Jen Jarson Social Sciences Reference Librarian phone: x3552 email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu IM (AIM, Yahoo, MSN): jjarson1 (add @hotmail.com for MSN)

Selected Reference Materials

Corsini, R.J. (1999). The Dictionary of Psychology. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, Taylor, and Francis.
Reference 150.3 C826d

Craighead, W.E, and Nemeroff, C.B. (Eds.). (2001). The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Reference 150.3 E562o, 2001 v.1-4

Fernandez-Ballesteros, R. (Ed.). (2003). Encyclopedia of psychological assessment. London; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reference 150.287 E56o v.1-2

Hersen, M. (Ed.). (2003). Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessement. Hoboken, NJ.: J. Wiley & Sons.
Reference 150.287 C737h v.1-4

Kazdin, A.E. (Ed.). (2000). Encyclopedia of Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference 150.3 E563o v.1-8

Lewis-Beck, M.S., Bryman, A.E., & Liao, T.F. (Eds.). (2004). The Sage encyclopedia of social science research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reference 300.724 L673s v.1-3

Vogt, W.P. (1993). Dictionary of statistics and methodology: A nontechnical guide for the social sciences. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Reference 300.15195 V887d

Weiner, I.B. (Ed.). (2003). Handbook of Psychology. New York: Wiley.
Reference 150 H236o v.1-12

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

GETTING THERE:      Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or
                                      Library Homepage    Finding Books    Our Catalog

• For tips on searching the catalog, use the Help link above the search boxes. (Or click here.)


• Need help with your keywords and search strategy? Try the Keyword Searching (Combining Concepts) worksheet.  [ PDF | Word ] 

OTHER LIBRARIES

• WorldCat. To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.)

        GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    WorldCat

• E-ZBorrow. For quick delivery of books from many Pennsylvania and area academic libraries (including University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of Pittsburgh, and many more), use E-ZBorrow. (E-ZBorrow takes 2-4 business days.)

        GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    E-ZBorrow

TIP: Check the E-ZBorrow catalog for any books you find in WorldCat. If not available there, then request via ILL.

• LVAIC. You can borrow books directly from LVAIC (Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges) Libraries.

        GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    Other Libraries

• For more information on Interlibrary Loan options, see http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/more/ill/index.html or ask for help.

        GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    Borrowing from Other Libraries

Finding Articles

PsycINFO

The PsycINFO database provides indexing of journals in Psychology and related fields from 1887 to the present.  (Abstracts are included from 1984 to the present.)  Books, book chapters, and dissertations are also indexed. 

FIND PsycINFO

Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Periodical Databases and Indexes    Social Sciences

Or go directly to http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/articles/databases/social_sciences.html.

SEARCH PsycINFO

1. Start with keyword searching on the main screen.  In the empty Find fields, enter keywords that describe your topic.  It's recommended to search across multiple fields when you're just getting started, so leave the drop-down menus at their Select a Field (optional) default. 

    Need help with your keywords and search strategy?
    Try the Keyword Searching (Combining Concepts) worksheet.  [ PDF | Word ] 

    PsycINFO search tips to remember:       

• Use ? for wildcard character.  Example: wom?n retrieves woman and women
• Use * for truncation. Example: therap* retrieves therapy, therapies, therapeutic, etc.
• Use " " for phrase searching. Example: "obsessive compulsive disorder"

2. Browse through your results.  Click on any article that looks relevant to see more information about it.  Read the abstract, summarizing the article. 

As you look through your results, use them to your advantage.

• What other words could you use in your next search?  Look in the title, keywords, and abstract sections of relevant article records.
• What subjects could you use?  Each article has been assigned subjects that describe the content of the article.  The subject of one article should lead you to more like it.  See more on subjects below. 
• When you find a useful article, don't forget to look at its reference list.  Is there anything there you might be able to use?

Because subjects are standardized, they cannot be searched as easily as keywords.  Use the results from your keyword searches to discover relevant subjects.  You can also use the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms to determine the syntax and language of subjects.

Thesaurus of psychological index terms (10th ed.). 2004). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ready Reference 025.4915 T413o

It may be more convenient to search the Thesaurus from within PsycINFO.  Click on the Thesaurus link below the Advanced Search tab.

MORE DATABASES

Academic Search Premier
Indexes 700+ psychology publications (non-academic and peer-reviewed), and contains some full text for many of them.

ERIC
Premier database in education, funded by the US Department of Education.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Indexes 100+ peer-reviewed psychology journals, and contains full text for many of these titles.
Note: WilsonWeb does not allow for a Search Trexler Library for this title link (see below for more information). Instead, they include an icon ( ) when the library has the article available elsewhere. Click on the icon to be transferred to the catalog record for the journal. If the library does not have access to the article online or in print, request it via Interlibrary Loan (see below for more information).

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GETTING THE ARTICLES

1. When searching for articles, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.


2. If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
   • Some databases have a Search Trexler Library for this title link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.
   • Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title. Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.


3. If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
   • Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.
   • Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Getting a Copy of an Article). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Citing Your Sources

For help using APA Style, consult the following resources:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).  (2001).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 p976m 2001 (at Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style.  (2005).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 C744r (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using APA style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/apa_example.pdf.
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website.  Library Homepage    Research Help    Citation Guides.

Writer's Handbook (University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.html

Try NoodleBib Express for a quick tutorial on APA Style: http://www.noodletools.com/login.php.

© Muhlenberg College,
Last modified: 19 February 2007
URL: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/guides/libinst/psychology/introtopsych.html