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- Get Evidence Informed Sources
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- Get Data and Statistics
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Program in Interdisciplinary Health
Laurentian's graduate program in Interdisciplinary Health integrates knowledge from various health fields including Kinesiology, Psychology, Sociology, and related disciplines to provide a broad understanding of health and human development over the life course. Originally a Master's in Human Development, the program was renamed in September 2014. For more information on the program, please visit its website.
Connect from Off Campus
Most of the Library's online resources are available to you from anywhere off campus. See: LU Proxy Accounts.
Library Instruction
To learn more about the library and its resources and how you can exploit them to your advantage, register in the Research Skills Tutorial on D2L. There are several sections in the tutorial with a short quiz at the end of each; at the end you will receive a Certificate of Completion. Many professors require you to take this tutorial--and once you finish it, you can save your certificate to reprint as often as necessary.
We can hold special classes at the request of at least 5 students. If you would like to arrange a special class, or you think your course would benefit from some in-class library instruction, please ask your professor to contact the librarian responsible for your faculty to set up some sessions.
More Help
In the library: The Library User Assistance Desk to your immediate left as you enter the library is a good place to start.
By email: Email the librarian responsible for your faculty for a reply during regular working hours.
Research consultations: Book a research consultation with the librarian responsible for your faculty by Zoom or phone.
By chat: With our "Ask the Library" service. For more information, see About Ask a Librarian.
For Distance Education students: Telephone: 1-800-661-1058, ext. 2 or email: bibdesmaraislib@laurentian.ca
Get Books and Theses
Searching the Catalogue
The catalogue is your primary tool for finding books in the J.N. Desmarais Library. You can also use the catalogue to find other materials, including government publications and journals (including individual articles).
You can search the catalogue by:
- Title
- Author/Creator
- Subject
- Call Number
When you know the book you are searching for, pick Title or Author; when you are searching for a topic, start with Keyword unless you know the exact Subject heading describing your topic.
More on searching the Catalogue is available in Module 5 of the Research Skills Tutorial in D2L.
E-Books
- Some may be located by using the library’s catalogue and selecting "Books & eBooks" as the "Material Type" and then further filtering your results by "Available online".
- E-books can also be located by searching in e-book collections. Searching in these collections is the same as searching in a database.
Recommended E-Book Collections
WorldCat
Theses
In addition to books, you may wish to search for book-length Master's theses or Ph.D dissertations.
Best bet: Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest).
If you are also looking for recent theses or dissertations produced by Laurentian graduates, check out our Research Repository - LUZONE. Note that since 2013, before graduation all Masters and Doctoral candidates MUST deposit their theses or dissertations in this repository.
Get Articles
Articles: Quick Tips
The databases to the right provide references to many scholarly journal articles and papers.
- Start off with keyword searches expressing your topic. Keyword searching crosses all fields.
- Use Search Operators such as "OR" and "AND" to expand or reduce your results.
- Review those items that look relevant, then, exploit the details within those entries to help lead you to other relevant articles.
- Pay attention to the subject headings (often called "descriptors") to see how the database describes your topic and use them to find related articles.
- Find other papers written by the same author; these will typically be on similar subjects.
- Follow citation trails: other articles that have cited this article will probably be on a related subject and will include citations to other articles of interest.
- For more Secrets of Searching a Database, review that section in How to Research Like a Librarian.
Peer Review
Peer Review is the evaluation of creative work by scholars in the same field in order to maintain or enhance the quality of the work in that field.
In the case of peer reviewed journals, which are usually academic, peer review generally refers to the evaluation of the articles in them prior to publication. For more, check out this definition of peer review.
- To ascertain whether a journal is peer reviewed, consult Ulrichsweb.
Nota Bene
Note: Library databases marked with a 
(which describes the database) open in the same window as this guide. Upon completion of a search in such a database, to return to the guide, you must click the back arrrow on your browser; alternatively, most browsers give you the option of opening these databases in a new tab or a new window.
Recommended Starting Databases
- PubMed ?
- CINAHL ?
- ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Premium ?
- PsycINFO ?
