9.2.4 Electronic Databases

Describes the Difference Between the Following Electronic Databases: Cinahl, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Pubmed, SIGLE

Electronic databases are essential tools for finding relevant and reliable information in healthcare research.

Below are some of the commonly used databases in healthcare research and their distinctive features:

Cinahl:

Cinahl stands for Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. This database is focused on nursing and allied health disciplines and contains both scholarly and non-scholarly articles. Cinahl is particularly useful for finding evidence-based practice guidelines, care plans, and systematic reviews related to nursing and allied health.

Cochrane Library:

The Cochrane Library is a collection of high-quality, systematic reviews and meta-analyses that summarize the available evidence on specific healthcare topics. It includes Cochrane Reviews, which are considered the gold standard for systematic reviews in healthcare, as well as other evidence-based resources such as clinical trials, methods studies, and editorials.

EMBASE:

EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database) is a biomedical and pharmacological database that covers a wide range of healthcare topics. It includes both English and non-English language articles, as well as conference abstracts, books, and book chapters. EMBASE is particularly useful for finding information on drug therapy and pharmacology.

PsycINFO:

PsycINFO is a database that focuses on psychology and related fields such as psychiatry, sociology, and education. It contains peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and dissertations on a wide range of topics related to human behaviour and mental health.

Pubmed:

PubMed is a free database that contains more than 32 million citations for biomedical literature. It includes peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and online books in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, and veterinary medicine.

SIGLE:

SIGLE (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) is a bibliographic database that contains information on grey literature (i.e., documents that are not formally published in journals or books). It includes reports, theses, conference proceedings, and other unpublished research from Europe.

Database	Focus	Content	Language
Cinahl	Nursing and allied	Scholarly and non-scholarly articles	English
Cochrane	Systematic reviews	Cochrane Reviews, clinical trials, editorials	English
EMBASE	Biomedical	Biomedical and pharmacological articles	English
PsycINFO	Psychology	Peer-reviewed articles and dissertations	English
PubMed	Biomedical	Peer-reviewed articles, books, conference pro	English
SIGLE	Grey literature	Unpublished reports, theses, conference pro	Multiple

References:

1. Hunter, A., & Bird, J. (2015). Searching and using the literature. In J. Gough, S. Oliver, & J. Thomas (Eds.), An Introduction to Systematic Reviews (pp. 79-97). Sage.
2. Lefebvre, C., Glanville, J., Beale, S., Boachie, C., Duffy, S., Fraser, C., … & Wright, D. (2019). Searching for and selecting studies. In J. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, & M. Cumpston (Eds.), Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (pp. 67-108). John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781119536604.ch4