Research Guides: Physical Therapy: Where to Search

Health Sciences Databases

Seven of the Library's best databases that index PT literature are listed below. The Ovid Health Journals link below provides access to a specific database of 6 PT journal titles to which we subscribe and which were selected by our Physical Therapy Department faculty.

Additional resources that are not listed here are those to which you have access through your student membership dues to APTA. Please check with your faculty if you need additional information on accessing those resources.

CINAHL
Click the red star for a brief tutorial. Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) provides access to virtually all English-language nursing journals, and primary journals from 13 allied health disciplines.
Cochrane Library
Click the red star for a brief tutorial. The Cochrane Library is the gold standard for evidence-based research to inform healthcare decision making. It is a collection of databases including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. (See more information for a detailed explanation of each).
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care. The CDSR includes Cochrane Reviews (the systematic reviews) and protocols for Cochrane Reviews as well as editorials. The CDSR also has occasional supplements. The CDSR is updated regularly as Cochrane Reviews are published ‘when ready’ and form monthly issues; see publication schedule.

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) is a highly concentrated source of reports of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials. The majority of CENTRAL records are taken from bibliographic databases (mainly MEDLINE and Embase), but records are also derived from other published and unpublished sources. In addition to bibliographic details (author, source, year, etc.) CENTRAL records will often include an abstract (a summary of the article). They do not contain the full text of the article.
Ovid Health Journals
Click the red star to access a tutorial covering how to do keyword searching in the Ovid Health Journals Database. Cross disciplinary database containing mostly journals relating to the health science field. We have full text access to the 6 journals listed below, but you can search all the journals for abstracts.
Full text access to the following journals:
Healthcare Management Review
Journal of Christian Nursing
Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy
Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Stroke

PEDro - Physiotherapy Evidence Database
PEDro is a free database of over 28,000 randomized trials, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy. Links to full text are provided where possible. All trials on PEDro are independently assessed for quality. PEDro is produced by the Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy at The George Institute for Global Health in Australia.

Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI)
Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI), produced by Behavioral Measurement Database Services, is a comprehensive bibliographic database providing information about behavioral measurement instruments. Information in the database is abstracted from hundreds of leading journals covering health sciences and psychosocial sciences.
PubMed
For updated instructions on how to search the New PubMed hover over the Where to Search tab and click on "New PubMed". The New PubMed was introduced in Fall 2019.
(To continue to access and use MeSH terms as was recommended for the old PubMed (Legacy PubMed), click the link to MeSH on the left side of the PubMed home page under "Explore.")
SAGE Journals Online
The SAGE Journals platform includes full text of scholarly journals from SAGE publications in many disciplines, such as ,health sciences, education, religion, social sciences, criminal justice and business.
Trip Database
this database has evolved into a sophisticated tool for locating the highest possible evidence with which to inform clinical decisions, using the principles of evidence-based medicine.

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