Nursing 121 (Crossman)

Common Elements of a Peer-Reviewed Research Article 

A peer-reviewed research article generally includes the following sections:

Abstract - includes a brief summary of the research and is typically followed by author credentials.

Introduction - the introduction will contain information about the authors' intentions for the article, why they did the research, and it will include the hypothesis or research objectives. 

Methods - a description of the research methods used (survey, focus groups, statistical analysis, regression analysis, etc.); may also describe limitations with the selected method.

Results - scientific description of the findings.

Discussion - discusses the research in detail.

Conclusion - summarizes the findings and makes suggestions for future use of research. 

Appendix/Appendices - may or may not be part of the article

References and/or bibliography

What are the characteristics of a scholarly publication in the digital age?

Web publishing has complicated the identification of scholarly communications. Traditional cues such as publisher, press, and durability are no longer constant in the world of digital, scholarly communications. Findings from Leah Halliday’s work with scholars, librarians, and researchers has identified three characteristics to look for in a publication:

Trustworthiness

• Scholarly Publications, such as articles and books, should not be changed after digital distribution.  
• Different versions should be clearly identified so as to alert the community to changes.
• To satisfy all potential interest, trustworthiness should be based on 'institutionalised' measures such as peer review and this process should be evident to the community.
• Each publication should have at least one identifiable author.

Publicity

• The potential audience must be made aware that the publication exists. Libraries are great partners for publicity.
• The publication should have metadata containing a minimum set of information, preferably including information about all versions. Metadata will enable others to find it.

Accessibility

• The author must intend that the publication be made publicly available in a durable form over the long term.
• The publication must be durably recorded on some medium.
• The publication must be reliably accessible and retrievable over time. Supporting institutions have a responsibility to support long-term accessibility.
• There should be a commitment not to withdraw the publication by the author(s).
• The publication must be publicly available, i.e. available to any member of the public on demand as of right, whether for payment of a fee or not.
• The publication should have stable identifiers.

Works Cited

Halliday, L. (2001). Scholarly communication, scholarly publication and the status of emerging formats.Information Research, 6(4). Retrieved from: Available at: http://InformationR.net/ir/paper111.html

Suggested search strings

TRY:

<your topic> AND (health* OR wellness)

Examples:

social media AND (health* OR wellness)

(food diaries OR food habits) AND (health* OR wellness)

(stress OR mood) AND (health* OR wellness)

Nursing Databases

Make sure to use Boolean operators and search limiters to return a manageable amount of relevant results. The EBSCO & Gale search bars are located in the middle of the page on the first tab.

See a full listing of all available databases by subject or alphabetical order. In the alphabetical list, hover your mouse cursor over the link to see the description.

Limit your publication date to the last 5 years

Find peer-reviewed, evidenced-based practice articles in CINAHL nursing database

Visit the University of North Carolina's Writing Lab for more writing help.

What is Plagiarism?    

You Quote It, You Note It! is an 10 minute interactive tutorial created by the Acadia University Library that describes the act of plagiarism, and differentiates between paraphrasing and quoting. Click on the title to play the tutorial.

Examples of Acceptable and Unacceptable Paraphrasing  

The examples below will show you how paraphrase correctly. They're adapted from Paraphrasing by University Libraries, University of Arizona with its gracious permission.

Here's the original text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:

The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

Here's an unacceptable paraphrase:

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

What makes this passage plagiarism?

This is unacceptable paraphrasing because the writer has:

• only changed a few words and phrases
• only changed the order of the original's sentences
• failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts

Here's an acceptable paraphrase:

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the U.S., they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams 1).

Why is this passage acceptable?

• accurately relays the information in the original using his/her own words
• lets the reader know the source of information

Here's an another acceptable paraphrase, using a quotation and paraphrase together:

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steam-powered production shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers "transformed farm hands into factory workers" and created jobs for immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River was one of these manufacturing hubs that were also "centers of commerce and trade" (Williams 1).

Why is this passage acceptable?

• accurately records the information in the original passage
• gives credit for the ideas in this passage
• indicated which part is taken directly from the source by putting the passage in quotation marks and citing the page number

 Strategies for avoiding plagiarism

1. Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text, especially when taking notes.

2. When you paraphrase, be sure you're not just rearranging or replacing a few words. Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text with your hand, or close the text so you can't see any of it (and so aren't tempted to use the text as a "guide"). Write out the idea in your own words without peeking.

3. Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you haven't accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate.

Contact the MCC Library if you need help finding or evaluating sources.

During fall and spring semesters, the Library is open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. and Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. 

You can also email askalibrarian@mohave.edu.

Contact the Student Success Center if you need help writing, editing or formatting your paper.

During fall and spring semesters, tutors are available Monday - Thursday from 9:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. and Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. 

SmartThinking online tutoring also has tutors who will review your paper. You can access SmartThinking through Schoology at the bottom of the lefthand toolbar.

MCC Connect can transfer your call to the Library, Student Success Center or your professor. Call 866-664-2832.