The Nursing Collocation List (NCL) is a list of 488 collocations which occur frequently in nursing journal articles. It was developed in 2020 by Kaja Mandić and Izabela Dankić using the nursing scientific article corpus (NSAC), which consisted of 1.1 million words drawn from 262 nursing articles, from ten prominent nursing journals, all published in 2017 or 2018.

Mandić and Dankić focused only on two word collocations, since these were the most common in the ACL. While originally considering all lexical collocations, they narrowed their search down to noun-adjective and noun-noun collocations, since these were the most common in nursing articles. The 488 collocations identified by their study comprise 254 adjective-noun collocations (52.1% of the total), and 234 noun-noun collocations (47.9%).

Differences to the ACL

The NCL contrasts with the Academic Collocation List (ACL) in a number of ways. First, while the adjective-noun collocations are the most frequent type in both lists, the noun-noun collocations are far more frequent in the Nursing Collocation List, comprising 47.9% of the total, compared with only 2.5% of the ACL. Despite the smaller size of the NCL compared to the ACL (488 collocations vs. 2,469), the noun-noun collocations are also greater in number in the NCL (234 vs. 60).

Additionally, while 123 collocations in the NCL (25.2%) overlap with the ACL, the majority (365 or 74.8%) do not.

While Mandić and Dankić acknowledge the value of the ACL as a general resource for learning academic collocations, they question the usefulness for those studying nursing, since only 2.5% of ACL collocations appear frequently in the nursing articles in their corpus. They suggest that nursing students would be better served studying the much smaller list of 488 collocations in the NCL.

References

Mandić, K. and Dankić, I. (2020). 'Collocations of high frequency words in nursing research articles and The Academic Collocation List: Similarities and differences', ExELL. 8(1):1-13. DOI:10.2478/exell-2020-0011.

The Nursing Collocation List

The 488 collocations in the NCL are listed below. The list has been adapted for this website by collecting collocations under headwords, in the same way that words in the ACL have been categorised for this site (which in turn is similar to how words in the AWL are categorised).

The collocations have been listed under both of the headwords they contain in order to make them easier to find. This means, for example, that the collocation social activity appears both under the headword act and the headword social. This means each collocation appears twice in the list, once for each headword. Where words occur in the AWL, the AWL headword has been used. For example, the collocation foetal abnormalities can be found under the headword normal, since this is the AWL headword for abnormal.

There is another section which lists the collocations in the NCL alphabetically.

