Health sciences librarians have long discussed the persistence of what is called the "5-year rule": limiting nursing literature searches to articles published within the last 5 years. They are troubled by the negative impact of stringent literature search criteria on the accuracy and comprehensiveness of evidence for nursing practice and research. Sporadically, this issue has also arisen in nursing journal editorials. Labeled as "troubling and disturbing," this limit fosters an "ageism of knowledgediscarding the old to create an illusion of the new." 1 An editor of the American Journal of Nursing stated, Students and nurses engaged in EBP projects are incorrectly being told to search the literature for the last 3 to 5 years…. Limiting literature reviews to an arbitrary number of years sometimes wrongly suggests that the best work on the issue occurred recently. 2 Another editorial summed up the situation as "dishonoring our own." 3 Additional commonly used search criteria that concern librarians include "nurse as author" and "primary study." These 3 restrictions may hinder engagement in research and evidence-based practice (EBP) by students and direct care nurses.
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