WHAT IS PSYCINFO?

AN OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCINFO DATABASE

byMARK HABER

THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLEGILL LIBRARY

DECEMBER 2008

PSYCINFO FACTS

PsycInfo is an abstract database of psychological literature from the 1880’s to the present.

PsycInfo contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from: Journal articles Books Chapters of books Dissertations

Limiting Your Search

Searches in PsycInfo can be limited to:Peer reviewed journalsEnglish language materialsFull text materials

Controlled Vocabulary

Agreed upon term for a subject or concept Manic Depression USE Bipolar Disorder Marital Adjustment USE Marital Relations Miscarriage USE Spontaneous Abortion Parental Participation USE Parental

Involvement

Use of Thesaurus

List of PsycInfo Subject HeadingsScope Note (PsycInfo’s definition of the term)Other Terms (Broader, Narrower, Related)

Boolean Searching

Combine Search Terms“AND” narrows the search (retrieved item

must have all the terms)“OR” broadens the search (retrieved item can

have one or more of any of the terms)“NOT” limits the search (retrieved item does

not have the term)

Truncation

The asterisk* at the end of the root of a word retrieves the word and all forms of the word

Adolescen* retrieves adolescent, adolescence, etc.

Parent* retrieves parent, parental, parenting, etc.

Home* retrieves home, homeless, homesickness, etc.

Retrieving the full text

Some articles are available full textOthers can be requested at the Circulation

DeskJournal articles, books, and dissertations that

are not owned by CNR can be ordered via Illiad

Advantages of Using PsycInfo

Contains journal articles, books, and dissertations

Comprehensive ThesaurusBoolean Searching