PsycINFO Searching
Description
Produced by the American Psychological Association, PsycINFO indexes journal articles,
dissertations, reports, books, book chapters, and other scholarly documents. The definitive
resource in psychology, it indexes literature from over 34 countries in more than 30 languages.
Coverage is from 1872 – present.
Purpose
PsycINFO is a database (or periodical index) used to find material published on psychology
topics. The index provides citations and abstracts, but not full text. Note that the York University
Libraries do not subscribe to all the material included in the index.
HOW TO GET INTO PSYCINFO
You can approach the index by two methods. 1) You can type the name of the index into the Title
Quick Search box on the library homepage and click on the eResources link.
2) Or you can approach periodical indexes by using the Find articles by subject link on the
library homepage under the eRESOURCES heading. This approach will provide
recommendations for other indexes suitable for the subject area you specify.
Off campus access:
If you are off campus when you click on PsycINFO you will be asked to log in with a library
barcode and PIN number.
Your User ID is the barcode number on the back of your sessional/library card. Your PIN is the
four digit number you were given at the Circulation Desk when you got your barcode.
KEYWORD SEARCHING
The first step is to identify the keywords that best capture the main concepts of your topic.
Eg. You may want to find articles that discuss: the effects of violence in the media on children.
The main concepts are: violence, media and children.
You can combine your keywords using the word AND. The word AND narrows the search
because it means all terms must appear in the record.
violence and media and children – all the words must be in the record for it to be pulled up in the
search by the index.
When using
OR you need
to enclose the
terms in
parentheses
You can also expand your search by incorporating synonyms or related terms into your search
using the word OR. The word OR looks for either term in the record.
(media or video games) and violence and children
Truncation:
You can also expand your search by looking for alternate endings to a word using a truncation
symbol. The symbol of truncation in PsycINFO is the asterisk. If you type behavior* the index
will search for behavior, behaviors, behavioral etc.
Descriptors (DE): (also called subject headings)
After doing an initial keyword search, you should always look through some records to identify
descriptors (subject headings) on your topic. Descriptors are terms used in the index to categorize
the topics. You can use these terms to refine your search strategy. You will ensure a more
thorough and systematic search by obtaining all records categorized under those descriptors.
Eg. The descriptor used in the index to categorize records about
movies is Motion Pictures. If you want to pull up all the records with
content about movies the best keyword to use would be Motion
Pictures.
USING THE THESAURUS: GETTING MORE SYSTEMATIC
PsycINFO offers an online thesaurus. Use it to prepare your search by exploring the proper
descriptors (subject headings) for each of your key concepts. For example if you type eating
disorders in the thesaurus you will retrieve the following results. On the left the term Eating
Disorders is listed as a subject heading. To go to the thesaurus entry click on the subject
heading. On the right the thesaurus entry provides a list of narrower, broader and related
headings.
Example A: Subject heading
Example B: Thesaurus entry
Use the thesaurus to discover the descriptors used in PsycINFO for each concept in your topic.
Write the headings down and then combine them using AND and OR under the “Search” tab.
The thesaurus
entry also
provides
information
about the term.
Search limits:
The index allows you to restrict your search in many ways. You can place limits on your search
by clicking on the change button on the right hand side of the search screen.
For instance, you can limit to
• Journal articles
• Empirical studies – derived from experiment or observation rather than theory.
• Literature reviews – An extensive search of the information available on a topic which
results in a list of references to books, periodicals and other materials on a topic.
• Peer reviewed journals (also known as refereed) – articles are assessed by other experts in
the field before the article is accepted for publication.
The Limit Screen
This link gives you the option
of restricting your search to
empirical studies, literature
reviews or peer reviewed
journals
You can select more than one option by holding down the control key and left clicking on the
items in the menu. Once you select your restrictions click on the ok link to return to the search
screen.
UNDERSTANDING THE RECORD
Volume number needed for this article
Document type
Article title
The citation
is essential
to finding
the article.
Journal name
descriptors
Library
Available online – starting with vol. 16
Volumes at York
will link to online version – when available
FINDING THE MATERIAL
It is important to note the document type (DT), because this will affect how you search for the
item. PsycINFO contains records for books, book chapters and dissertations as well as journal
articles. If the record is for a book or dissertation the citation will appear in the Title field (TI) or
in the book field (BK) if it is a book chapter.
For journal articles:
Write down the citation of the article. The citation is on the source line (SO) and includes the
journal title, volume #, issue #, date and page. Sometimes PsycINFO will provide holdings
information at the bottom of the record for journal articles. The holdings information includes the
call number and the volumes available of the hard copy in the library.
Find it @ York:
This link at the bottom of the record is intended to assist you in locating a copy of the document
either electronically or in print. It does not mean that we have the item in the library or
online. If you click on that link the following screen will appear:
Links to the online
version – when
available
Searches the library
catalogue for a print copy
Note: Find it @ York is not always accurate so if you really want an item it is always a good idea
to double check the library holdings yourself (see below).
Using Title Quick Search to find an item:
You can search for an online copy or a print copy of the document using Title Quick Search. To
check for an online copy you would type the journal name in the Title Quick Search box and
click on the eResources link.
To check for a print copy you can type the journal name or the title of a book in the Quick
Search box and then click on the catalogue link. If we subscribe to the journal or have a copy of
the book a catalogue record will come up and give you holdings information (volumes we have)
and a call number.
Note: If a copy is not online the library may have a print copy or the reverse may be true it
is a good idea to check for both formats.
WHERE THE MATERIAL IS LOCATED IN THE LIBRARY
Books and past issues of journals are located upstairs on the shelves by call number. A call
number is a specific, unique label given to every item in a library. Call numbers usually
consist of a combination of letters and numbers, for example PS 3553. H2765 M66.
There is a map of Scott Library located by the escalators on the second floor.
Journals from the current year are kept on the second floor of Scott Library in the current
periodicals room.