PsycINFO User Guide
PsycINFO, covering 1887 to date, is the major index to journal articles in the field of psychology and related disciplines, including sociology and educational psychology. Selected books, chapters of books, and doctoral dissertations are also included. The paper version, Psychological Abstracts, is available for the years 1927-2000, located at BF 1 .P65; the last 10 years are in the reference collection. Full text of selected articles is available online from 1987.
Basic Search
- For a Basic search, type one or more words or phrases in the Find box using Boolean operators to combine terms.
- Use the truncation (*) and wildcard (?) symbols to search for terms with various endings, unknown characters, or multiple spellings. To use truncation, enter the beginning of a search word and replace the ending with an *. For example, typing child* will find entries containing child, childhood, children, childlike, etc. The wildcard symbol (?) replaces a single character. For example, searching for wom?n will find all entries containing women and woman.
- Search results can be expanded or narrowed using search options, including:
- - Full Text: Retrieve only full text articles. Full text articles are available for selected journals,
- from 1987, from the companion source of PsycArticles.
- - Publication: Search by keyword within one journal.
- - Published Date: Search within a specified date range.
- - Peer Reviewed: Search only for articles in peer reviewed journals.
- - Expand the search: Include related words such as plurals and synonyms.
- In addition to the search options described, the search can also be limited to results from a certain publication type, articles in a specified language, articles that are related to specified age groups/ populations/intended audiences, etc.
Advanced Search
- Click on the [Advanced Search] button.
- Enter a word or phrase in the Find box.
- Next, use the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to select a field to search. Searches can be done across TX All Text or in a variety of specific fields, including Author, article Title, Abstract, Journal Title, and Subjects. Specialty limits can be used here or from drop-down menus below the main search boxes. Each search box can be limited to a different field, allowing for combinations of search strategies. Change the default box of "Suggest subject headings" when doing a basic search.
- To connect multiple search terms, phrases, or concepts, use the multiple search boxes; use the Boolean operators and, or, not by clicking on the drop-down menu located to the left.
- In addition to the search options described, the search can also be limited to results from a certain publication type, articles from peer-reviewed journals, articles in a specified language, articles that are related to specified age groups/ populations/intended audiences, etc.
Results List
- The Results list consists of those resources that include the search terms within the selected search fields.
- Click on an underlined title to display the full description of the article, which includes the citation, abstract, subject headings, etc.
- If available, click on the [PDF Full Text] or [HTML Full Text] link below the citation to view the full text of the article.
- To mark entries for printing, E-mailing, or saving, click on "Add to Folder" from each individual entry or, from the Results list, click on
to the right of each entry.
Special Features
Thesaurus: an alphabetical list of the assigned subject headings, with related, narrower, and broader terms.
Cited References: search the bibliographies of selected articles found in PsycINFO.
Indexes: check for the specifics within specialized fields, such as age groups, intended audience, book series, author affiliation, etc.
Locating Resources in the UWM Libraries
- If the item is available full text in PsycInfo, click on the link for full text.
- To determine if the UWM Libraries own a specific journal or book cited in the results list or has the full text of the journal available in another online resource, click
at the bottom of the citation.
- If the journal is available full text in an online resource, select the database of choice from the options given and follow the instructions to locate the article.
- If the journal is not available full text in an online resource, follow the link to the UWM Libraries to check for print holdings. Locate the call number and holdings in the PantherCat record.
- Entries for books or chapters in books will have a book citation, not a journal source. Check the UWM catalog for the TITLE/AUTHOR of the book, not the individual chapter.
- If a title does not appear in the libraries' catalog nor is available full text online, request the journals through Interlibrary Loan and the books through UW System borrowing or Interlibrary Loan.
- Dissertations included in PsycINFO are cited as being in the journal, Dissertation Abstracts International. An additional abstract of most dissertations are available in Dissertation Abstracts Online , available in the UWM Libraries; dissertations may be requested or purchased through Interlibrary loan.
Printing, Saving, or E-mailing Search Results
- To print from an individual record:
- Click on the Print icon at the top of the list.
- The default option is citation details and abstract; the other choice is to print only the citation (article title, author, journal date and volume and pagination).
- If the item is full text, have the full text on the screen, click on the Print icon, then select the option(s) available for any full text in addition to the citation information.
- Next, click on Print in the Print Manager box, then use the Print button on the web browser to print the information as displayed on the screen.
- For PDF files, use the print commands on the Adobe bar above the text frame.
- To E-mail from an individual record:
- Click on the E-mail button at the top of the list.
- Choose to e-mail as one of the following:
- The default option is citation details and abstract; the other choice is to e-mail only the citation (article title, author, journal date and volume and pagination).
- Choosing citation with any available full text includes all citation information and the full text of the article (if available) - choice will vary if article is in HTML or PDF format.
- Enter a full e-mail address and a subject/comments (optional).
- Click on Send in the E-Mail Manager box.
- To save from an individual record:
- Click on the Save to Disk button at the top of the list.
- The default option is citation details and abstract; de-select that to save only the citation (the article title and author, journal date and volume and pagination).
- Choosing citation with any available full text includes all citation information and the full text of the article (if available) - choice will vary if article is in HTML or PDF format.
- Next, click on Save button in the Save Manager box, select File, then Save As from the web browser menu. In the Save as window, select the a:drive, and type in a file name.
- To print, e-mail, or save multiple items from the Results list or Folder:
- To print the entire list of results, click on the print, e-mail, or save button of choice and follow the instructions above.
- To print only the selected list of entries (those marked to put into a folder), click on "View Folder" at the top of the screen. Unwanted items can be deleted from the folder listing. Follow the directions for printing, e-mailing, or saving an individual record.
E-mail Alert Service
To set up an alert service to receive regularly, via e-mail, a list of citations corresponding to established keywords, follow the instructions in the RIS Library Guide Email Alert Services.
To Exit PsycINFO, click on the Home button on the browser bar.
llb: 02/26/2007 mod