Finding, Reading, & Citing Psychology Articles
Also: Information on APA-style formatting for Reference pages
 
If you would like more information about using PSYCHINFO at Muhlenberg, the following tutorial may be helpful:  http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/psychology/PSYCHINFO.htm
 
Other useful links:   
More examples of APA Style - http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/apa4b.htm
Purchasing your own APA Style Manual - http://www.apa.org/books/4200061.html
Writing Empirical Papers: Beginners
Writing Empirical Papers: Advanced (PDF)- for use by students who have had practice writing empirical papers before.
General Writing Tips on Writing Psychology Papers
Avoiding Inappropriate Paraphrasing
 
Finding articles: Searching PSYCHINFO
 
Access the PSYCHINFO database through your library's website (e.g., Trexler Library). Below is a general guide to help you search PSYCHINFO.  A librarian (or your professor) can give you more help if you need assistance. Don't hesitate to ask for help; PSYCHINFO is a complex and large database and poor references make for a poor paper.  
 
General searching tips:
(1) Limit your search to English language only articles (unless you read another language). 

(2) Students in lower level psychology courses may want to also limit your search to only the types of documents your professor is allowing for the assignment.  For example, your professor may ask that you use exclusively journal articles or chapters or exclusively peer-reviewed articles only. NOTE - this type of limitation is NOT useful to more advanced users of PSYCHINFO.  If you are taking an upper level psychology class, or doing research for an independent study or thesis, you should NOT limit articles by document type. Limiting document types limits the number of resources you will have access to. This may be fine for a person in Intro Psych just learning PSYCHINFO, but could be disastrous for an upper level student seeking out the perfect references.  Note:  DO NOT LIMIT YOUR SEARCH TO FULL-TEXT articles or "AVAILABLE IN THIS LIBRARY" ARTICLES. Unless you attend a large university, the perfect articles for your project might not be found within the holdings of your library. There are over 2500 psychology journals in existence. If you find a source that is not available full-text and is not available at your library, you can request that the article or book be sent to you via InterLibrary Loan (I.L.L.).

(3) When searching in PSYCHINFO, start by checking to see that each of your search terms is a good one. Psychologists may use vocabulary that would not occur to you (e.g., affect = emotion/mood).  So, if one of your search terms results in too few or no hits, you may need to learn what the specialized words are for this database.  One way to do this is to use the "Thesaurus" (available on-line for most versions of PSYCHINFO).

(4) After you know each individual search term will yield lots of hits, then type in multiple terms to try to specify your search.  It is typically best to start with a smaller number of broader search terms and see what you get. If you need to narrow the search, systematically add keywords and/or try keywords of increasing specificity.  If you are searching for specific articles and/or having a hard time narrowing the search, use the drop down menus to try looking for your terms in the "major descriptors" of an article, or in the title of an article.

(5) Virtually ANY topic you can think has been addressed by at least one article in the millions referenced in PSYCHINFO. Your exact research question may not be addressed, but some component of it (e.g., one of two major concepts in your paper) probably is. So, don't give up on the first try.  Keep looking.  If you find at least one good article, another tip is to use the terms, subject terms, or references in the record for that article as search terms.

(6) After conducting any given search, you will get a list of article titles.  If your list is shorter than 20, you are likely to be missing a relevant article, so try using fewer terms or broader terms.  If your list is longer than 100, you will have a hard time sifting through all those results, so try using a more restrictive search.  It is important to know that, unlike internet search engines, PSYCHINFO does not sort your search results by relevance.  Thus, a really useful article might be the 50th one on the list. 

(7) Conduct several different searches using different strategies.  This will help you find the articles that are most relevant and helpful to you. When you start seeing the same articles over and over again in all your different search strategies, then you can feel more confident that you have seen all the psych literature has to offer on your topic.

(8) To see if an article is relevant, read the title of the article and click on the title to see the abstract.  An abstract is a very short, dense summary of what the article is about.  Most abstracts will be difficult to understand, but read for general "gist" (general theme of the article).  If you can't understand a single word the abstract is saying, move on to another article! If you would like help interpreting any abstracts, let your professor or a librarian know.

(9) After choosing articles that you think look promising, you must also actually get the articles. You cannot write a paper based on the abstract alone. Your professor will know if you rely solely on abstracts. You need to obtain and read the entire article.  There are 3 ways to obtain an article.  (1) it may be available on the computer in full-text;  (2) check to see if your library owns a paper-copy of the specific volume of the journal you need; and (3) if you cannot access the article any other way, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan.
 