Headword	Collocations
abuse	alcohol abuse
access	open access
act	action research, care activities, collective action, daily activities, nursing activities, physical activity, sexual activity, social activity
acute	acute care
adherence	medication adherence
administrate	chemotherapy administration
admission	hospital admission
adverse	adverse effect
age	age group, age range, median age
alcohol	alcohol abuse, alcohol consumption
amount	significant amount
analyse	comparative analysis, critical analysis, data analysis, final analysis, phenomenological analysis, qualitative analysis, statistical analysis
annual	annual review
anxiety	anxiety levels
appraisal	quality appraisal
approach	qualitative approach
approval	ethical approval
aspect	important aspects
assess	assessment tools, nurse assessment, nursing assessment, pain assessment, quality assessment, risk assessment
assist	nurse assistant, research assistant
association	nurse association
attitude	negative attitude, positive attitude
audience	target audience
available	available data
average	average score
background	cultural background
behavior	behavior pattern, sleep behaviors
bipolar	bipolar disorder
blood	blood pressure, blood sugar
body	body composition, body image, body language, body weight, professional body
BPA	BPA concentrations
breast	breast cancer
brief	brief review
broad	broad range
burnout	nurse burnout
cancer	breast cancer, cancer care, cancer centers, cancer diagnosis, cancer nurse, cancer nursing, cancer patients, cancer screening, cancer survivor, cancer treatment, cervical cancer, elderly cancer, gynecological cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, parental cancer, prostate cancer
cardiovascular	cardiovascular disease
care	acute care, cancer care, care activities, care environment, care facility, care homes, care management, care plans, care providers, care provision, care recipient, care services, care staff, care systems, care team, care units, clinical care, community care, continence care, dementia care, direct care, family care, family caregivers, foot care, health care, home care, hospital care, informal caregivers, intensive care, male caregivers, medical care, nurse care, nursing care, patient care, pediatric care, personal care, physical care, postoperative care, prenatal care, preoperative care, primary care, professional care, residential care, secondary care, social care, usual care
case	case study
category	main category
cause	leading cause, major cause
cells	stem cells
center	cancer centers, medical centers
cervical	cervical cancer
change	major change
characteristic	demographic characteristics, patient characteristics
chemotherapy	chemotherapy administration
chest	chest injuries
children	children's hospice
chronic	chronic condition, chronic diseases, chronic illness, chronic pain, chronic wounds
clinic	rehabilitation clinic
clinical	clinical care, clinical community, clinical decision-making, clinical education, clinical experience, clinical nurses, clinical nursing, clinical outcomes, clinical placement, clinical practice, clinical reasoning, clinical staff, clinical trials
cognitive	cognitive deficits, cognitive function, cognitive impairments, cognitive performance
collaboration	interdisciplinary collaboration
collect	collective action, data collection
committee	ethics committee
communicate	communication strategies, poor communication, verbal communication
community	clinical community, community care, community nurses, community settings
comorbidity	medical comorbidity
comparative	comparative analysis
competence	managerial competence, nurse competence
composition	body composition
concentrate	BPA concentrations
concept	conceptual framework, key concept
condition	chronic condition, health condition, medical condition, sleep conditions, working conditions
conflict	internal conflict
consult	consultation models
consume	alcohol consumption
contact	eye contact, social contact
continence	continence care
control	control group
cope	coping strategy
correlation	significant correlation
cost	healthcare costs
course	training course
coworker	coworker support
criteria	eligibility criteria, exclusion criteria, inclusion criteria
critical	critical analysis, critical thinking
culture	cultural background, cultural differences
current	current research
curriculum	nursing curriculum
daily	daily activities
data	available data, data analysis, data collection, data extraction, data saturation, demographic data, primary data, qualitative data, quantitative data, secondary data
decision	clinical decision-making, shared decision
deficit	cognitive deficits
delivery	service delivery, vaginal delivery
dementia	dementia care
demographic	demographic characteristics, demographic data
department	emergency department
dependent	dependent variable
depress	depression scale, postpartum depression
descriptive	descriptive statistics
design	experimental design, qualitative design, study design
development	professional development
deviate	standard deviations
diabetes	diabetes patients
diagnosis	cancer diagnosis
difference	cultural differences, gender differences, significant difference
direct	direct care
disability	intellectual disability
disease	cardiovascular disease, chronic diseases, heart disease, pulmonary disease
disorder	bipolar disorder, eating disorders, mental disorder, sleep disorder
distress	emotional distress, psychological distress
disturbance	sleep disturbance
DNA	DNA sampling
duration	sleep duration
dysfunction	erectile dysfunction
eating	eating disorders
education	clinical education, education level, educational programme, educational qualification, health education, nurse educator, nursing education, patient education
effect	adverse effect, negative effect, positive effect, side effects, significant effect
elderly	elderly cancer, elderly patients
eligibility	eligibility criteria
emergency	emergency department, emergency room
emotional	emotional distress, emotional exhaustion, emotional intelligence, emotional support
empirical	empirical research, empirical study
empowerment	psychological empowerment
encounter	healthcare encounters
environment	care environment, healthcare environment, hospital environment, learning environments, physical environment, working environment
erectile	erectile dysfunction
essential	essential role
ethic	ethical approval, ethics committee, research ethics
ethnic	ethnic group
evident	research evidence
exclude	exclusion criteria
exercise	physical exercise
exhaustion	emotional exhaustion
experience	clinical experience, patient experiences, positive experience, professional experience, shared experience, work experience
experimental	experimental design
expert	expert nurse
expression	facial expressions
extract	data extraction
