find books on the library shelves via our library resources and e-resources page.

    Most printed books on Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare topics can be found on the 2nd floor of the Paul Hamlyn Library and the Reading Library under the class numbers below.

    • 610.73 Nursing
    • 610.73072 Nursing Research
    • 612 Physiology
    • 613 Health Promotion
    • 614.44 Infection Prevention and Control
    • 615 Pharmacology

    616 Medical contexts and issues, including:

    • 616.462 Diabetes
    • 616.12 Heart Disease
    • 616.025 Paramedic Science
    • 616.028 Critical care
    • 616.0754 History taking, clinical examination and diagnostic reasoning
    • 616.89 Mental Health and Mental Health Nursing
    • 617 Surgery and Operating Department Practice
    • 618 Obstetrics and Midwifery
    • 618.92 Child Health and Children's Nursing

    There are books on Social Work at 361.3, Public Health and the Social contexts and determinants of health at 362.1 (3rd floor of Paul Hamlyn) and books on Nursing management and leadership at 362.173068. 

    The printed texts can be borrowed for one week but will automatically renew each week for the length of your course unless someone else requests them. 

    Ask the Customer Experience assistants (in blue shirts on the library floors and located at the front desk) if you need help in finding your books.

    Transferring Books to Paragon and Between Libraries

    If you wish to have texts transferred to Paragon 2nd floor to pick up from there or have a book transferred between libraries:

    • Find the book through Libsearch (click "All Filters" to limit the result to "Catalogue Only")
    • Find "Access Options" below the book's record
    • Click "Access Catalogue Record"
    • On the catalogue record, choose "Place Reservation" to the right.
    • Log in using your personal details.

  • LibSearch

    Once you’ve looked through your reading list, expand your reading with the Library's search tool LibSearch. It will allow you to investigate a wider range of resources quickly and simply and begin exploring your assignment topics in more detail. Watch our "using LibSearch to locate books, ebooks and other resources" video to find out more.

    Based on simple but well-structured searches, it can find and allow you to access relevant ebooks, identify appropriate printed books and show where they are in the library. It can also find and allow you to access journal articles and a range of other useful documentation.

Key databases and specialist resources

LibSearch is useful if you want a general overview of your topic. However, to find a complete range of relevant research evidence from scholarly journals you must use the key research databases. Journals are weekly, monthly or quarterly publications that publish articles on specific topics, often describing research the authors have done.

Below are the key databases together with links to detailed video tutorials on how to use them effectively. Also included are additional specialist sources which may be of use if you are undertaking a major piece of work such as a dissertation or systematic review.

Many of these databases provide only the references and abstracts of the research papers and the other information sources they identify and not the full article. Towards the end of this section there is a tutorial on where to find the full text of research studies. There is another on how to use referencing management software to organise, manage and format the references you find.

Please note, you will need to log in with your student username and password for some of the links below:

  • Key databases

    CINAHL and Medline 

    (This is a link to CINAHL. Use ‘Choose Databases’ to add Medline)

    CINAHL is the main research database for Nursing, Midwifery, Public Health, Operating Department Practice and Paramedic Science. Medline is the principal worldwide scholarly and research resource in clinical medicine, including emergency care, surgery, epidemiology and obstetrics. It is advisable to search them together to obtain an adequate range of relevant sources. 

    Internurse

    Internurse is the UK’s largest collection of peer-reviewed nursing content, and home of the British Journal of Nursing. Internurse covers primary and secondary care settings as well as the whole spectrum of specialist nursing practice including cardiology, neuroscience, mental health, palliative care and wound care.

    Maternity and Infant Care

    Maternity and Infant Care is an additional source of research evidence, news items and book chapters in topics of interest to midwives. 

    Matflix

    A video platform with videos covering the key issues facing health professionals involved in the care of pregnant women, women giving birth and newborns.

    PsycARTICLES  

    Database containing over 134,000 full-text peer-reviewed scholarly articles from the American Psychological Association (APA). Coverage includes clinical, health/social and industrial/organisational branches of psychology. You can add this database to a CINAHL and Medline search using "Choose Databases".

    PsycINFO  

    PsycINFO is an expansive abstracting and indexing database with more than three million records devoted to peer-reviewed literature in the behavioural sciences and mental health, making it an ideal discovery and linking tool for scholarly research in a host of disciplines. You can add this database to a CINAHL and Medline search using "Choose Databases".

    RefWorks

    Reference management software enables you to gather, manage, store and share references from your database searches. Log in or create an account by clicking the link above then get started by viewing our tutorial.

    Academic Search Elite

    Can be added to your CINAHL and Medline search (use "Choose Databases" once you have accessed CINAHL). It covers scholarly and research journals featuring a range of social contexts in which health issues occur.

    Secondary research evidence

    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

    Cochrane is a database of systematic reviews of research. It is a leading source of secondary research evidence (reviews of several primary studies addressing the same research question). 

