Introduction to Psychology

Need help with your research? Contact:

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

Need help after hours?
IM the Library at TalkToTrexler (for AIM, Yahoo, and MSN) Note: Add @hotmail.com for MSN.
Online Sunday-Thursday 2pm-10pm.
See Ask a Librarian for more information.

Selected Reference Materials

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

VandenBos, G.R. (Ed.). (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference 150.3 A639d

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

Finding Books

Trexler Library Catalog

Search the Trexler Library Catalog (http://library.muhlenberg.edu) 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 -- Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box) -- Trexler Library Catalog

WorldCat

WorldCat is the world's largest database of library records. Use this to search practically every library in the U.S. for books on your topic. WorldCat shows which libraries hold a particular book, and you can request items from those libraries. (Use the ILL button in WorldCat to request books.) ILL can take between 10 - 14 days, so plan ahead.

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage -- Books, Videos, Music, ... (in Find box) -- Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

Finding Articles

SEARCHING FOR SCHOLARLY ARTICLES

See a list of all databases at via the Library Homepage -- Articles A-Z (in the Find box).

Subject-Specific Databases

PsycINFO
Premier database in psychology.

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

Interdisciplinary Databases

Academic Search Premier
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Narrow to just academic sources with the source type options on the left sidebar.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Indexes 100+ peer-reviewed psychology journals.

Sage Journals Online
Provides access to all journals published by Sage, a prominent social sciences publisher.

SEARCHING FOR POPULAR ARTICLES (REAL WORLD EXAMPLES)

Academic Search Premier
This multi-disciplinary database contains scholarly and popular sources, including a number of magazines and newspapers. Narrow results by Source Type to Magazines or to Newspapers on the left sidebar of your results list.

Google News (http://news.google.com/)
Aggregated portal of news sources.

LexisNexis Academic
Indexes and provides full-text of major newspapers, nationally and internationally. Also includes newswires, transcripts of TV and radio broadcasts, and a very limited selection of blogs. Updated daily. Coverage from as early as 1980 to the present, but varies by publication.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources.

Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/)
Aggregated portal of news sources.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

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

If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.

Most databases (including PsycINFO) have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings. If the database doesn't have a Get It! link, search the Trexler Library Catalog by the title of the journal or by the journal's ISSN.

Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.

If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.

Many databases (including PsycINFO) have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form.

If the database does not have an ILL link embedded, go to the Library Homepage -- ILL (in the Services & Forms box) -- ILL Forms -- Articles (in the left sidebar). Fill out the form. NOTE: Interlibrary Loan can take anywhere from a few day to a few weeks. Plan accordingly.

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)

Resources for Current Students (Psychology Department)
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/psychology/studentresources.html

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 -- Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).

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