Vast library filled with glowing orbs representing research instruments.

Unlocking Research Potential: How a Nursing Instrument Bank Can Transform Healthcare

Beau Callahan in Health & Wellness November 2025 • 4 min read.

"A deep dive into the creation, implementation, and impact of a specialized instrument bank for nursing research, enhancing access to vital resources for researchers and students."

Navigating the vast landscape of data banks to pinpoint relevant and precise materials presents a considerable challenge, especially for university students, nurses, and professors. This difficulty is amplified by the increasing availability of informational resources in academic and clinical settings, often without the necessary guidance for targeted research.

Consequently, educators and students in academic environments tend to rely on a limited number of familiar databases, potentially missing out on a wealth of documentary resources. This gap highlights the need for more accessible and streamlined tools to aid in research endeavors.

In response to these challenges, the Réseau de Recherche en Interventions en Sciences Infirmières du Québec (RRISIQ) established an instrument bank designed to offer its 169 research members and their students easy access to well-documented measurement instruments and interview guides. This initiative aims to fill a significant void, as a comprehensive literature review revealed a lack of similar resources, making this instrument bank a pioneering effort to enhance research accessibility and user-friendliness for its members.

Creating a Nursing Instrument Bank: Zotero's Innovative Solution

Vast library filled with glowing orbs representing research instruments.

The RRISIQ's instrument bank initiative began in January 2013 with a needs analysis conducted among its members via a SurveyMonkey questionnaire. The goal was to understand the specific types of instruments and interview guides that would best support their research endeavors.

To effectively address these needs, the team explored various platforms to host the bank, opting for the bibliographic software Zotero over developing a new tool from scratch. Zotero was chosen for its flexibility in sharing functionalities, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness compared to other options like EndNote and RefWorks.

English-Only Thesaurus: The team selected an English-only thesaurus due to the dominance of English in nursing databases and thesauri. This decision streamlined the process, avoiding the complexities of creating a bilingual tool.
CINAHL Thesaurus: Researchers prioritized the CINAHL thesaurus, recognized for its quality and extensive coverage of nursing science, to effectively categorize resources across clinical expertise, nursing service administration, and nursing education.
Copyright Compliance: The project team ensured adherence to copyright regulations by consulting Copibec and the library directorate of the Université de Montréal. They established that the bank would not host full-text documents but would instead provide URL links to resources, directing users to online access points contingent on their institutional subscriptions and authentication.

The tool also supports WebDAV protocol to manages files with remote servers. Access to the Zotero instrument bank was initially tested with six RRISIQ members from various affiliated universities. This pilot phase allowed for refining the structure, confirming essential needs, and proceeding with reference uploads. The members identified key themes and concepts within their research areas, guiding the team to search CINAHL, PubMed, and Medline databases for relevant instruments and interview guides. The bank was then publicized on the RRISIQ website and made available to members in August 2013.

Looking Ahead: Enhancing the Nursing Instrument Bank

The Zotero instrument bank is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The project team aims to increase the number of measurement instruments and interview guides while ensuring the quality of references is recognized by the scientific community. Efforts will continue to capture and index as many instruments and interview guides as possible in French from Quebec and elsewhere, with the long-term goal of including additional documentary resources that support research in nursing interventions.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.5596/c17-002, Alternate LINK

Title: Banque D’Instruments De Mesure En Recherche : Une Innovation Au Service Des Membres Chercheurs En Sciences Infirmières

Subject: Library and Information Sciences

Journal: Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Journal de l'Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada

Publisher: University of Alberta Libraries

Authors: Sylvie Le May

Published: 2017-04-06

Everything You Need To Know

What specific challenge does the Réseau de Recherche en Interventions en Sciences Infirmières du Québec (RRISIQ) instrument bank address for nursing researchers and students?

The Réseau de Recherche en Interventions en Sciences Infirmières du Québec (RRISIQ) instrument bank addresses the challenge of efficiently locating relevant research materials by providing a centralized, user-friendly platform for its members. This is particularly beneficial for students, nurses, and professors who may struggle to navigate the vast landscape of available data banks and documentary resources. By offering easy access to well-documented measurement instruments and interview guides, the RRISIQ instrument bank helps researchers avoid missing out on valuable resources, promoting more thorough and targeted research endeavors. This is achieved through a curated collection indexed with the CINAHL thesaurus.

Why was Zotero chosen as the platform for the RRISIQ's nursing instrument bank, and what advantages did it offer over alternatives like EndNote and RefWorks?

The RRISIQ's nursing instrument bank, built on Zotero, was preferred over other platforms like EndNote and RefWorks due to Zotero's sharing functionalities, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. Zotero’s capabilities allowed the team to efficiently create a user-friendly resource while avoiding the expense and complexity of developing a new tool from scratch. Moreover, Zotero's WebDAV protocol manages files with remote servers.

Why does the RRISIQ instrument bank use the CINAHL thesaurus, and what considerations were made regarding language?

The RRISIQ instrument bank uses the CINAHL thesaurus because it is recognized for its quality and extensive coverage of nursing science. The CINAHL thesaurus allows for effective categorization of resources across clinical expertise, nursing service administration, and nursing education. While an English-only thesaurus was initially chosen to avoid the complexities of creating a bilingual tool, there are plans to expand the instrument bank to include more French resources in the future.

How does the RRISIQ instrument bank ensure compliance with copyright regulations when providing access to measurement instruments and interview guides?

The RRISIQ instrument bank ensures copyright compliance by not hosting full-text documents directly. Instead, it provides URL links to the resources, directing users to online access points. Access to these resources is contingent on the user's institutional subscriptions and authentication, ensuring that copyright regulations are respected. This approach was established in consultation with Copibec and the library directorate of the Université de Montréal.

What are the future plans for the Zotero instrument bank, and how will these enhancements benefit nursing research?

Looking ahead, the RRISIQ project team plans to expand the Zotero instrument bank by increasing the number of measurement instruments and interview guides available. Efforts will be made to capture and index more instruments and interview guides in French, especially from Quebec and other regions. The long-term goal is to include additional documentary resources that support research in nursing interventions, enhancing the quality and comprehensiveness of the instrument bank for the scientific community.