    TRIP 

    TRIP is a source of secondary evidence including systematic reviews and clinical guidelines from around the world. 

    • Search using Boolean operators AND OR and NOT
    Specialist research databases

    Embase 

    Embase is a medical database which emphasises biomedicine, health policy, psychiatry and genetics — a good complement to Medline for researchers. 

    It can be searched in the same way as CINAHL by selecting the "Multi-Field Search" option or via MeSH (Subject) Headings. Medline can also be searched using MeSH Headings. 

    Scopus

    Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database, and one of the most widely used by researchers in health and social care. It includes peer-reviewed titles from international publishers, Open Access journals, conference proceedings, trade publications and quality web sources. Subject coverage: Health and Life Sciences; Social Sciences, Psychology, Biological Sciences.

    You can search via basic Boolean AND, OR and NOT.

  • Specialist resources

    PROSPERO 

    PROSPERO is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice and international development, where there is a health-related outcome.  

    National Institute of Health Research 

    The Institute publishes its own fully searchable journals in which comprehensive accounts of its commissioned research can be obtained.

    ISRCTN registry 

    The ISRCTN registry is a primary clinical trial registry recognised by WHO and ICMJE. ISRCTN accepts all studies involving human subjects or populations with outcome measures assessing effects on human health and wellbeing, including studies in healthcare, social care, education, workplace safety and economic development. 

    OpenGrey 

    Examples of grey literature include technical or research reports, doctoral dissertations, some conference papers and some official publications.

  • Locating the complete text and managing your search findings

    Finding the full-text of a journal paper

    A very brief tutorial on the possible sources of journal articles if the full text is not present. 

    Referencing Management Tool "RefWorks"

    Store and properly format the references you find in databases.

Understanding research

As a health professional, you need to be able to find and apply the best research evidence to your practice, and as a student, within your assignments. But what are the different types of research and what kinds of questions and problems do the different methodologies investigate? 

Research evidence is of two principal types, Primary (from a single study) and Secondary (synthesised from several studies tackling the same question). This is generated through two different paradigms, Qualitative and Quantitative, which have their own corresponding approaches and methods. The increasingly practiced 'Mixed Methods' research combines both paradigms.

Research studies approach research questions differently based on what kind of question it is. Does it ask how effective medication or change of practice is (known as a quantitative approach)? Or perhaps it wants to know what it's like to be a patient or healthcare professional under certain circumstances (a qualitative approach)?

  • Primary Research Evidence

    Primary Research Evidence is the outcome of a research study. Researchers address a research question or problem by selecting an appropriate ‘methodology’, whose understanding of what knowledge is, and how it can be obtained, is used to create a research design. They use this design to seek out the data to answer the question in a way that minimises potential distortions and biases. Researchers usually publish their findings as conference reports or journal articles/papers. The ‘abstracts’ of these publications, which can be found in databases such as CINAHL, contain details of the question, design, results and conclusions.

  • Secondary Research Evidence

    Secondary Research Evidence is the synthesis of several studies addressing the same research question (eg Systematic Reviews or Clinical Guidelines). Because they are based on several different studies and checked for the quality and appropriateness of their design, secondary sources of evidence are regarded as higher quality evidence, especially if they are 'systematic' in their methods. There are databases of systematic reviews such as Cochrane, and clinical guidelines can be found through the TRIP database — see above.

  • Qualitative Research

    Qualitative Research investigates experiences of different aspects of our lives ('phenomena'). What are the experiences of a patient with a particular illness or a health professional in a particular work context? If we can interpret such experiences, we can understand and potentially improve them. There are several different qualitative methodologies. 

    Phenomenology tries to find the nature of the unique experiences specific to, for example, a critical care nurse. Phenomenography investigates the variation in those experiences and how they relate to each other.

    Ethnography investigates how the members of a community or workplace interact and experience their roles as part of a team, ward or hospital.

    Grounded Theory begins without preconceptions; exactly what are the significant experiences in the workplace that make it what it is, or perhaps need to be changed?

    Qualitative studies are often interview or observation-based, and the categorised descriptions of experiences are presented as ‘themes’.

  • Quantitative Research

    Quantitative Research investigates the effectiveness of changes in practice or other ‘interventions’ such as medications, or differences in health background and context. Such studies can be categorised as observational where there is no interference in what happens and experimental where there is.

    Surveys are common examples of observational studies. The researcher observes what is happening or asks questions, placing the observation or answer under several predetermined categories and then statistically analysing the frequency of observation or response. 

    Other observational studies are 'retrospective', looking back in time to understand current outcomes. Studies of this type include Case-Control studies which compare patients who have a disease with patients who do not (controls) and look back to compare the exposure to a risk factor to determine its relationship to the disease. 

    In contrast, some studies are prospective and follow the research subjects forward in time. Cohort studies that follow a group over a period of time to see how its exposure to possible risk factors affects its outcomes when compared to the general population are examples of prospective studies. 

