Librarian
Core Psychology Article Databases
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and abstracts)
The premier search tool for all areas of psychology and related disciplines. Covers 1840 - current.
Note: There are fewer than 115 records from earlier than 1894. - PubMed Central This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
The US National Institutes of Health provide this free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. - Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
A massive index of literature from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Also offers cited reference searching to see who has cited a particular document. 1898 - current.
Note: To do cited reference searching, click on "cited reference search," fill in an author's last name and publication date, figure out which of the resulting list of citations match the work you're looking for, and then "finish search" to see who has cited that work.
Popular vs Scholarly Articles
Peer reviewed articles can be found in the library databases listed above. Many offer the option to limit to scholarly or peer reviewed articles. The table below discusses some of the features of peer reviewed articles and how they are different from popular articles.
| Popular Articles | Scholarly, Peer Reviewed Articles |
| Published in magazines or newspapers (National Geographic, New York Times) | Published in scholarly journals (American Psychologist, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy) |
| Authors are journalists/publication staff | Authors are expert researchers affiliated with a research institution (college/university, hospital, institute, etc.) |
| Written for the general public; avoid dense, technical language | Purpose is to communicate research findings to other experts |
| Do not include a formal bibliography, works cited, or references list | Always include a bibliography, works cited, and/or references list |
| Often include bright, eye-catching photos | Often display data in charts and graphs |
| Evaluated for publication by magazine/newspaper editor | Evaluated and recommended for publication by other experts in the field during the peer-review process |