eye	eye contact
facial	facial expressions
facilitate	care facility
factor	relevant factors, risk factors
failure	heart failure
family	family care, family caregivers, family members, family support
fellow	research fellow
final	final analysis
findings	key findings, report findings, research findings, study findings
flush	hot flushes
focus	focus groups
foetal	foetal abnormalities
foot	foot care
frame	conceptual framework, theoretical framework, time frame
frequency	lower frequency
function	cognitive function, social function
future	future research, future study
gain	weight gain
gender	gender differences
general	general health, general hospital, general population, general practitioners
generation	younger generation
graduate	graduate nurse
great	great impact
group	age group, control group, ethnic group, focus groups
gynecological	gynecological cancer
health	general health, health care, health condition, health education, health information, health insurance, health issues, health organization, health outcomes, health policy, health problems, health promotion, health research, health sciences, health service, health status, health systems, health wards, mental health, physical health, public health, sexual health
healthcare	healthcare costs, healthcare encounters, healthcare environment, healthcare organizations, healthcare personnel, healthcare professional, healthcare providers, healthcare services, healthcare settings, healthcare staff, healthcare system, healthcare team, mental healthcare, primary healthcare
heart	heart disease, heart failure, heart rate
home	care homes, home care, nursing homes
hospice	children's hospice
hospital	general hospital, hospital admission, hospital care, hospital environment, hospital nurses, hospital setting, hospital staff, hospital stay, university hospital
hot	hot flushes
human	human research, human resource
ICU	ICU nurse, ICU patient
illness	chronic illness, mental illness
image	body image
impact	great impact, negative impact, positive impact, significant impact
impair	cognitive impairments
important	important aspects
improvement	significant improvement
inclusion	inclusion criteria
income	total income
incontinence	urinary incontinence
independent	independent variable
indicate	quality indicators
individual	individual level, individual needs
infant	preterm infants
informal	informal caregivers
information	health information, information sharing, information sheet, limited information
injure	chest injuries
insert	insertion pain
insurance	health insurance
intellectual	intellectual disability
intelligent	emotional intelligence
intense	intensive care
interact	social interaction
interdisciplinary	interdisciplinary collaboration
internal	internal conflict
international	international journal, international study
intervene	nurse intervention, nursing interventions, pharmacological interventions
issue	health issues
joint	joint pain
journal	international journal, nursing journals
key	key concept, key findings, key role
language	body language
lead	leading cause, learning environments, learning strategy, nurse leaders
leave	maternity leave
level	anxiety levels, education level, individual level, low level, stress level
limit	limited information, study limitations
literature	literature review
loss	weight loss
low	low level, low score, lower frequency, lower rates
lung	lung cancer
main	main category
major	major cause, major change
male	male caregivers
manage	care management, management strategies, managerial competence, nurse managers, nursing management, pain management
manual	manual restraint
marital	marital status
maternity	maternity leave
mean	mean score
measure	outcome measures
median	median age
medical	medical care, medical centers, medical comorbidity, medical condition, medical record, medical research, medical staff, medical student, medical treatment, medical units
medication	medication adherence, medication preparation, medication safety
member	family members, staff members
mental	mental disorder, mental health, mental healthcare, mental illness
method	qualitative method, qualitative methodologies, research method, research methodology, sampling methods, study methods
model	consultation models, role models
mortality	mortality rate
multidisciplinary	multidisciplinary team
needs	individual needs, patient needs
negate	negative attitude, negative effect, negative impact
normal	foetal abnormalities
number	numerous studies, total number, vast number
nurse	cancer nurse, cancer nursing, clinical nurses, clinical nursing, community nurses, expert nurse, graduate nurse, hospital nurses, ICU nurse, nurse assessment, nurse assistant, nurse association, nurse burnout, nurse care, nurse competence, nurse educator, nurse intervention, nurse leaders, nurse managers, nurse practitioner, nurse report, nurse research, nurse specialists, nursing activities, nursing assessment, nursing care, nursing curriculum, nursing education, nursing homes, nursing interventions, nursing journals, nursing management, nursing practice, nursing profession, nursing research, nursing roles, nursing schools, nursing staff, nursing student, oncology nurse, oncology nursing, preoperative nurse, student nurse, undergraduate nurse
occasional	occasional tiredness
oncology	oncology nurse, oncology nursing, oncology patients
online	online version
open	open access
option	treatment options
organization	health organization, healthcare organizations, social organization
orient	sexual orientation
original	original work
outcome	clinical outcomes, health outcomes, outcome measures, patient outcomes, positive outcome, quality outcomes
outpatient	outpatient service, outpatient utilization
ovarian	ovarian cancer
pain	chronic pain, insertion pain, joint pain, pain assessment, pain management, pain rehabilitation
palliative	palliative treatment
pancreatic	pancreatic cancer
parental	parental cancer, parental role
participate	study participants
patient	cancer patients, diabetes patients, elderly patients, ICU patient, oncology patients, patient care, patient characteristics, patient education, patient experiences, patient needs, patient outcomes, patient population, patient safety, patient satisfaction, stroke patient, surgical patients
pattern	behavior pattern, sleep patterns
pediatric	pediatric care
peer	peer support
percent	small percentage
performance	cognitive performance
period	study period, time period
personal	personal care
personnel	healthcare personnel
pharmacological	pharmacological interventions
phenomenological	phenomenological analysis
physical	physical activity, physical care, physical environment, physical exercise, physical health, physical restraints, physical symptom
pilot	pilot study
placement	clinical placement