    Randomised Controlled Trials, however, are experimental studies. They ask, 'how effective is a medication or other intervention?' by conducting an experiment. Participants are randomly assigned to two groups; one receives the intervention, and one doesn't. What is the statistical difference in outcome; is it wide enough to 'prove' the intervention is effective?

  • Mixed Methods Research

    Mixed Methods Research makes use of both paradigms. They are often applied 'sequentially' — the findings of a quantitative approach to the research question then informs a qualitative approach. For example, the results of a survey are used to develop questions for semi-structured interviews.

    • Log in to the VLeBooks website to view Nursing and Healthcare Research at a Glance, which will give more detail on research methodologies and research designs in healthcare.

Finding the research evidence

Industry professionals researching with laptops

Below are tutorials that focus in-depth on finding research evidence in particular professional contexts.  

They use tools such as PICO and PICo. The PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison Outcome) and PICO (Population, phenomenon of Interest, COntext) tools allow us to capture a research question’s essential elements. These can then be expanded to construct effective search strategies. The video tutorials show you how to do this, how to apply the strategies in the databases and how to begin the process of critiquing what you find.

  • Analysing questions using PICO (Quantitative)

    Quantitative questions attempt to analyse how effective intervention, a difference in personal health context or a change in practice is, if at all. 

    ‘How effective is cognitive behaviour therapy in treating teenagers with eating disorders?’ 

    • P: Population - teenagers with eating disorders 
    • I: Intervention - cognitive behaviour therapy 
    • C: Comparison - none 
    • O: Outcome - managed/reduced eating problems/ healthy diet 

    Outline search (tip: separate out the ‘who’ and ‘what’ of the population) 

    • Teenagers
    • AND Eating disorders
    • AND Cognitive behaviour therapy
    • AND Reduced eating problems

    Expanded search (add synonyms — words that express the same idea, acronyms — initialled versions, examples and alternative spellings)

    • Teenagers OR adolescents
    • AND Eating disorders OR Bulimia OR Anorexia
    • AND Cognitive behaviour therapy OR CBT
    • AND Reduced eating problems OR managed eating problems OR healthy diet

    A non-intervention example, in which the population have a different health context: 

    ‘In infants born prematurely, compared to those born at full term, what is the subsequent lifetime prevalence of sensory deafness?’

    • P: Population/patient - infants 
    • I: Intervention/Indicator - premature 
    • C: Comparator/control - full-term 
    • O: Outcome - sensory deafness 

    Outline search

    • Infants
    • AND Premature
    • AND Full-term
    • AND Sensory deafness 

  • Analysing questions Using PICo (Qualitative)

    Qualitative questions seek to discover experiences, opinions and reactions to a phenomenon. 

    ‘What are nurses' experiences in caring for patients with Parkinson's disease?’  

    • P: Population - nurses 
    • I: phenomenon of Interest - experiences of caring 
    • CO: Context - Parkinson's disease 

    Outline search (tip: separate ‘experiences’ - OR opinions OR reactions - from that which is being experienced) 

    • Nurses
    • AND Experiences
    • AND Caring
    • AND Parkinson's disease

    Another example: 

    ‘What are the experiences of being counselled of women with depression who have cancer?’ 

    • P: Population - women with depression 
    • I: phenomenon of Interest - experiences of being counselled 
    • CO: Context - Cancer 

    Outline search 

    • Women
    • AND Depression
    • AND Experiences
    • AND Counselling
    • AND Cancer

  • Finding the evidence for Nursing and Nursing Associate Practice

    This tutorial shows you how to obtain evidence to answer a research question in Nursing and Nursing Associate practice. It discusses the principles of analysing a question and formulating and conducting a search for primary and secondary research evidence, as well as the basics of appraisal.

    There is a tutorial specifically for Assessment 1 of the BNursing Level 4 module: 

    There is a similar tutorial for the equivalent module in the Nursing Associate course: 

    Level 5:

    This tutorial develops further the role of searching for research evidence in evidence-based practice. It is specifically for those studying the Level 5 (2nd year) module NS50116X: Evaluating Evidence for Translation into Nursing Practice.

    Level 6:

    See below for a tutorial on finding the evidence for dissertations.

  • Finding the research evidence in Midwifery

    This tutorial shows you how to obtain evidence to answer a research question in Midwifery practice. It discusses the principles of analysing a question and formulating and conducting a search for primary and secondary research evidence, as well as the basics of appraisal. See below for a tutorial on finding the evidence for dissertations.

  • Finding the evidence for Operating Department Practice

    This video tutorial discusses and demonstrates how to find research evidence for Operating Department Practice. See below for a tutorial on finding the evidence for dissertations.

  • Finding the evidence for Paramedic Practice

    This video tutorial discusses and demonstrates how to find research evidence for Paramedic practice. See below for a tutorial on finding the evidence for dissertations.

  • Finding the Evidence for Public Health

    This video tutorial discusses and demonstrates how to find research evidence for Public Health. See below for a tutorial on finding the evidence for dissertations.

