Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory

Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

Lesson title: COMPUTER APPLICATION THAT SUPPORT Materials:

NURSING RESEARCH Electronic gadget, pen, & notebook

Learning Targets: References:

At the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Describe the steps on how to search effectively; Calano, Roel B. & Del Rio, Fernando. (2017).
2. Use different reliable educational search engines; Health informatics: An illustrative approach
3. Identify statistical tools used online; and, (1st ed.)
4. Differentiate primary and secondary data sources.
Saba, Virginia & McCormick, Kathleen.
(2006). Essential of nursing informatics (4th
ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

List three educational search engines you have used and write at least 3 sentences about your personal experiences in
virtual learning.

B. MAIN LESSON

COMPUTER APPLICATION THAT SUPPORT NURSING RESEARCH

1. Computerized literature searching- CINAHL, Medline and web sources.

2. The adoption of standardized language related to nursing terms-NANDA etc.
3. The ability to find trends in aggregate data, which is data, derived from large population groups- SPSS.

Literature searches
● organized, systematic and thorough search of all types of literature in a certain topic
● to complete thorough literature search you should:
− define what you are searching for
− decide where to search
− develop a search strategy
− refine your search strategy
− save your search for future use

Steps on how to search effectively

1. Identify search words or keywords
− Analyze your research topic or question
o What are the main ideas?
o What concepts or theories have you already covered?
o Write down your main ideas, synonyms, related words or phrases

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 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

2. Where to search: database

− It is advised to search for several databases to make sure you do not miss a key paper related to your
topic.
− Saved searches- in many databases you can save a search to run a later date particularly if your search
statement is complex and lengthy to enter.
3. Search techniques
− Once you have your keywords, combine them
− Boolean logic which allows you to link your search terms. It requires the use of Boolean operators AND,
OR and NOT
4. Evaluating information
− Evaluate the literature you find for quality and relevance

5. Organizing information
− When conducting a literature search recording the information you find in an organized manner is
essential. Literature searches require you to read and keep track of articles. Bibliographic management
tools can be used to help organize the references.

RELIABLE SEARCH ENGINES & DATABASES

● Database: it allows you to efficiently search for published information such as magazine, journal and newspaper
articles.

● Why use a Database?

− Reliable: many articles found in databases have undergone peer review process and generally more
reliable than information found on the internet, and it provides all the information you need to evaluate a
source for credibility (such as publication details and author’s name)
− Relevant: databases allow you to customize your search to get the most relevant result. Search for
keywords, terminology, subject headings and descriptors. You can also search by author or title.
− Accessible: databases often provide access to the full text of an article so you do not need to go to the
library to retrieve it in person. Also allows us to access information at no charge.

● Search engines such as google use computer algorithms to search the internet and identify items that match the
characters and keywords entered by the user.
● Why use a search engine?
− They are useful for finding information produced by Governments, Organizations, groups and individuals.
● Google: the most popular search engine in the world; offers a large Web page catalog. Developed by Larry Page
and Sergey Brin in 1996. They created the "back rub" strategy which meant that a search would prioritize the
results by ranking the page that is linked the most first (page ranking).
● Bing: offers related search ideas and search suggestions as you type in the search bar; can say how many results
you'd like displayed on one page
● Yahoo: provides advanced search options, preferences settings, and search suggestions
● Human powered search engines: ChaCha and MAhaloRefSeek: more than 1 billion books, encyclopedias,
journals, Web resources, and newspapers
● Academic Index.net: scholarly index of Web resources selected by librarians and academic professionals
● Search.com: identifies the search engine along with its results and offers both Web-wide searches and a wide
variety of specialty search options. operated by CBS Interactive
● Dogpile.com: searches Google, Yahoo!, Yandex, and more and identifies search engines along with its results.
Sends a search to a customizable list of searches.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

● DuckDuckGo.com: searches a number of crowd-sourced websites including Bing, Yahoo!, and Yandex, and
presents search results in order of most relevant content, rather than most popular content
● Noodle Tools: educational tools, software, and information for students; guidance on when to use what search
engine
● TeachThought's 100 Search Engines for Academic Research: a list of all-purpose, job-related, and subject-
specific search engines, information about databases and archives; as well as books and journals; informational
sources concerning maps, news, multimedia, legal issues, open-source materials, schools, and more

● Other Educational search engines

− Google scholar: scholarly resources, including articles and theses, that span countless disciplines
− Google books
− Microsoft academic
− WorldWideScience
− Science.gov
− Wolfram Alpha
− Refseek: books, encyclopedias, journals, web resources, newspapers
− Educational Resources Information Center
− iSeek: more than 100,000 sources from universities, the government, and noncommercial providers
− ResearchGate
− BASE
− Infotopia
− PubMed Central
− Lexis Web

How do search engines work?

1. Crawl: automated spiders browse websites and build list of keywords
2. Index: select info is sent to the search engines database to be indexed
3. Match: entries in the database are matched when users conduct searches.
4. Locate: pages containing page(s) searched for are located
5. Display: pages are sorted and ranked by relevance on a page

DATA COLLECTION & STATISTICAL TOOLS

TYPES
A. Quantitative data: data that is expressed in numbers and summarized using statistics to give meaningful
information
B. Qualitative data: when we use data for description without measurement. Data can’t be easily summarized using
statistics.

