The primary database for searching articles on Dental Hygiene topics is CINAHL Complete. It provides access to thousands of full-text articles. Watch the following video for a brief overview of how CINAHL works. You don't need to memorize how to do everything in this video, but it does give you an overview of how the database works and how to get started:
As you can see from the video above, research articles can look confusing. But most scientific articles have common parts that can be recognized and help you quickly figuring out what the authors did for a study, the results of the study, and the context of the study within the practice of dental hygiene, for instance. Go through the following tutorial, "Demystifying Scientific Articles," to find out how to understand them, then take the quiz at the end. At the end of the tutorial, take the quiz and REMEMBER your score! And don't forget to scroll down after the tutorial -- there's a bit of practice there that you'll need to do.
Now, YOU try it! Click the link for CINAHL Complete, and try your own search. It can be anything related to Dental Hygiene. The full-text box should already be checked, but scroll down and check the Peer Reviewed box, too. Find an article on your topic, and then answer the questions below...