Critical information literacy

A female working at a computer monitor

Do you know where information comes from? Who creates it? How does information find its way into the public domain? Which authors are published, and which aren’t, and who decides this? Do prominent professional organisations exclude unpopular opinions? Is all research 'reliable? What is ‘good’ and ‘bad ‘research?

Linked above is a brief narrated presentation on 'Critical Information Literacy' to help you think about these issues as you find information sources for patients and families as a health-promoting professional.

Finding resources for dissertations and systematic reviews

Below are a range of resources and skills tutorials for those who are undertaking a substantial piece of work such as a dissertation, thesis or systematic review, in which detailed and comprehensive searching of the research and professional literature is required. These build on the ‘Finding the research evidence’ tutorials listed above.

Analysis of search results and critical appraisal

Once you have completed your search of the databases, you must begin the process of analysis. This has two stages:

  1. Determining which papers might be relevant sources of evidence
  2. Determining the quality and value of the evidence, so that only the best and most appropriate is applied within your piece of written work or the clinical environment; a process known as 'Critical Appraisal'

The first of these can be completed through analysis of each paper's title and abstract as given in the database. The second requires an appraisal of the complete paper using tools such as CASP checklists.

  • Determining which papers might be relevant sources of evidence

    Look through your search results. Select those which might be relevant by looking at each paper's title and abstract and selecting those which provide positive responses to the following questions.

    1. Do the study's aims and objectives match your research question?

    2. Who are the subjects/participants? If they are patients, are they in the right age group or gender, do they have the relevant condition? If health professionals, are they the relevant profession; do they work in the setting you're focusing on?

    3. Is the intervention/change (quantitative) or phenomenon (qualitative) the one you are analysing? 

    4. What is the study's methodology and research design and is it the right one to answer your question?  Don't forget that qualitative studies will analyse experience and opinions and have results which are thematic; quantitative ones will have statistical results.

    5. Is the size of the sample significant enough? (eg three participants may not be enough, but may be okay if it's a phenomenological study)

    6. Where was the research was undertaken? Research in the UK isn't necessarily published in UK journals. Is the NHS mentioned, or a UK location?

    Many of these factors may only be clear from the full paper (eg where the researchers are based will give a clue to where the research was done). Make the best judgement you can at this stage.

  • Determining the quality and value of the evidence

    Download the full paper from the database if available. Obtain the full text of any papers not immediately available from other sources (view our "finding the full text of a journal paper" video).

    Appraise each paper using a CASP appraisal checklist appropriate to its methodology. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) has developed a set of eight critical appraisal tools; they are free to download.

    Each CASP checklist is specific to a methodology. However, each is based on the following standard appraisal questions:

    1. Was there a clear statement of the aims of the research? 

    2. Is the methodology the correct one for the kind of evidence the study hoped to find?

    3. Was the research design appropriate to address the aims of the research?

    4. Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research? Was sampling of sufficient size and unbiased?

    5. Was the data collected in a way that addressed the research question?

    6. Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered for bias?

    7. Have ethical issues been taken into consideration? Was ethical clearance obtained through appropriate organisations?

    8. Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous? Was it insightful and unbiased? Is there an in-depth description of the analysis process?

    9. Is there a clear statement of findings? Is there adequate discussion of the evidence both for and against the researcher’s arguments?

    10. How valuable is the research? Does the researcher discuss the contribution the study makes to existing knowledge or understanding?

  • Books to read

  • PRISMA flow-chart

    A PRISMA flowchart can be downloaded from the PRISMA website. It allows you to record the steps involved from your initial literature search to the final selection of research papers and reviews. Add it as an appendix to your assignment or within the body of your review if required to do so in assessment guidelines.

Citation and referencing

A man working at a laptop in a home study

When writing assignments, you need to acknowledge your use of another author's ideas so that you:

  • Give the original author credit
  • Support your arguments
  • Enable the reader to find your sources
  • Prove to your lecturer that you have read around the subject
  • Avoid accusations of plagiarism

Accurate referencing will help you avoid accusations of plagiarism and possible loss of marks.   Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement.

There are two video tutorials (available on Panopto) on how to cite (in the text) and reference your sources correctly.

Watch them carefully and contact me with any follow-up questions or draft reference lists. Access the comprehensive database, Cite Them Right, for further guidance, especially on more unusual source types.

Please find a text version of the guidance below or download the document.

  • Why should I reference?

    When writing assignments, you need to acknowledge use of another author's ideas so that you: 

    • Give the original author credit  
    • Support your arguments and make your assignment more academic 
    • Enable the reader to find your sources 
    • Prove to your lecturer that you have read around the subject 
    • Accurate referencing will help you avoid accusations of plagiarism and possible loss of marks.  

    See below for some basic examples of appropriate referencing styles for common sources of information.  If your information source cannot be found below, visit Cite them Right and use the search box to locate the correct format. Make sure to choose the Harvard Referencing Style option when you refine the results. 

