Welcome to the Ph.D. in Nursing Education research guide! This research guide features the databases, research methodologies, and other library resources that will be essential to completing your coursework. Here at the library, we specialize in helping you learn how to conduct doctoral-level research. Librarians at the JFL can help you find books, articles, and other resources for your dissertation, but librarians are unable to help you choose a methodology or framework. If you have questions about citation styles or the writing process, please reach out to the Online Writing Center.
When conducting doctoral-level research, it is best to rely on our nursing, education, and psychology databases to find relevant resources, depending on your specific research question. It is possible to use the advanced search feature on the library's homepage to find resources, but you should not rely on this search bar for the entirety of your research. The databases below and in the tabs above are great options for your research!
In addition to consulting databases, the specific journals below provide resources related to nursing education:
When conducting doctoral-level research, it is best to rely on our nursing, education, and psychology databases to find relevant resources, depending on your specific research question. It is possible to use the advanced search feature on the library's homepage to find resources, but you should not rely on this search bar for the entirety of your research. The databases below and in the tabs above are great options for your research!
When conducting doctoral-level research, it is best to rely on our nursing, education, and psychology databases to find relevant resources, depending on your specific research question. It is possible to use the advanced search feature on the library's homepage to find resources, but you should not rely on this search bar for the entirety of your research. The databases below and in the tabs above are great options for your research!
Qualitative research methods are commonly employed in nursing and education research. Your course text provides information on different qualitative research methods, and the JFL also has resources to help you learn about different research methods. The Routledge International Handbook of Qualitative Nursing Research also has great resources related to qualitative methods. Additionally, Busetto, Wick, and Gumbinger's 2020 article "How to use and assess qualitative research methods" provides a concise overview of the qualitative research process.
Resources:
When finding documents for your chosen theoretical framework, you will need to consult the theory's seminal document. Seminal works, also known as pivotal or landmark studies, are articles or books that are discipline-defining and continue to influence current research. For a majority of resources, you will need to consult older literature, outside of the past five years, to find the seminal work.
The steps below are suggestions for finding seminal documents:
1. Who is the theory's primary author(s) and where is the theory discussed? - To find the theory's author, do a few quick Google searches using the theory's name to discover authorship. When reading articles received from your Google search, be on the lookout for the titles of books or articles where the theory is discussed.
2. Begin searching using the Library's find resources bar - From the library's homepage, you can search under All, Books, or Articles tab using the titles of books or articles that you gleaned from your initial searches in step 1, or you can use the advanced search feature to search using the author's last name.
To conduct an advanced search, click on advanced search, which is found under the library's Find Resources bar on the Library's homepage (photo below).
In the first search bar, select author from the drop-down menu and then enter the author's last name in the search bar (photo below). Click the search icon at the bottom of the page. This will provide resources written by the author.
Another tool when searching for an author and their works is to use Google Scholar. Google Scholar provides user profiles for some, but not all, authors and their works. To check if a profile is available, go to google Scholar and search for the researcher's name. If a profile is available, it will populate at the top of the screen. See this example Google Scholar user profile for Davina Banner.
Finally, you can use the Jerry Falwell Library's Scopus database to find articles written by a specific author. This tutorial on using Spcpus is a great place to begin.