Melody M Allison1. 1. Biology Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 101 Burrill Hall, 407 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. mmalliso@uiuc.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: A bibliometric investigation was done to identify characteristics of the literature that nephrology nurses utilize. It is one component of a broader study, "Mapping the Literature of Nursing," by the Medical Library Association's Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section Task Force to Map the Literature of Nursing. METHODS: Following a standard protocol, this project utilized Bradford's Law of Scattering to analyze the literature of nephrology nursing. Citation analysis was done on articles that were published from 1996 to 1998 in a source journal. Cited journal titles were divided into three zones, and coverage in major article databases were scored for Zones 1 and 2. RESULTS: During the three-year period, journals were the most frequently cited format type. Eighty-one journals were cited in Zones 1 and 2. As Bradford's Law of Scattering predicted, a small number of the cited journals accounted for the most use. Coverage is most comprehensive for cited journals in Science Citation Index, PubMed/ MEDLINE, and EMBASE. When looking just at cited nursing journals, CINAHL and PubMed/MEDLINE provide the best indexing coverage. CONCLUSION: This study offers understanding of and insights into the types of information that nephrology nurses use for research. It is a valuable tool for anyone involved with providing nephrology nursing literature.
OBJECTIVES: A bibliometric investigation was done to identify characteristics of the literature that nephrology nurses utilize. It is one component of a broader study, "Mapping the Literature of Nursing," by the Medical Library Association's Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section Task Force to Map the Literature of Nursing. METHODS: Following a standard protocol, this project utilized Bradford's Law of Scattering to analyze the literature of nephrology nursing. Citation analysis was done on articles that were published from 1996 to 1998 in a source journal. Cited journal titles were divided into three zones, and coverage in major article databases were scored for Zones 1 and 2. RESULTS: During the three-year period, journals were the most frequently cited format type. Eighty-one journals were cited in Zones 1 and 2. As Bradford's Law of Scattering predicted, a small number of the cited journals accounted for the most use. Coverage is most comprehensive for cited journals in Science Citation Index, PubMed/ MEDLINE, and EMBASE. When looking just at cited nursing journals, CINAHL and PubMed/MEDLINE provide the best indexing coverage. CONCLUSION: This study offers understanding of and insights into the types of information that nephrology nurses use for research. It is a valuable tool for anyone involved with providing nephrology nursing literature.