PsycINFO: What’s In It for Me?

Anne Breitenbach, Trainer

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What you’ve asked for

• live searching• more complex searches for expert searchers• basic searches for people not familiar with the

platforms• more about transactional access• to be able to see the searches more clearly

Why is PsycINFO an essential tool for many special

librarians?

Interdisciplinary Content

Etc., etc., etc.

RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL LIBRARIES

PsycARTICLES

New Additions

PsycTESTS• Grown 900% since

launch in 2011

• 50% of tests developed in the past 10 years

• 75% have full or partial test available

PSYCINFO CONTENT

TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION

How has media changed the world?

From broadcasts of the Vietnam War to our living rooms to Syrian rebels tweeting today, media not only reflect change in our world but actually help create that change.

Search: How has Twitter been used to test public opinion and

media views? Search media and public opinion using the

Thesaurus Search for twitter or tweet in the tests and

measures field

PsycINFO has Twitter research. #PsycINFO #SLA2014

What effect does humor have on politics?

Satire and humor have a long history as tools in politics, but cable television and the Internet have supercharged the connection.

Search: Humor or comedy or satire and political attitudes

How have cell phones changed us?

Ever seen cell phones pop popcorn in a few seconds? New technologies affect us in all kinds of ways, socially, culturally, and physiologically, among others. Think about the ubiquitous cell phone and it’s effect on

DrivingHealth monitoringSampling biasMarketingInterpersonal relationshipsInstruction and teachingBrain function

APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

How malleable are people in extraordinary situations?

We know the images and actions from Nazi Germany; My Lai, Vietnam; the Killing Fields, Cambodia; Rwanda, the Congo, Abu Ghraib, … What research has their been on the role of psychologists in sanctioned abusive interrogation?

Search: torture or prisoner abuse and professional ethics

Index terms (or subject terms) vs. keywords

• Keywords include index terms and additional fields (though those fields vary by platform)

• Keywords will include first posting results and index terms do not (though that may change soon) because of the timing of indexing

Searching for full text

Why are people less likely to act proactively when in a

group?

Search: bystander and bullying

Proximity Searching

• Find words that appear near each other• Know the syntax! Links to help docs:

– APA PsycNET – EBSCOhost– ProQuest (scroll to Operators)– OvidSP (scroll to Boolean Operators)

Near Operator (N) - N5 finds the words if they are within five words of one another regardless of the order in which they appear. For example, type tax N5 reform to find results that would match tax reform as well as reform of income tax. Within Operator (W) - In the following example, W8 finds the words if they are within eight words of one another and in the order in which you entered them.

EBSCO Help Menu

Why are some people willing to act?

Just how malleable are “normal people” in extraordinary situations? Why are some people willing to step in?

Search: bystander and altruism or help or assistance

Grant/Sponsorship Field

BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

A string of disasters has been brought about in part by executives more concerned with stock prices than good management.

Search: top executives and add salary and decision making

How does executive compensation affect their risk-

taking behavior?

Facets

Building your search from a basic search

I swap “top executive” for “top level managers.” From the titles I see that maybe “CEO” would be good. And I’ll take “salaries” and break it into another category.

Harvesting search terms

Search within results

As a last step I remove dissertations and limit my findings to the past 5 years

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Are whistleblowers good for their organizations?

Daniel Ellsberg, indirectly, brought down a president. Serpico and Silkwood became folk heroes. Edward Snowden is on the run.

Search: whistleblow* and find the relevant classification codes

Classification codes

What has modern work done to our bodies?

Our activities have changed a great deal in the modern age. From repetitive movements to sedentary environments, we’ve changed our natural activities. What research is there on how ergonomics affects our performance?

Search: ergonomics and posture and performance

Setting Alerts from a Journal Set

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Few issues in forensics have generated more research than the quest for an accurate way to tell if someone is lying.

Search: lie detect* and accuracy

What psychological research is there on lie detection?

How does this apply to you?Don’t work in a prison or even with Don’t work in a prison or even with people much? people much? How does applied social psychology How does applied social psychology affect you? affect you? It helps describe conflict and It helps describe conflict and cooperation wherever they existcooperation wherever they existIt underlies consumer decision makingIt underlies consumer decision makingIt helps build bridges across It helps build bridges across generations and ethnicitiesgenerations and ethnicitiesIt prepares you to meet your own It prepares you to meet your own challenges morally and courageously, a challenges morally and courageously, a bad barrel need not spoil the applebad barrel need not spoil the apple

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