  • Citing in the text of your work

    As well as writing a full reference list at the end of your work, you also need to cite the sources in the main text of your essay/assignment.  

    You must put the intext citations where you have used the information or quotations, at the beginning or end of the sentence. 

    Points to remember:
    • Where should the citation go? The citation can be at the beginning or within/at the end of the sentence. Please see ‘Two ways of including the citation’ below for which option to choose. 
    • Make sure it’s clear which information the citation is referring to – don’t separate the citation from the main sentence by putting a full stop before it, it needs to be included within the sentence. 
    • More than one author: If your source has more than one author make sure you express this in the right way (see ‘One author, two authors, three authors, more...’ below). 
    • If no individual author is identified, the 'author' is the organisation responsible for the document or website (e.g. NICE). 
    • No date? (NICE, no date) 
    • Several sources for the same idea: If the information is from several sources, separate by semi-colons (Jones, 2020; Smith and Johnson, 2018) with the most recent first, to the oldest last. 
    • If you have multiple sources that all have the same author and are published in the same year, you will need to assign letters to each of them – so it’s easy to tell them apart. For example, (NICE, 2019a; NICE, 2019b; NICE, 2019c). Make sure the letters match in your reference list too. 
    • Can/should I repeat the citation? Yes, if you are using the source at a later point. Also, if you think it may not be clear after a few sentences that you are still using information from the same source. But don't overdo it! 
    • Quotation: If you quote, use single speech marks around the quote and add the page number if there is one. E.g. (Jones, 2020, p. 5). Keep quoting to a minimum. 
    • Make sure the authors and publication years for your in-text citations match with the details in your reference list.
    One author, two authors, three authors, more...
    • One author: (Smith, 2013) or Smith (2013) 
    • Two authors: (Smith and Jones, 2006) or Smith and Jones (2006) 
    • Three authors: (Smith, Jones and Adams, 2009) or Smith, Jones and Adams (2009) 
    • Four or more authors: (Smith et al., 2003) or Smith et al. (2003) – but list all the authors in the Reference List. We can’t use et al. in our reference lists at CNMH. 
    Two ways of including the citation

    If you are discussing the literature and need to compare authors and their contributions, then the author is outside the brackets: 

    Bosman (2013) believes knowledge of the A&P of the respiratory system is important for clinical professionals. 

    or 

    If you are just using the information without reviewing the literature, then the author is inside the brackets: 

    Understanding the A&P of the respiratory system is important in this context (Bosman, 2013). 

    Understanding the A&P of the respiratory system is important (Bosman, 2013) in this context.

    Page numbers

    You must include page numbers (and single speech marks) if you are quoting from your source: 

     'A solid understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system is essential' (Bosman, 2013, p. 5).  

    You can include page numbers if you are summarising a point made on a particular page but not quoting. This is good practice but not an essential requirement. 

    Secondary referencing

    Secondary referencing is when the author of the source you are reading has cited or quoted from another person/organisation. 

    If you wish to cite a source in your work that the author you are reading has cited, then you can do it in the following format: 

    Smith’s views on public health practice (Smith, 2010, cited in Arthurs, 2015) support the idea... 

    In this example Arthurs is the source you've read. You have not read Smith’s work, but it is discussed in Arthurs. 

    When you create your reference list, you would only need to list the sources you have actually read. 

    So here, you would only put Arthurs in your refence list. You must not put Smith in your reference list, as you haven’t read Smith’s work. 

    If Arthurs uses an actual quote from Smith’s work (rather than just summarising/paraphrasing) use 'quoted in' rather than 'cited in'.

    For example:

    Smith states that ‘…quote…’ (Smith, 2010, quoted in Arthurs, 2015, p. 8)… 

  • Creating your reference list

    Each type of resource has a slightly different style.

    Pick the correct template from those below which match your information sources. 

    Remember: 

    • The list should be a single list in alphabetical order (see bottom of this document for an example).
    • Include online details for journal articles of the correct format (see Journal Articles below).
    • Don't reference the same source twice. Even if you use a source multiple times throughout your essay, you only need to put it in your reference list once – don’t put it in the list multiple time. 
    • Don't include page numbers unless specified by the template.
    • If you have multiple different sources with the same author, list them in order of publication year, starting with the earliest.
    • If you have multiple different sources that all have the same author(s) and publication year, assign each of them a letter, so the reader can tell them apart:  (NICE, 2019a; NICE, 2019b; NICE, 2019c). Make sure the letters for the reference list and intext citations match. 
    • List ALL the authors. Don't use et al. in the Reference List.

  • Books

    Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title in italics. Edition (if not the1st). Place of publication: publisher. 

    For example: 

    Esegbona-Adeigbe, S. (2023) Transcultural Midwifery Practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 

    This is a first edition, so we don’t need to include the edition information in the reference. 

    Eliason, M.J. and Chinn, P.L. (2018) LGBTQ cultures: what health care professionals need to know about sexual and gender diversity. 3rd edn. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer. 

