| Course | NUR 318 Nursing Research and Evidence Translation |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Literature search strategy report |
| Length | About 846 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | RN to BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 318 Module 3
Searching for Evidence on Inhaled Isopropyl Alcohol and Aromatherapy for Nausea After Ambulatory Surgery: A Documented Search Strategy
Student Name
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University
NUR 318: Nursing Research and Evidence Translation
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Searching for Evidence on Inhaled Isopropyl Alcohol and Aromatherapy for Nausea After Ambulatory Surgery: A Documented Search Strategy
The Question Being Searched
The PICOT question that guides this search is: Among adult day surgery patients who become nauseated during phase II recovery (P), how does inhalation of isopropyl alcohol or a blended essential oil (I) compare with usual antiemetic rescue on request (C) in lowering nausea scores and the number of rescue doses (O) in the 30 minutes after the complaint is first voiced (T)? A search does not need to cover every element. Polit and Beck (2022) suggest building a search around the population and intervention first, then narrowing by design and other limits, because outcome words vary from study to study and can hide relevant work.
Concepts, Keywords and Subject Headings
Two concepts carry the search. The first is postoperative nausea. In PubMed it has a Medical Subject Heading, Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting, and authors also write "postoperative nausea" or use the abbreviation PONV in titles and abstracts. The second concept is the intervention, which appears under several names: aromatherapy, essential oil, peppermint, isopropyl alcohol and 2-Propanol, the subject heading under which isopropyl alcohol is indexed. Combining the heading and the free-text words with OR inside each concept, then joining the two concepts with AND, catches studies indexed either way. The truncation symbol in aromatherap* gathers aromatherapy, aromatherapeutic and similar forms.
| Concept | Subject heading | Keywords in title or abstract |
|---|---|---|
| Postoperative nausea | Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting | postoperative nausea; PONV |
| Inhaled agents | Aromatherapy; 2-Propanol | aromatherap*; isopropyl alcohol; essential oil*; peppermint |
| Setting (used as a late limit) | Ambulatory Surgical Procedures | ambulatory; outpatient; day surgery |
Search Lines and Results
PubMed was searched through the ASU Library link on October 4, 2026. Each line builds on the one before it so the effect of every step is visible.
The jump from tens of thousands of records to 85 at S3 is the point of combining concepts. The design limit at S4 matters for this course, because the next assignment asks for a randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental study, and systematic reviews will help with the evaluation table later. The English and adult limits at S5 removed studies in children, which fall outside the population. S6 was run to see what remained when the setting was required, and it showed the cost of that limit: several trials done in ambulatory patients do not use those words in the title or abstract, so S6 is too narrow to rely on alone.
| Line | Search | Results |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting heading OR postoperative nausea OR PONV | 10,093 |
| S2 | Aromatherapy heading OR aromatherap* OR isopropyl alcohol OR 2-Propanol heading OR essential oil* OR peppermint | 38,629 |
| S3 | S1 AND S2 | 85 |
| S4 | S3 limited to randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses | 36 |
| S5 | S4 limited to English and adults | 26 |
| S6 | S5 AND ambulatory, outpatient or day surgery | 5 |
Screening the Results
I screened the 26 records at S5 by title and abstract. Studies of children, studies of nausea during chemotherapy or pregnancy, and studies that tested aromatherapy only before surgery as prevention were set aside, because the question is about treating nausea that has already begun. Records in which the intervention was swallowed rather than inhaled, such as peppermint in ice chips, were also excluded. Roughly fifteen records remained, including several trials published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, older trials of isopropyl alcohol, and two reviews.
A check of the Cochrane Library found the review by Hines et al. (2018), which pooled 16 trials of aromatherapy for postoperative nausea and vomiting and reported low certainty evidence overall, with fewer rescue antiemetics in some comparisons. The review was saved for the evaluation table. An older systematic review in the perianesthesia nursing literature was also kept (Asay et al., 2019).
Studies Saved for the Alignment Worksheet
Two primary studies were saved as PDFs for the next assignment. The first is a randomized trial of 301 nauseated adults recovering at a single outpatient surgical center, each of whom inhaled ginger, an essential oil blend, isopropyl alcohol or saline from a gauze pad (Hunt et al., 2013). It matches the population and setting closely. The second is a prospective quasi-experimental study of 82 women having outpatient laparoscopic surgery, in which controlled breathing alone was compared with controlled breathing plus isopropyl alcohol (Cronin et al., 2015). It adds a comparison that matters at the bedside: whether the breathing, rather than the scent, does the work.
Limits of This Search and Next Steps
This record has limits. Only PubMed was searched line by line; CINAHL, available through ASU Library, uses its own subject headings and would likely add nursing trials that PubMed indexes differently, so the same concept table will be translated into CINAHL headings before the evaluation table is built. Some relevant isopropyl alcohol trials appear in the AANA Journal, which does not always assign DOIs, so those records will be traced by title. Finally, the search covered treatment, not prevention, by design, and that boundary will be stated in the final presentation.