- SPORTDiscus ?
- UpToDate ?
You must register an UpToDate account using your @laurentian email to search the database.
Getting Articles @ Laurentian
In any database, when you see an article that interests you, click on it and, unless the article is available within the database itself, within the record you will see an image that says "Get it @ Laurentian":
When you click on that, you will arrive at a menu which will lead to an electronic copy of the article you want, or, if not available electronically, to Laurentian's catalogue which will allow you to check if the article is available in print in the library, and if not, to a final link which allows you to order the item through Interlibrary loan.
Get Evidence Informed Sources
Definition
The Canadian Nurses Association believes: "Evidence-informed decision-making is a continuous interactive process involving the explicit, conscientious and judicious consideration of the best available evidence to provide care." However, the Association concludes: "It is imperative to acknowledge that no level of evidence eliminates the need for professional clinical judgment or for the consideration of client preferences.
Advantages
According to the CNA, "Patients depend on [health professionals] to do the best on their behalf. As part of their professional accountability, [health professionals] must continually examine the best way to deliver care...When delivered in a context of caring and an organizational culture that promotes best practices, EBP is associated with higher quality care and better patient outcomes than care that is steeped in tradition." Further "EBP also reduces practice variations, promoting greater consistency of care and contributing greatly to quality and patient safety agendas... EBP leads to improved health care provider satisfaction... including increased... autonomy...Work stress is reduced for[hea;th professinmals] when evidence-based guidelines are enacted.... At a system level, “health-care services based on the best currently available evidence have been shown to decrease costs” and improve cost-effectiveness."
Types of Evidence
A variety of sources are being used by health professionals to facilitate their use of evidence. These sources include systematic reviews, research studies and abstraction journals that summarize valid, clinically useful published studies, and clinical practice guidelines. Guidelines are based on the most rigorous research available, and when research is not available, they are grounded in expert opinion and consensus."
The 6S Pyramid: Resources for Evidence-Based Practice
The 6S pyramid is arranged in a hierarchy, with the different levels outlined and colour-coded to the right of this page
To begin your search for relevant evidence, use the concepts identified in your focussed question , remembering:
-
A piece of evidence's ability to guide clinical action increases as you move up the pyramid.
-
The breadth of knowledge is largest at the base of the triangle.
N.B. This and the following panel of this Guide has been adapted from one developed at McMaster University. It has been modified for local use.
Three Key References
Here are three articles, the first which will puts the 6S system in context and the second two which explain how it can be searched:
DiCenso, A., Bayley, L., & Haynes, R. B. (2009). Accessing pre-appraised evidence: fine-tuning the 5S model into a 6S model. Evidence based nursing, 12(4), 99-101.
Robeson, P., Dobbins, M., DeCorby, K., & Tirilis, D. (2010). Facilitating access to pre-processed research evidence in public health. BMC public health, 10(1), 95.
Windish, D. (2013). Searching for the right evidence: how to answer your clinical questions using the 6S hierarchy. Evidence Based Medicine, 18(3), 93-97.
The 6S Pyramid in Action
SYSTEMS
Integrating information from the lower levels of the hierarchy with individual patient records, systems represent the ideal source of evidence for clinical decision-making.
SUMMARIES
Summaries are regularly updated clinical guidelines or textbooks that integrate evidence-based information about specific clinical problems.
Clinical Practice Guidelines
General
- CMA's CPG Infobase: Clinical Practice Guidelines Infobase
- National Guideline Clearinghouse (US) In advanced search, filter by Clinical Specialty--Nursing
- NICE Clinical Guidelines (National Institute for Health and Clinical Evidence, UK)
- SIGN (Scotting Intercollegite Guidelines Network)
Nursing
- Best Practice Guidelines (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO))
- Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database Limit Publication Type to Evidence Summaries
Other
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A list of links to Evidence-Informed Practice is available from from the OAPAN Canadian Center of Excellence.
Evidence-Based Texts
- Evidence Alerts (McMaster Plus and DynaMed Plus (You must first REGISTER for a FREE account)
- First Consult (via Clinical Key: Select "Clinical Overviews" from the drop down menu next to the search bar)
- Up to Date (Used by a variety of health professionals).