    This is a third edition, so we would need to write that as 3rd edn. 

    It’s important to copy the punctuation of the template too – all the commas, full stops, brackets, colons etc are important. 

    Please note, things are different when there are:

    • Three authors: Smith, K.D. , Jones, B. and Adams, T.G. 
    • More than three authors: list them all (separated by commas) with 'and' between the last two. 
    • Important note: College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare students must include all authors in the reference list – we cannot use et al. in the reference list. 
    • No personal author - use the organisation e.g. NICE, RCN 
    • The book is ‘edited’: see format below for Edited books  

     

    If you are referencing an ebook version of a printed book, then you can reference this in the same way as a normal printed book (you won’t need the URL at the end).

  • Edited books

    Each chapter has its own author(s), so we need to include info about the individual chapter as well as the book and editor(s).

    Chapter author’s Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter in single quotation marks', in Initial. Surname of the editor (ed.) Title of book in italics. Place of publication: Publisher, page range of whole chapter. 

    The chapter title should be in single quotation marks, and the title of the book should be in italics. 

    For example: 

    Goddard, J., Holley, R. and Marta, R. (2023) ‘Creating Emotional and Mental Balance’, in A. Chowthi-Williams (ed.) Wellbeing and Resilience for Nursing, Health and Social Care Students. London: SAGE, pp. 50-62. 

    • Goddard, Holley and Marta are the chapter authors. You would use the chapter authors for your intext citation – (Goddard, Holley and Marta, 2023). 
    • Chowthi-Williams is the book editor. 
    • The page numbers refer to the first and last pages of the chapter. 

  • Journal articles

    Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article surrounded by single quotation marks', Name of Journal in italics, volume number(issue number), pp. page range 

    For example: 

    Mears, L. and Mears, J. (2023) ‘The pathophysiology, assessment, and  

    management of acute pain’, British Journal of Nursing, 32(2), pp. 58-65. Available at: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2023.32.2.58  

    If you accessed the article online, you need to include the full address(with the https part) of where you accessed it from. 

    • If the URL is a ‘normal’ internet address (i.e. it does not have a DOI), then you also need to include an accessed date.

    For example:

    Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/44376239 (Accessed: 8 April 2024). 

    • If an article does have a DOI (digital object identifier), you don’t need to include the accessed date, just use the full https address of the DOI. 

    For example: 

    Available at: https://www.doi.org/10.36584/cjic.2020.011 

    DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier, and they are supposed to be more stable and reliable than normal internet addresses. This is why you don’t need to include the accessed date if you use one. Usually, an article will state if it has a DOI. 

    If you look at the URL, the address will have something like doi.org in the text, as in the above examples. 

    Sometimes, if a journal article is published online, it will have an article number, rather than page numbers. In this case, you can write it like this:

    Author’s Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) ‘Title of article in single quotation marks’, Name of Journal in italics, Issue information, article number. Available at: DOI https address 

    For example: 

    Nicholls, L., McKinlay, A., Berger, R., Fancourt, D. and Burton, A. (2024) ‘The impact of UK social distancing guidance on the ability to access support and the health and wellbeing of disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative exploration’, BMC Public Health, 24, article number 1749. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19285-0 

  • Clinical guidelines, regulations, protocols and other professional documentation

    Name of organisation (publication year) Title in italics. Guidance number if available. Available at: https address (Accessed: date accessed). 

    For example: 

    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE] (2011, updated 2020) Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management. CG113. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg113 (Accessed: 8 April 2024). 

    • If a document has been updated but a new edition hasn’t been released, you can include both the original publication year and the year it was updated - (2011, updated 2020) 
    • If the organisation uses an acronym or shortened version of its name (like NICE or NMC or WHO) then write out the name in full, and then put the acronym in square brackets after it. 

    For Intext Citations – the first time you use an organisation with an acronym (like NICE, NMC, RCN) you need to write the name out in full and then use the acronym in square brackets. 

    For example

    According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council [hereafter NMC] (2018)

    Or 

    …paraphrased info(Nursing and Midwifery Council [hereafter NMC], 2018) 

    Then, for the rest of your essay, you can just use the acronym:

    According to the NMC (2018)

    Or 

    …paraphrased info (NMC, 2018)

  • Inquiries

    Author’s Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of inquiry in italics. (Parliamentary or Command Paper number in brackets). Available at: full https address (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    Francis, R. (2013) Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry: Executive summary. (HC 947). Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7ba0faed915d13110607c8/0947.pdf (Accessed: 13 August 2024). 

    If you’ve read a printed version (rather than finding it online), then you can write Place of publication: Publisher instead of the Available at part. For this example, it would be - London: The Stationery Office. 

    If you find there’s no named author on the document, check whether you can find who the inquiry was chaired by, or if the inquiry team or panel had a specific name. For example, The Hillsborough Independent Panel. 

