Information Search in Psychology

Gerrie Kow Email: clbky@nus.edu.sgAug 21st, 2008

Objectives

• To introduce you to the basics of literature search.

• To familiarize you with searching for materials in LINC+ and Advanced Search.

• To give you a basic introduction to PsycINFO.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the session you will:• Decode references.

• Be able to locate relevant Psychology material in LINC+.

• Be able to find specific journal articles in PsycINFO.

• Be able to find material relating to a specific topic in PsycINFO.

Outline

• Identify sources for research• LINC+ • PsycINFO• Information Challenge!!!• Getting help

Sources for Research• Books

- Overview of topic with a fair amount of detail.- Good source for further reading.

• Journals

- Academic/By scholars for scholars- Latest developments & research findings

• Databases

- Collection of many e-journals, e-books, conference proceedings, book chapters, statistics, newspaper articles, etc.

Evaluating Sources

• Authority What credentials are listed for the authors?• Objectivity Is the information presented objective or biased?• Accuracy Is the information well supported by references?• Currency Is the information updated?• AppropriatenessIs the information what you need?

Decoding References Book

Kmoisar, L. (1991). The new feminism

(3rd ed.). New York: Franklin Watts.

Author Publication Year Title

Place of Publication PublisherEdition Statement

Author Publication Year TitleAuthor Publication Year

Publisher

TitleAuthor Publication Year

Place of Publication Publisher

TitleAuthor Publication Year

Book Chapter

Coleman, P. C. (1999). Identity management in later life. In R. T. Woods (Ed.), Psychological problems of ageing: Assessment, treatment and care (pp. 49-72). New York: Wiley.

Decoding References

Author Year of Pub Chapter Title

Book Title

Editor

Place of Pub & PublisherPage nos.

Journal Article

Boey, K. M. (1998). Social network and the subjective well-being of the elderly in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 8, 5-15.

Decoding References

Author of article Year of Pub Article Title

Source/Journal Title Vol./Iss. Nos. Page nos.

LINC+ DEMO

- Title (Book & Journal)- Author- Call Number- Keyword (Basic)- Keyword (Advanced Search)

11

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Search Our Library CatalogueUsing

LINC+, LINC or Advanced Search

Search for Electronic Resources in Databases, E-Journals & E-

Books

Search for Exam Papers & Your Reading Lists

LibraryNews

&Events

Portal (www.lib.nus.edu.sg)

Let’s Search!

Nevid, J. S. (2007). Psychology and the challenges of life : Adjustment in the new millennium (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Titles in LINC+: Books

Titles in LINC+: Books

Facets

Tag Cloud

Your account

By Relevance

Titles in LINC+: Books

Let’s Search!

Maki, R.H. (1982). Categorization effects which occur in comparative judgment tasks. Memory & Cognition, 10, 252-264.

Titles in LINC+: Journals

Titles in LINC+: Journals

Titles in LINC+: Journals

Information about print holdings

Link to e-version

See TOC, make requests

Requesting for Journals in MyLINC

Click to see all vols.

Requesting for Journals in MyLINC

Requesting for Journals in MyLINC

Requesting for Journals in MyLINC

Patron Record: View Your Loans

See/Cancel requests

Renew items

Patron Record: View Your Requests

Cancel requests

Authors in LINC+

Call Numbers in LINC

Call Numbers in LINC

Keywords in LINC+ (Basic)

You need to identify key concepts or keywords in your research question.

For e.g.

To what extent should the corporal punishment of children be considered a kind of child abuse?

Keywords would be:

corporal punishment, child abuse

Keywords in LINC+

Keywords in LINC+

Results refined by tag “discipline of children”

Broadening your search

Click to see a list of material with this subject heading

See TOC, make requests

Advanced Keyword Search: searching deeper

(1) Identify alternative keywords.

To what extent should the corporal punishment of children be considered a kind of child abuse?

Keywords would be:

corporal/physical punishment, child/children abuse

Advanced Keyword Search: searching deeper

(2) Add Boolean Operators (and, or, not)

Both terms must appear

One or other may appear

One term may appear but not the other

punishment abuse

punishment abuse

abusepunishment

Use of * and round parentheses ( )

• Use ** for variant forms of term– child* = child, childrenchild* = child, children– punish* = punish, punishes, punishment, punishingpunish* = punish, punishes, punishment, punishing

• Use (( )) for grouping words or phrases– (interethnic or interracial) and dating(interethnic or interracial) and dating

= interracial dating, interethnic dating= interracial dating, interethnic dating– (teen* or adolescen*) and pregnancy(teen* or adolescen*) and pregnancy

= teenage pregnancy= teenage pregnancy= adolescent pregnancy= adolescent pregnancy

Advanced Keyword Search: searching deeper

(corporal or physical) punishment and child* abuse

corporal/physical punishment

child/children abuse

To what extent should the corporal punishment of children be considered a kind of child abuse?

Alternative keywords

BracketsWildcard

Enter search strategy in Advanced Search

Retrieve more results

Resources previously not discovered

Book Chapter

What is PsycINFO?

• PsycINFO is an electronic database produced by the American Psychological Association (APA).

• It provides abstracts and citations to the scholarly literature in the psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences.

• It provides access to dissertations, book chapters covering empirical studies, case studies, surveys, literature reviews, conference reports, etc.

• Coverage: 1806-present.

Accessing PsycINFO from the Library portal

PsycINFO DEMO

- Basic Search- Find Citations- Search Tools

Let’s search!

Discuss the relationship between gender differences and verbal ability.

Keywords:

gender differences and verbal ability

PsycINFO: Basic Search

PsycINFO: Results Display

PsycINFO: Full Text

Library Holdings

Let’s search!

Does exposure to media violence and pornography produce aggression in viewers?

Keywords: media violence, pornography, aggression

Limits:English Language, 2003-2007

Find the full text of this article in PsycINFO

Kosut, M. (2006). Mad artists and tattooed perverts. Deviant Behavior, 7, 73-95.

How?

Search Tools: Thesaurus

Information Challenge!!!

Can You Remember How?

Press, W. H., Flannery, B. P., Teukolsky, S. A., & Vetterling, W. T. (1993). Numerical recipes: The art of scientific computing. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

(i) What is the call number?

(ii) What is the ISBN number?

Task 1: Look for this item using LINC+

Can You Remember How?

(i) What is the location?

(ii) Show me the table of contents.

Balota, D. A., Ferraro, F. R., & Connor, L. T. (1991). On the early influence of meaning in word recognition: A review of the literature. In P. J. Schwanenflugel (Ed.), The psychology of word meanings (pp. 187-222). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Task 2: Look for this item using LINC+

Can You Remember How?

Seidenberg, M. S., Waters, G. S., Barnes, M. A., & Tanenhaus, M. K. (1984). When does irregular spelling or pronunciation influence word recognition? Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 383-404.

(i) Earliest print volume/year that the library has?

Task 3: Look for this item using LINC+

Heathcote, A., Popiel, S. J., & Mewhort, D. J. K. (1991). Analysis of response time distributions: An example using the Stroop task. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 340–347.

Note: Full Text needs to be displayed on screen

Can You Remember How?

Task 4: Find the full text of this journal article in PsycInfo.

Can You Remember How?

Task 5: Basic Search in PsycINFO

Keywords: undergraduates infatuation marriage

Condition: “Include Related Terms” must be ticked

Limit to: English Language, 1995-2005

Sort by: Descending Publication Year (newest to oldest)

Getting Help: Subject Guide

Getting Help: Subject Guide

Getting More Help

Information Level 5Reception Level 4

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