Finding. Reading, Citing, Reference page
 
Reading Articles
 
Reading journal articles is not like reading a textbook. Most articles you come across will have at least these 5 basic sections:
  • Abstract:  This is the small paragraph at the beginning of the article (and what is typed into the database: PSYCHINFO).  It should tell you the “gist” of the article.
  • Introduction:  The first section of the article will give you background information about why this study is being done, what past researchers have found, etc.  It will also fill in some theoretical details about the current study and provide you with an overview of the study’s methods.  If you are looking for references and having trouble, often you can find several additional relevant references in the Introduction section from one article.
  • Method: The very detailed section telling you exactly what the experimenters did.
  • Results:  The very detailed section telling you exactly what statistics the researchers used to analyze their data and their findings.
  • Discussion:  This last section of the article will summarize the main hypotheses and the main results.  Then it will often discuss the implications of the study and ideas for future research. The first paragraph(s) often summarize the intent and basic findings of the entire study.
Exceptions: Some articles may discuss several studies and have several methods, results, and “mini” discussion sections – these will usually have one overall section at the end called the “General Discussion” section.  Other articles won’t talk about the details of any one study, but rather review what lots of other researchers have done.  These are called “literature review” articles and won’t have any methods or results sections, but will probably have a “Conclusions” section. 

To read an empirical journal article, it is a good idea to first skim the entire article with the goal of getting a basic idea of the topic and research findings. For more in-depth information, you generally don't want to read the article in the order it is written in. Many people suggest the following:
  • Read the title and then the abstract first. Then read the abstract again.  It is a dense, but important summary of the major points of the article. 
  • To get more background information on the topic, or a more detailed understanding of the article’s main questions, read the Introduction. The last few paragraphs of the Introduction often provide a summary of the purpose and proposed hypotheses of the study. 
  • To understand the research findings and their implications, carefully read the Discussion section or “General Discussion" section, paying special attention to the beginning few paragraphs.  The author will usually review the main questions of the article and review what the results were. The authors then typically discuss the relevance of their findings.  
  • For clarification on how the researchers conducted their study, read the Method section. 
  • At an introductory psychology level, you can usually skip the Results section altogether unless you have taken statistics classes. If you do read this, focus on the words more than the numbers.
It is unlikely that you will fully understand every word/sentence/paragraph of the article because it is written to an audience already familiar with background research on the topic. Learning to extract useful information from complex text is an important skill to practice.  But, you will not be able to use the article effectively if you cannot understand it at all.  If you feel you have chosen an article that is beyond your grasp completely, choose another one or let your professor know you need help "translating” the article.  Do not write your paper based on the abstracts alone.  The reader will know if you do that. 
 
Finding. Reading, Citing, Reference page
 
Citing sources in the text of a psychology paper
 
For any ideas in your paper that are not your own, you must use citations in the text of the paper in the format explained and illustrated in this paragraph (called "APA format"). This includes information from assigned course readings (e.g., the textbook). 
 
Citations in the text of your paper:

Indicate the source of the cited material at the very first mention of that material. For example, if this sentence is the beginning of my description of information based on information from a textbook, I would let the reader know where this information came from right away (Mynatt & Doherty, 2000).  Note that I indicated the source by writing in the last names of the authors, and the publication year in parentheses at the end of the previous sentence.  I could then continue with additional information from the same source without repeating that reference.  However, when I start a new paragraph or switch to a new source within a paragraph, I need to let the reader know. Thus, if I were to switch to information from an article written by Smith and Jones (2002), I should indicate so at the first mention of that cited material. Note how in the previous sentence I put the authors in the sentence and included the date in parentheses. This is another appropriate citation style. In particular, note that the year is included immediately after the author names; you should always keep the year with the authors in your text citations.

As noted earlier, you should include a new citation whenever you switch sources, switch from discussing your own ideas back to cited information, or when cited information from a particular source extends into a new paragraph (Smith & Jones, 2002). When in doubt, include a citation. You must tell the reader where you got any ideas that are not your own (in addition to direct quotes). Please see your professor if you are unfamiliar with this citation rule. 

The first time you mention a source in a paper, you should provide the names of all of the authors (Spencer, Steele & Quinn, 1998). However, if the article has three or more authors, you can then (for the rest of the paper) abbreviate the source by providing just the first author's name and the abbreviation for "and others" - et al. (Spencer, et al., 1998).
 
Citing a source someone else has cited (a secondary source):

If you are reading an article or chapter, and the author of that work includes substantial information written by another (clearly identifiable) author, and you would like to include that information - use a secondary citation style. For example, if you want to talk about a stereotype study discussed in a textbook, then you would cite the study’s authors and note that you read it “as cited in” the textbook. For example:  "Stereotype threat theory has been found to affect women’s math scores (Spencer, Steele & Quinn, 1998; as cited in Mynatt & Doherty, 2000)." In the reference LIST, you only need to put the secondary source (the textbook).  Use this secondary citation style only when referring to a single, specific study explained in some depth in the original source.  If your source provides relevant information followed by multiple citations in parentheses after that information - then just cite the source you've read.