    You should be able to find the parliamentary or command paper number on the front cover or first couple of pages of the inquiry. It might say CP and a number (for Command Papers), or HC and a number (for House of Commons Papers). 

    There can be multiple documents attached to an inquiry, so double check that you’ve got the whole title correct, the right command paper number, and that it links to the correct website address. 

    For example, the Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry has an executive summary (which is used in the above example) but there’s also different volumes of the report, like Volume 2: Analysis of evidence and lessons learned and Volume 3: Present and future Annexes – which all have different internet addresses and different house of commons paper numbers. So double check to make sure everything matches correctly. 

  • Systematic reviews

    Author’s Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of review in single quotation marks', Database name in italics, Issue number, Article number. Available at: URL or DOI https address (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    Chen, I., Veth, V.B., Choudhry, A.J., Murji, A., Zakhari, A., Black, A.Y., Agarpao, C. and Maas, W.M.J. (2020) ‘Pre- and postsurgical medical therapy for endometriosis surgery’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12, CD003678. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002%2F14651858.CD003678.pub3 

    In this example, 12 is the issue number and CD003678 is the article number. 

    Include these if they are available.

    Like journal articles, you need to include the full https address of where you accessed the review:

    • If it is a normal URL, include the accessed date.
    • If it is a DOI address, you don’t need an accessed date.

  • Webpages

    Organisation or Author’s Surname, Initial. (Year that the page was published/last updated) Title of web page in italics. Available at: URL of website (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    UK Association of Milk Banking [UKAMB] (no date) Medication and Donating Breastmilk. Available at: https://ukamb.org/medication-and-donating-breastmilk-2/ (Accessed: 22 July 2024). 

    • If there is no publication year, you can write (no date) 

    Department of Health and Social Care [DHSC] (2023) The NHS Constitution for England. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/the-nhs-constitution-for-england (Accessed: 22 August 2024). 

    • If a source is from GOV.UK, check if there’s a more specific author – like a particular department. 

  • NHS Trust guidelines (confidential information)

    This format is useful if you are dealing with documents that need a certain degree of anonymity. For example, internal documents that are not available to the public. 

    If something is in the public domain (for example, available on the internet and can be accessed by the public) then it probably does not require this format. 

    [Placement hospital] (Year) [Placement hospital] document title in italics. Location: [Placement hospital].  

    For example: 

    [Placement hospital] (2024) [Placement hospital] Care of women in active labour. Cheshire: [Placement hospital]. 

    • For the location - if you’re worried that putting the name of the town/city will make it too easy to identify which hospital the document is from, then you can put the county instead.
    • The intext citation would be (Placement hospital, 2024)

  • Classroom presentations

    Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of presentation surrounded by single quotation marks' [Presentation slides]. Module code in italics: Module title in italics. Available at: URL (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    University of West London [UWL] (2020) ‘Week 4: Leadership Styles’ [Presentation slides]. NS40050X: Accountability and professional leadership in nursing practice. Available at: https://online.uwl.ac.uk/bbcswebv/pid-9 (Accessed: 26 February 2022). 

  • Online videos

    Name of person/organisation posting the video (Year posted) Title in italics. Day and month uploaded. Available at: full URL/name of streaming service/DOI address (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    National Health Service [NHS] (2024) What is endometriosis? Symptoms and treatment. 1 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABi1ncHorBY (Accessed: 11 April 2024). 

  • Acts of Parliament

    Title of act and year in italics, chapter number in italics. Available at: full URL address (Accessed: date). 

    For example: 

    Care Act 2014, c. 23. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents/enacted  (Accessed: 11 April 2024). 

    • c.23' refers to chapter 23 which means this is the 23rd piece of legislation passed in the year. The Act should show this as part of its title.
    • The intext citation would be the name of the act in italics.

    For example: 

    Recent legislation (Care Act 2014) shows that... 

  • An example reference list

    Department of Health and Social Care [DHSC], May, R., McMahon, A., Tranka, S., McIlgorm, M., Brintworth, K., Keown, C., Craig, J. and Jewell, K. (2024) Senior nurses and midwives call for action on smoking and vaping. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/senior-nurses-midwives-call-for-action-on-smoking-and-vaping (Accessed: 23 July 2024). 

    Francis, R. (2013) Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry: Executive summary. (HC 947). Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7ba0faed915d13110607c8/0947.pdf (Accessed: 23 July 2024). 

    Grailey, K., Fernandez-Crespo, R., Howitt, P., Leis, M., Darzi, A. and Neves, A.L. (2024) ‘The cost of living crisis – how does it impact the health and life of individuals? A survey exploring perceptions in Italy, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom’, BMC Public Health, 24, article number 1831. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19330-y  

    Knifton, C. (2024) ‘Equity, diversity and inclusion: principles and prompts for PNA practice’, Nursing Times, 120(7), pp. 40-43. Available at: https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/clinical-supervision/equity-diversity-and-inclusion-principles-and-prompts-for-pna-practice-10-06-2024/ (Accessed: 22 July 2024). 