References
Asay, K., Olson, C., Donnelly, J., & Perlman, E. (2019). The use of aromatherapy in postoperative nausea and vomiting: A systematic review. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 34(3), 502-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2018.08.006
Cronin, S. N., Odom-Forren, J., Roberts, H., Thomas, M., Williams, S., & Wright, M. I. (2015). Effects of controlled breathing, with or without aromatherapy, in the treatment of postoperative nausea. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 30(5), 389-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2015.03.010
Hines, S., Steels, E., Chang, A., & Gibbons, K. (2018). Aromatherapy for treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018(3), CD007598. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007598.pub3
Hunt, R., Dienemann, J., Norton, H. J., Hartley, W., Hudgens, A., Stern, T., & Divine, G. (2013). Aromatherapy as treatment for postoperative nausea: A randomized trial. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 117(3), 597-604. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0b013e31824a0b1c
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2022). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
What the NUR 318 Module 3 instructions ask for
The posted syllabus describes this as a 5-point assignment in which you show your final search terms, the databases you used and the results they produced, usually as a narrated screenshot or screen capture that covers the rubric's required elements. You also save two studies as PDFs, because the following assignment asks you to show how a randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental study aligns with your PICOT. The search should come from the PICOT you drafted on the practice problem board, revised if your instructor gave feedback. ASU Library's One Search and its database list are the expected starting points, and most instructors want to see Boolean operators, subject headings and at least one limit applied.
How this NUR 318 Module 3 example is built
This example writes out what a capture would show and why each choice was made. It restates the PICOT, puts both search concepts in a table with their subject headings and free-text words, and then shows six numbered search lines with the actual PubMed counts from October 2026, so a reader can repeat them. Each limit is explained, including one that turned out too narrow. The screening paragraph names exclusion reasons in plain terms, and a Cochrane check adds a systematic review. The two studies saved for the next assignment, an RCT and a quasi-experimental study, are introduced with one sentence each on why they fit. A short closing section admits what the search did not yet cover.
NUR 318 Module 3 rubric: what earns full marks
Points for a search strategy usually depend on whether the search terms clearly come from the PICOT, whether Boolean operators and subject headings are used correctly, whether limits are appropriate and explained, and whether the results show a manageable, relevant set. Graders also check that the two saved studies are of the required design and actually match the question. If the assignment is a narrated capture, clarity of explanation counts as much as the screen itself. Missing result counts, a single keyword search with no combination, or studies that do not fit the population are the usual reasons for lost points. A short note on what the search did not cover also tends to be rewarded.
NUR 318 Module 3 help from the desk
A common mistake is typing the whole PICOT sentence into the search box, which returns either nothing or thousands of loose hits. Another is applying every limit at once so you cannot tell which one removed the useful studies. Students also forget that a design limit can drop well-designed trials that are poorly indexed, so scan titles before you trust the final number. Record the date and the counts as you go, because results change. If your PICOT changes after feedback, rerun the search rather than editing old screenshots. For a search record built around your own question and databases, send your PICOT and the rubric to the desk.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More NUR 318 and RN to BSN sample papers
- NUR 318 Module 1: Qualitative Research Critique
- NUR 318 Module 2: Practice Problem and PICOT Discussion
- NUR 318 Module 4: Quantitative Research Critique
- NUR 318 Module 5: PICOT and Research Evidence Alignment
- NUR 318 Module 6: Evidence Evaluation Table and Appraisal
- NUR 318 Module 7: EBP Presentation on Postoperative Nausea
- NUR 460 Module 7: Ethical Decision-Making Final Project
- NUR 464 Module 1: Capstone Proposal Resubmission
- NUR 391 Module 4: Cultural Advocacy Discussion
- NUR 445 Module 5: Capstone Project Proposal
NUR 318 Module 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 318 Module 3 sample paper?
This page has the complete search strategy record: a concept table, six PubMed search lines with real result counts, screening decisions, a Cochrane check and the two studies kept for the next assignment, with references.
Which databases should I use for the NUR 318 search strategy?
Start with ASU Library One Search, then CINAHL and PubMed for nursing and medical trials, and the Cochrane Library for systematic reviews. Your rubric may name required databases, so check Canvas.
How many results should my NUR 318 search return?
There is no fixed number, but a final set small enough to screen by title and abstract, often under 50 records, shows the search is focused. Report the count at each step so the grader can follow your narrowing.
What two studies do I save after the NUR 318 search?
Save studies whose design the next assignment requires, usually a randomized controlled trial or a quasi-experimental study, and whose population and intervention match your PICOT. Keep the PDFs, since you will upload them with the alignment worksheet.
Do I need subject headings in the NUR 318 search strategy?
Most rubrics reward them. Combining a subject heading such as a MeSH or CINAHL heading with keywords catches studies indexed either way and shows you understand how databases organize literature.