plan	care plans
policy	health policy
poor	poor communication
population	general population, patient population
positive	positive attitude, positive effect, positive experience, positive impact, positive outcome
postoperative	postoperative care
postpartum	postpartum depression
potential	potential risk
practice	clinical practice, nursing practice, professional practice, work practice
practitioner	general practitioners, nurse practitioner
prenatal	prenatal care
preoperative	preoperative care, preoperative nurse, preoperative protocol
preparation	medication preparation
present	present study
pressure	blood pressure
preterm	preterm infants
previous	previous research, previous study
primary	primary care, primary data, primary healthcare
problem	health problems
profession	healthcare professional, nursing profession, professional body, professional care, professional development, professional experience, professional practice, professional status, professional support, professional work
programme	educational programme, support programme, training programme
project	research project
promote	health promotion
prostate	prostate cancer
protocol	preoperative protocol
provide	care providers, care provision, healthcare providers, service providers
psychology	psychological distress, psychological empowerment, psychological symptoms
public	public health
pulmonary	pulmonary disease
qualification	educational qualification
quality	qualitative analysis, qualitative approach, qualitative data, qualitative design, qualitative method, qualitative methodologies, qualitative research, qualitative study, quality appraisal, quality assessment, quality indicators, quality outcomes, sleep quality
quantity	quantitative data
random	random sample
range	age range, broad range, wide range
rapid	rapid response
rate	heart rate, lower rates, mortality rate, rating scale, respiratory rate
reason	clinical reasoning
recent	recent study
recipient	care recipient
record	medical record
rehabilitation	pain rehabilitation, rehabilitation clinic
relationship	significant relationship
relevant	relevant factors
report	nurse report, report findings
research	action research, current research, empirical research, future research, health research, human research, medical research, nurse research, nursing research, previous research, qualitative research, research assistant, research ethics, research evidence, research fellow, research findings, research method, research methodology, research project, research topic, scientific research
reside	residential care
resource	human resource
respiratory	respiratory rate
respond	rapid response
restrain	manual restraint, physical restraints
review	annual review, brief review, literature review
risk	potential risk, risk assessment, risk factors
role	essential role, key role, nursing roles, parental role, role models
room	emergency room
safety	medication safety, patient safety, safety vests
sample	DNA sampling, random sample, sampling methods, study sample
satisfaction	patient satisfaction
saturation	data saturation
scale	depression scale, rating scale
school	nursing schools
science	health sciences, scientific research
score	average score, low score, mean score, total score
screen	cancer screening
secondary	secondary care, secondary data
sectional	sectional study
service	care services, health service, healthcare services, outpatient service, service delivery, service providers, service user
session	training sessions
setting	community settings, healthcare settings, hospital setting
sex	sexual activity, sexual health, sexual orientation
share	information sharing, shared decision, shared experience
sheet	information sheet
shift	shift work
side	side effects
sign	vital signs
significant	significant amount, significant correlation, significant difference, significant effect, significant impact, significant improvement, significant relationship, statistical significance
sleep	sleep behaviors, sleep conditions, sleep disorder, sleep disturbance, sleep duration, sleep patterns, sleep quality
small	small percentage
social	social activity, social care, social contact, social function, social interaction, social organization, social status, social welfare, social worker
socioeconomic	socioeconomic status
specialist	nurse specialists
staff	care staff, clinical staff, healthcare staff, hospital staff, medical staff, nursing staff, staff members, staff training
standard	standard deviations
statistic	descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, statistical significance
status	health status, marital status, professional status, social status, socioeconomic status
stay	hospital stay
stem	stem cells
strategy	communication strategies, coping strategy, learning strategy, management strategies
stress	stress level, traumatic stress
stroke	stroke patient
study	case study, empirical study, future study, international study, medical student, numerous studies, nursing student, pilot study, present study, previous study, qualitative study, recent study, sectional study, student nurse, study design, study findings, study limitations, study methods, study participants, study period, study sample, systematic study
sugar	blood sugar
support	coworker support, emotional support, family support, peer support, professional support, support programme
surgical	surgical patients
survive	cancer survivor
symptom	physical symptom, psychological symptoms
system	care systems, health systems, healthcare system, systematic study
target	target audience
team	care team, healthcare team, multidisciplinary team
theory	theoretical framework
think	critical thinking
time	time frame, time period
tired	occasional tiredness
tool	assessment tools
topic	research topic
total	total income, total number, total score
tract	urinary tract
train	staff training, training course, training programme, training sessions
traumatic	traumatic stress
treatment	cancer treatment, medical treatment, palliative treatment, treatment options
trial	clinical trials
undergraduate	undergraduate nurse
unit	care units, medical units
university	university hospital
urinary	urinary incontinence, urinary tract
user	service user
usual	usual care
utilise	outpatient utilization
vaginal	vaginal delivery
vary	dependent variable, independent variable, wide variation
vast	vast number
verbal	verbal communication
version	online version
vest	safety vests
violence	workplace violence
vital	vital signs
ward	health wards
weight	body weight, weight gain, weight loss
welfare	social welfare
wide	wide range, wide variation
work	original work, professional work, shift work, social worker, work experience, work practice, working conditions, working environment, workplace violence
wound	chronic wounds
young	younger generation