*2.5. Search Strategies*

Various electronic databases, including CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PubMed, were searched using the pre-determined keywords to find the relevant articles that explore stressors and coping strategies among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. After searching in the 3 databases, 15 articles were found in CINAHL, 20 articles in MEDLINE, and 24 articles in PubMed. Other databases utilized in this process generated 24 studies. Out of the 24 articles, 13 were from Google Scholar, 6 from JSTOR, 3 from ERIC, and 2 from Gale. In addition, Google Scholar was also used to locate open access articles. The keywords used in the search process include "Nursing students", "COVID-19", "stressors", "coping strategies", and "pandemic and outbreak". The Boolean operators "AND" and "OR" were used to combine the keywords to create a focused search in each database.

#### *2.6. Study Selection Process*

The search strategy on the electronic database generated many articles. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to guide the study selection and screening process. The inclusion criteria comprised articles that were full-text articles published in the English language from 2010 to 2020. The articles used quantitative research designs and journals that addressed the stressors as well as coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic among the nursing students. The exclusion criteria featured articles in the form of letters, reports, conference abstracts, dissertations, and unpublished manuscripts. The selection excluded articles that failed to address the concept of stressors and coping mechanisms among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journals that lacked quantitative research designs, or were published in other languages besides English before 2010, were excluded in the final count.

The PRISMA flow diagram guided the process of retrieval and the screening of studies (see Figure 1) after the most relevant articles were identified through the search process. In the article retrieval and screening process, a total of 83 studies were initially retrieved. Out of these articles, the screening process commenced, and 58 articles were removed due to duplication. The remaining 25 studies were subjected to the full-text examination to check their objective and relevance to the research question and a further 11 were excluded, and 1 article was removed.

**Figure 1.** PRISMA flow diagram.
