PsycINFO
Description of the resource
PsycINFO is an index and abstract database with over 3 million records of peer-reviewed literature in behavioral sciences and mental health, from over 50 countries. Currently, PsycINFO covers 2,543 journals, which changes constantly as journals are added or discontinued throughout the year. Because of the constant change, PsycINFO updates monthly.
PsycINFO provides the links to the full text when available. Users can access PsycINFO through an institution, such as the University of Texas or for a single user through a subscription or a flat fee for 24 hours of searching. The University of Texas accesses PyscINFO through EBSCO. Citation: American Psychological Association. "PsycINFO." American Psychological Association. Accessed November 11, 2013. http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/ psycinfo/index.aspx. |
Strengths
|
Weaknesses
|
Screenshots
Advanced Searching
- Allows for Boolean searching, SmartText Searching (natural language searching), find all and some search terms
- Boolean Operators: (And, Or, Not) combine search terms to narrow or broaden results
- Wildcard (#): the “#” replaces any extra characters that may appear in alternative spellings i.e. colo#r for color or colour
- Wildcard (?): The “?” replaces one character i.e. ne?t for next or nest
- Truncation (*): The “*” replaces any number of characters and will find all forms of the root word i.e. therap* finds therapy, therapies, therapist, therapists, therapeutic, therapeutically, etc.
- There are multiple filters to narrow or broaden the results of the search
- Filters include: Publication type, language, age, document type, population group, etc.
Thesaurus
- Using the correct search terms make searching easier
- The thesaurus allows users to find terms that work with the PsycINFO database
Results
- Not all citations have full text but there will be a button 'find@UT' or a button 'PDF' that links to the full text
- Side bar allows the user to change the limits of the search
Citation References
- Shows the number of other sources a specific article has been cited in
- Gives the citations and when possible abstract or full-text
Search History
- Allows the user to see previous searches
- Can review the results of specific searches
- Can edit the search to refine the results
Account
- Account allows the user to save citations to a folder for later use
- The folder allows the user to print or email a bibliography of saved citations
- The user can export the citations into various formats, RIS, XML, BibTeX, MARC 21
- The user can also export the citations directly to EndNote Web, RefWorks, or a generic bibliographic management software