|
Spring
2008 - Elizabeth Pufall
Reference contact: Rocco Piccinino
x2885
Articles | Searching
Tips
| Citation
Style |
Contact
JOURNAL
ARTICLES
Library
Databases
Begin
your research using this list of databases. For a more comprehensive list
of psychology-focused databases, visit the Psychology
Subject Resources Page.
| Source |
Access
|
| PsycINFO.
1887+ |
Covers psychology and related disciplines including medicine, psychiatry,
nursing, sociology, education, sport, pharmacology, physiology, and
linguistics. |
| Social Sciences Abstracts. 1983+ |
Abstracts of articles from over 550 sources in the social sciences. |
| Expanded Academic Index. 1980+ |
Full text access to scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers. |
| PsycARTICLES. 1988+ |
Contains the full text of articles from APA journals and selected Educational Publishing Foundation journals. |
Other Journal Source
Databases
Look
for SC Links:  ,
or use Smith's Journal
Locator to access journals by title. Connect to the Five
College Library Catalog to find call numbers for bound periodicals
kept in the basement floor of the Young Science Library.
Journal
Finding Tools
Journal
Locator
Search by journal title to find full text of a KNOWN
item. Only have a journal abbreviation? Look up the full title of a journal
using one of the following resources.
JAKE
(Jointly Administered Knowledge Environment)
All
that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources
SEARCHING
TIPS
Whether
you are searching for books in the Five College Library Catalog, or searching
for scholarly literature in a library database, it pays to be organized
as you start your search. I like to break down searching into a three
step process:
STEP
1
Write
down as much information about your topic as possible. Answer the following
questions:
-
What is your topic?
- What
questions do you have?
- What
do you know? What don't you know?
Then,
try to summarize what you are looking for in one or two sentences.
EXAMPLE:
I am interested in learning more about how ethnic identity is affected by the level of self-esteem in young children.
STEP
2
Using the information in Step 1, list the main concepts of your topic.
EXAMPLE:
ethnic identity, self-esteem, children
STEP
3
Now create a list of synonyms of your key concepts. Think broadly, think
narrowly! This step is helping you expand your search by expressing your
query in a variety of ways. If you get too many results, then you can
work on focusing your search.
| Ethnic identity
Ethnicity
Ethnic*
African-American
Mexican-American
|
Self-esteem
Self-worth
Self-hatred
Depression
|
Children
Childhood
Child*
|
|
You
will use the word lists you developed in Step 3 to create search strategies.
Use "OR" between synonyms and "AND" between concepts.
For instance:
(ethnic identity OR ethnic*) AND (self esteem OR self worth) AND child*
DOWNLOAD
this worksheet (with *bonus* search tips!) to help you organize your
search strategy.
HELP
WITH CITATION STYLE
You
are expected to select a standard citation style and to document sources
correctly and consistently. If needed, suggestions for formatting your
bibliography are given below.
HELP
FROM A LIBRARIAN
See
Need Help? Ask a Librarian!
to send a question via e-mail at any time or live (chat) during reference
desk hours. Or contact Reference librarian Rocco Piccinino directly.
Additionally,
we appreciate your feedback on library sessions! Please fill out the following
short survey: CLICK
HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY!
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Updated:
February 1, 2008
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