Librarian
Core Psychology Article Databases
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PsycINFO This link opens in a new window(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(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(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.
Search tips:
PsycINFO provides a lot of specialized limiters on the advanced search screen: You can limit results based Tests & Measures, Methodology (empirical study or literature review, for example), and Population.
Use a different row for each different concept. Add synonyms for concepts in a box separated by the word OR (eg: college OR university).
If you need help coming up with search terms, check out the APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms. The link is in the upper left corner.
Getting Started
Some thoughts on research… Research is not a linear process. It is a matter of trying, evaluating and learning from the results, refining your strategy, trying again, and exploring possibilities.
This list is not meant to be taken literally as a strict procedure; instead these are questions to keep in mind as you do your research.
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What subject(s)/discipline(s) am I working in?
- Some tools to help you if you're working in an unfamiliar discipline:
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What sources do I already have?
- Do they mention other sources of information or data (bibliography)?
- Do they use specific terminology or wording?
- Do they talk about particular places, people, or agencies?
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What type of literature or information do I need?
- Who might collect and/or publish that information?
- Who would be interested in it?
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How and where will I search for the information I need?
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How will I access the information that I find?
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What keywords or terms could be used to describe my topic?
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After running a few searches: What results am I getting? Am I getting too many results? Too few?
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What refinements should I make to my search in light of those results?
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How will I use the results that I've found?
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What information am I still missing?
Remember also that the librarians are here to help.
Selected Reference Works
Begin your research with reference works to find background information, definitions, locate statistics and facts, and build a bibliography.
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Encyclopedia of Psychology by Call Number: Ref BF31 .E52 2000ISBN: 1557981876Publication Date: 2000-03-16Availability and more information from Catalyst...
This eight-volume encyclopedia is international in scope and provides comprehensive coverage of theory, research, and practice in the field of psychology. -
The International Dictionary of Psychology by Call Number: Ref BF31 .S83 1996ISBN: 0824525094Publication Date: 1996-02-25Availability and more information from Catalyst...
This dictionary provides brief definitions for terms used in psychology as well as terms from neurophysiology, sociobiology, linguistics, anthropology, and statistics. The appendix includes anatomical diagrams of the human brain. -
The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS)Call Number: Ref BF311 .M556 1999Availability and more information from Catalyst...
MITECS is divided into six sections: philosophy; psychology; neurosciences; computational intelligence; linguistics and language; and culture, cognition, and evolution. -
Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (Online)This online encyclopedia explores all areas of the discipline in its focused entries on a wide variety of topics in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and other related areas of neuroscience. -
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition by Call Number: Ready Reference BF76.7 .P83 2020ISBN: 9781433832178Publication Date: 2019Availability and more information from Catalyst...
The official APA citation style guide. Good online help can also be found at the Purdue OWL site and at APAstyle.org. -
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th EditionCall Number: Ready REF BF76.7 .P83Availability and more information from Catalyst...
The official APA citation style guide. Good online help can also be found at the Purdue OWL site and at APAstyle.org.