SOURCES OF DATA
A. Primary data: obtained directly from individuals, objects or processes.
o Advantage: no customizations needed to make the data usable
o One can control how the data is collected
B. Secondary data: when you collect data after another researcher that initially gathered

Examples of Primary Data Sources

● Data and original research ● Autobiographies and memoirs
● Diaries and journals ● Government documents
● Speeches and interviews ● Census statistics
● Letters and memos

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 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

Secondary data sources

● Encyclopedias ● Most journal activities
● Chronologies ● Abstracts of articles
● Biographies ● Paraphrased quotations
● Monographs

STATISTICAL TOOLS
Statistical methods are mathematical formulas, models, and techniques that are used in statistical analysis of raw
research data. The application of statistical methods extracts information from research data and provides different ways
to assess the robustness of research outputs.

A. On-line Questionnaires: these are designed through the careful construction of questions to identify facts and
opinions from specific groups of respondents. Using a questionnaire to gather research data is often an attractive
proposition as they are arguably more precise and focused than alternative methods such as interviewing and
observation by researchers.
● Advantages
− Inexpensive − Comparability
− Practical − Easy analysis
− Fast result − Validity & Reliability
− Scalability − No pressure
● Disadvantages
− Dishonest answers
− Interpretation issues
− Accessibility issue

B. Digital Polls: (AKA online poll) allows participants to communicate responses via the internet, typically by
completing a questionnaire in a web page.
● May allow anyone to participate OR may be restricted to a sample drawn from a larger panel.
● Allows one to ask a single multiple choice question. Participants can choose among predefined answers (can be
restricted to one answer or multiple answers).
● Advantages: opinion polls are a way of estimating public opinion on a certain matter. In nursing research, digital
polls are useful for assessing probable public reaction to all illness, medical procedure, method, plan, or product.
− Can reach a wider audience
− Easier for people to respond to and access
− Instant delivery of results
− Ease of processing and display (graphs, bar charts, and other diagrams and graphics to display result)

C. Survey monkey
● SVMK Inc., doing business as SurveyMonkey, is online survey development cloud-based software as a service
company.
● It was founded in 1999 by Ryan Finley and Chris Finley.
● The company provides surveys, and a suite of paid back-end programs.
● How does survey monkey work?
Gather opinions and transform them into People Powered Data (PPD)
1. Easily create surveys, quizzes, and polls for any audience.
2. Gather feedback via web link, email, mobile chat, social media, and more.
3. Automatically analyze your results and get powerful analysis features.
4. Export your results or integrate your data with your favorite apps.
5. Use your insights to make better, data-driven decisions.
● How does it improve healthcare?
1. Supports patient-provider communication by getting feedback

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 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

− Measures employee satisfaction

− Monitor patients’ health and safety habits
− Probe the efficacy of patient safety culture
2. Helps gather and analyze more information faster
− Custom health surveys, or rely on expert templates
− Distributes surveys more efficiently
− Platform to analyze the results and export professional charts
● Types of Healthcare surveys
1. Patient satisfaction- quality: doctors, staff, facilities
2. Employees and staff- engaged org.; training and tools.
− Employee engagement
− Patient safety culture
− Training feedback and incident reports
− Event and meeting feedback
− Performance evaluation and reviews
− Exit interviews and other HR surveys
3. Medical research: specific population and /or vs others
4. Set benchmarks: point of reference = specific improvement

Check for Understanding

After studying the main lesson, you may now answer the following multiple choice questions and provide the rationale for
each item.

1. What is the first step on how to search effectively?

A. Where to search database C. Identify search words or keywords
B. Search techniques D. Evaluating information
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. If you choose a topic for a multiple-page research paper that is too broad or vague, you will likely find:
A. very little information C. just enough information
B. too much information D. None of the above
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Allows you to efficiently search for published information such as magazine, journal and newspaper articles.
A. Database C. Google
B. Search engine D. Yahoo
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

4. Refers to a systematic and well-organized search from the already published data to identify a breadth of good quality
references on a specific topic.
A. Literature searches C. Yahoo search
B. Google search D. Bing Search
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. If you choose a topic for a multiple-page research paper that is very specific or new, you will likely find:
A. very little information C. just enough information
B. too much information D. none of the above
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What type of resource is written by an expert in a particular field, reports on scholarly research, and includes a list of
cited references at the end?
A. Journal article C. Encyclopedia article
B. Magazine article D. Newspaper article
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Periodical articles come from: (Select one)

A. Journals C. Newspaper
B. Magazines D. All of the above
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Review the citation below. Select the source that it comes from:
"Does Reality Backbite? Physical, Verbal, and Relational Aggression in Reality Television Programs." By Coyne, Sarah
M.; Robinson, Simon L.; Nelson, David A. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Apr2010, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p282-
298, 17p, 3 Charts.
A. Book C. Popular magazine
B. Newspaper D. Scholarly journal
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 Nursing Informatics – Lecture & Laboratory
Module #20 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

9. Review the article citation below. Select the source that it comes from:
"THE Wild, the Stupid & the Jersey Shore Shuffle." By Eliscu, Jenny. Rolling Stone, 8/5/2010, Issue 1110, p54-57, 4p, 2
Color Photographs.
A. Popular magazine C. Newspaper
B. Book D. Scholarly journal
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What is the most popular search engine in the world?

A. Google C. Bing
B. Yahoo D. Firefox
Answer: ________
Rationale:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

Thinking about Learning

CAT 3-2-1

This strategy provides a structure for you to record your own comprehension and summarize your learning. Let us see
your progress in this chapter!:

Three things you learned:

1. _______________________________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Two things that you’d like to learn more about:

1. ________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________

One question you still have:

1. ________________________________________________________________________________________

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