*Secondary sources are usually only allowed in Introductory psych classes, or in rare instances in upper level courses. In most situations, when another author cites information that looks relevant, you should go and get that reference and read it yourself.  

Citing a particular document from a webpage:

The text citation would use the author and publication year as with other sources. For example, children are most at risk of contracting the disease (Davidson, 2001). When there is no publication year, substitute "n.d." (Davidson, n.d.).  If the author is an organization, cite that information (U.S. Department of Energy, 2001). When there is no author for a web page, the text citation would then just cite a few words of the title to point the reader to the right area of your reference list ("New Child," 2001).

Citing an entire webpage:
When citing an entire Web site, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in just the text. For example, Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive web site for children (http://www.kidspsych.org).

See an APA Publication Manual, your library, or any of the many websites summarizing APA style for information on how to properly cite additional types of sources in the text of your paper.
 
Use Quotes Sparingly, if at All

Avoid direct quotes unless the language of the original author is so special it adds meaning to the content. Quotes should be in “quotation marks and you should include the page number where the quote came from along with the reference” (Wade & Tavris, 2000, p. 344). 
 
Paraphrasing is Plagiarism

Paraphrasing, even in the sense that you may have learned was acceptable in other classes,  is NOT an appropriate way to use your sources. Read your sources, understand the points you want to use in your paper, then put your sources away and draft that section of your paper.  Use your own words. Read more about this topic at this web page on Proper Use of Sources.
 
References Page
 
You must list a full reference (names, title of article and journal, year published, etc.) for each source cited in your paper on a separatepage. (Note: for secondary citations, you only need to put the source you read on the reference page. No need to provide citations for the secondary sources themselves.) This References page should be placed at the end of the document. Check your assignment for specific formatting instructions, but the below is a general guide to typical APA style. The list should be alphabetized by the first author's last name. Be sure to include all authors on the references page (not just the first author). Make sure that the first line of the source is not indented, but the remaining lines of the references are. This is called a "hanging" indentation. In Microsoft Word, there is a hanging indent option under format/paragraph/indentation - special. See an APA Publication Manual, your library, or any of the many websites summarizing APA style for information on how to properly cite additional types of sources.
 
For journal articles, use the format below:

Last name first author, Initials, Last name second author, Initials, Remaining  authors & Final author. (year in
parentheses). Title of article not capitalized except for first word and: First word after  a colon, Title  of
Journal Italicized, Volume number italicized, page numbers.

For example:
Crocker, J. & Wolfe, C. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth: A new perspective on self-esteem, Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 78, 65-83.
 


For book chapters where the author of the chapter is also the author of the book, the format should be as follows:
 
Mynatt, C.R. & Doherty, M.E. (2002). Why we don't see what we think we see. In Understanding Human Behavior
(2nd ed., chap. 12). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
 


For book chapters from an edited collection of chapters:

Nash, R. (2002). Individual differences in human sexuality. In C.R. Myers & M.E. Dalton's (Eds.) Human Behavior: The
Never Ending Mystery  (pp. 273-288). New York: Houghton-Mifflin.

(Note - in the above example, Nash is the author of the chapter and Myers and Dalton are the editors of the book the chapter is in.  The chapter name is not italicized whereas the title of the book is.)
 
For specific documents from a website:

Provide as much information as possible in the following order. If author is not available, simply leave it out. If year is not available, substitute "n.d." for the year. Provide the name of the larger website if it is different from the web page title.

Author.  (Publication Date).  Web page title, Name of web site.  Retrieved Month day, year, from URL

Example with no author: New child vaccine gets funding boost, MSN.com. (2001). Retrieved March 21, 2001, from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/story_13178.asp
Example with no author and no date: New child vaccine gets funding boost, MSN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2001, from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/story_13178.asp
Example of Web page authored by an organization (with no publication date available): United States Sentencing Commission (n.d.). 1997 Sourcebook of federal sentencing statistics. Retrieved December 8, 1999, from http://www.ussc.gov/annrpt/1997/sbtoc97.htm

For an entire website:

When citing an entire Web site rather than a portion of it (a specific document or specific section), it is sufficient to give the address of the site in just the text. No reference is necessary on the references page.

**NOTE: Full-text COPIES of articles that are published in print should be cited using the "journal article" citation style above. You do not need to include a retrieval date or web address.
Other useful links:   
More examples of APA Style - http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/apa4b.htm
Purchasing your own APA Style Manual - http://www.apa.org/books/4200061.html
Writing Empirical Papers: Beginners
Writing Empirical Papers: Advanced (PDF)- for use by students who have had practice writing empirical papers before.
General Writing Tips on Writing Psychology Papers
Avoiding Inappropriate Paraphrasing
Website maintained (such as it is) by Connie Wolfe.
Last update: 1/13/08