Assignment: Evidence-Based Project, Part 4: Critical Appraisal of ResearchRealtors rely on detailed property appraisals—conducted using appraisal tools—to assign market values to houses and other prop

Running Head: SEARCHING DATABASES 0

Searching Databases

Name

Institution

Transformation of Clinical Inquiry into a Searchable Question in PICO (T)

P- 73-year-old female in good health with normal cholesterol levels and no chronic diseases

I - Lipitor

C- Atorvastatin

O- Slow the rate of memory loss.

Searchable Question

In aging females in good health with normal cholesterol levels and no chronic disease, will using atorvastatin help slow down memory loss?

Strategies I might use to increase the Rigor and effectiveness of a Database Search on my PICO (T) Question

To increase the precision and effectiveness of a database search for my PICO (T) question, I will use six specific strategies. They are, conceptualize my search, use suitable vocabulary, merge terms and ideas using the Boolean device, review my search strategy, explore more than one database, and acquire database search rules and idiosyncrasy (Stillwell et al., 2010a).

By conceptualizing my search, I will first consider my patient, a 73-year-old female, in good health as an adult. Then the type of studies I would prefer to answer my PICO (T) question; in this case, I will prefer systematic review since I will use literature present in the databases (Stillwell et al., 2010a). I will then consider the range of years that I want to get data from, the language from which I want the literature that is English, and finally, the settings in which I want the data, for instance, I would like my PICO (T) to be in the hospital setting.

Since each database has its distinctive terminology based on the topic subject of the database, therefore, I will use the right terminologies such as atorvastatin to determine the database I will use for my search (Melnyx et al., 2009). The common vocabulary that will determine that I will use a medical database is MeSH, which both PubMed and Medline use.

After identifying the right vocabularies for my database search, I will then merge terms and ideas by utilizing the Boolean operators (Davies, 2011). For instance, I will use words like and, or, and not combine the keywords to enhance the probability of finding the appropriate data.

I will then review my search strategy by looking at the research question once again, identify the key ideas, review my search terms, review the search fields I will use, and phrase search using Boolean operators (Stillwell et al., 2010b).

The next strategy that I will follow to enhance practical and rigorous searches will be to explore more than one database with literature regarding medical research (Melynx, 2011). Using more than one medical database will give me a broader range of peer-reviewed literature that I can choose from the most relevant article addressing my question.

The final strategy that I will use is to acquire the rules and idiosyncrasy that are necessary for the medical database (Stillwell et al., 2010a). This will help me know how to manage the information I will get from the database to become useful for my search activities. Knowing how to manage the database will make the information I add to it to be more accessible and integrated. It will allow me to become a strategic user of the data that I already have.

References

Davies, K. S. (2011). Formulating the evidence-based practice question: a review of the

Frameworks. Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice, 6(2), 75-80.

Melnyk, B. M., Fineout-Overholt, E., Stillwell, S., & Williamson, K. M. (2009). Igniting a spirit

Of inquiry: An Essential foundation for evidence-based practice how nurses can build the knowledge and skills they need to implement ebp. American Journal of Nursing, 109(11), 49-52.

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (Eds.). (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing &

Healthcare: A Guide to best practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Stillwell, S. B., Fineout-Overholt, E., Melnyk, B. M., & Williamson, K. M. (2010a). Evidence-

Based practice, step by step: Asking the clinical question: A key step in evidence-based practice. American Journal of Nursing, 110(3), 58–61. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000368959.11129.79

Stillwell, S. B., Fineout-Overholt, E., Melnyk, B. M., & Williamson, K. M. (2010b). Evidence-

Based Practice, step by step: searching for the evidence. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 110(5), 41-47.