SYNOPSES OF SYNTHESES
Synopses of syntheses, summarize the information found in systematic reviews. By drawing conclusions from evidence at lower levels of the pyramid, these synopses often provide sufficient information to support clinical action.
- NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) (Includes DARE (Database of Abstracts on Review of Effectiveness, EED (Economic Evaluation Database) and HTA (Heath Technology Assessment Database)
- Cochrane Summaries
- DARE
- HealthEvidence.org (McMaster University--free but requires registration)
SYNTHESES
Commonly referred to as a systematic review, a synthesis is a comprehensive summary of all the evidence surrounding a specific research question.
- Cochrane Neonatal Reviews (National Institute of Child & Human Development)
- EPC Evidence Reports (Evidence-Based Practice Centers)
- Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database Limit Publication Type to Systematic Reviews
- Pubmed Clinical Inquiries
SYNOPSES OF SINGLE STUDIES
Synopses of single studies summarize evidence from high-quality studies. The following evidence-based abstract journals are the best place to find this type of information:
- Cancer Treatment Reviews (Formerly Evidence-Based Oncology)
- Evidence Based Midwifery
- International Journal of Evidence-based Healthcare
- Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare
SINGLE STUDIES
Studies represent unique research conducted to answer specific clincial questions.
Article Databases
The CINAHL, OVID (Medline, PsycINFO), and Pubmed databases can be searched using the Clinical Queries filter, limiting your results to specific clinical research areas: Therapy, Prognosis, Review, Qualitative, and Causation (Etiology)
For further information and tips on using the Clinical Queries filter, please visit the following links:
- CINAHL Clinical Queries
- OVID Clinical Queries (Search Clinical)
META_SEARCHES
Meta-Searches search for evidence across multiple resources. These tools return information from all levels of the pyramid:
- ACCESSSSS ("One-stop" access to pre-appraised evidence to address this key question: what is the current best evidence available to support clinical decisions?)
- TRIP Database (Turning Research Into Practice)
- Epistemonikos (Meta-searching in 9 languages)
- SUMSearch (University of Kansas)
Get Films
Need a Film not Available in Laurentian's Online Film Collections?
Consult: Watmedia (Provincial Multi-media Catalogue). Material held by Laurentian may be signed out in the library. To order a film not available at Laurentian, please email LUFilmLibrary@laurentian.ca and specify the date(s) you require the item.
Questions: Please contact Ashley Thomson who manages the Intrafilm Project.
Get Data and Statistics
Start Here
Ontario Population Health Index of Databases (OPHID) (I) (Edit)
In addition, the data librarians at York University (Toronto) have compiled a thorough guide to various Data and Stats Sources, not only for Canada, but for the United States and other International locations.
E-Data
International, national, and provincial statistical health data are important sources of information for health, allowing for the analysis, evaluation, and development of policies and services.
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada provides recent data, profiles, indicators, methods, and studies on Canadians.
Stats Guide
For more information, visit our research guide on Data and Statistics.
Feel free to email data@laurentian.ca for further help in conducting research with data and statistics.
Citing Sources and Zotero
Citation Styles
At Laurentian, professors will specify the citation style to be used. In the Interdisciplinary Health program, it is normally APA. To learn more about the APA and other citation styles, consult Laurentian's guide to citation styles.
Zotero
is a free, web-based citation manager that allows you to:
- Directly import references from article databases, the library catalogue, e-book collections, etc.
- Manage and organize your references.
- Create a bibliography.
- Share your references with others
- Add in-text citation and a bibliography directly into your assignment
Connect to Zotero
Getting started with Zotero:
- Follow
this Guide specially prepared for Laurentian Users by Ashley Thomson (Sept. 2020)
- Contact the librarian supporting your faculty.
- Sign up for library workshops when available.
- View Quick Start Guide (video) or Tutorials (videos)
- Consult one of Zotero's own User Guides or McMaster University's Quick Start Guide or the Zotero Guide by Ontario Tech University