    Montgomery, A. and Moirasgenti, M. (2023) ‘How Staff WellBeing Relates to Patient Experiences of Care’, in H. Blake and G. Stacey (eds) Health and Wellbeing at Work for Nurses and Midwives. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 15-20. 

    National Health Service [NHS] (no date) Our Policies. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/our-policies/ (Accessed: 8 April 2024). 

    NHS England (2024) NHS urges more women to take up cervical screening invitations. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/06/nhs-urges-more-women-to-take-up-cervical-screening-invitations/ (Accessed: 23 July 2024). 

    Office for Health Improvement and Disparities [OHID] (2024) Addressing health inequalities across allied health professional (AHP) services: a guide for AHP system leaders. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/addressing-health-inequalities-across-allied-health-professional-ahp-services-a-guide-for-ahp-system-leaders/addressing-health-inequalities-across-allied-health-professional-ahp-services-a-guide-for-ahp-system-leaders (Accessed: 22 July 2024). 

    Price, B. (2024) Critical thinking and writing in nursing. 6th edn. London: SAGE, Learning Matters. 

    Sowemimo, A. (2023) Divided: racism, medicine and why we need to decolonise healthcare. London: Wellcome Collection. 

    Vincent, B. (2018) Transgender health: a practitioner's guide to binary and non-binary trans patient care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 

Get access to NHS resources

two female hands writing notes down in the ipad with the laptop open in the front

As a healthcare student at the University of West London, you are entitled to access to the Core Content electronic resources provided by the NHS for the duration of your course. This is in addition to the electronic resources provided by UWL itself and is separately administered by means of an Open Athens account. The resources include additional databases and journals.

If you are eligible for an Athens account, you will receive an email from the account administrator which will include your username and a link to activate your account. You must activate your account within 30 days of receiving this email.

A student wearing a yellow jumper sitting at a table by a window using a laptop

To activate your account, click on the link in the email and fill in the required fields to create and then confirm your new password. 

Once you have activated your account, you can access Open Athens. Type: University of West London in the ‘Find your institution’ search box; click the ‘University of West London’ link that appears below and then enter your username and password when prompted.

If you have any questions or problems relating to your Athens account, please contact emma.rees@uwl.ac.uk (Open Athens Administrator). 

A nurse consoles a patient in a hospital corridor

E-Learning for Healthcare

E-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) is run by Health Education England and provides online training modules for health and social care staff in a wide range of subjects. You can register for e-Learning for Healthcare via Open Athens.

After you log in to Athens, select e-Learning for Healthcare from the resources menu. 

Practice exercises

Below are some exercises to help you to get familiar with searching for information using the Library resources. Other exercises can be found in the Referencing and ‘Finding the Evidence’ video tutorials.

  • LibSearch

    As we have discussed above, LibSearch is available from the Library homepage and allows you to search for information on your keywords that has been published in journals, books, reports, etc. It is important to be confident in using the "All filters" tool to enable you to narrow down the results to the most useful ones to read. 

    If you need to, have a look at the "using LibSearch to locate books, e-books and other resources" video again on the best ways to search LibSearch.

    Use the below steps to search LibSearch and answer the questions below:

    • Search for: "infection control” AND hospital AND COVID-19

    • Use the filters menu to narrow down to:

      • date range last 12 months 

      • academic journals (under "All Filters" then "Source Type")

    Questions:

    1. Who wrote the article "Infection control of COVID-19 in pediatric tertiary care hospitals: challenges and implications for future pandemics"?

    2. What year was it published? 

    3. What journal was it published in? 

  • Ebooks

    Ebooks are accessible via LibSearch.

    The best way to find them is to:

    • Search for keywords that describe your topic, for example: "Infection control: applied microbiology for healthcare"
    • Within the "All Filters" option, narrow down to:
      • E-book
      • Full Text Online
      • Limit your search by date (last 12 months, last 3 years) to find only the most recently published books

    When you have found a book to read, you have the option to read it online. Be sure to sign out of the book once you have finished looking at it.

    Questions:

    1. How many pages can you copy of the book? (Hint: this information is on the page before you "read online") 
    2. Does this book mention the alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) ingredient isopropanol? (Hint: use the "search within book" search box) 

  • Journals

    Journals are incredibly rich in content and you will find them useful for your course throughout your studies. Journals are weekly, monthly or quarterly publications that publish articles on specific topics, often describing research the authors have done. The Library subscribes to thousands, so it is important to be able to find the relevant ones for you. You can search in LibSearch or specialist databases like CINAHL for articles on particular topics. If you are looking for a specific journal, you can search LibSearch by entering its title.

    Use the below steps for journals and answer the questions below:

    • Enter into LibSearch the title of the journal you are looking for, for example British Journal of Nursing

    • Look at the date range that is available for the journal 

    Questions:

    1. What is the oldest year that is available for British Journal of Nursing?"

    2. Open the journal and browse to 2021.  How many issues were published that year? 

Find out more