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SOP3004: Social Psychology

This guide is meant to supplement and complement the in-class session led by a research librarian.

Where's the full-text?

Can't find the full text of an article?

  • Search our catalog by journal title (e.g. JAMA) to see if we have access to the journal in print, in a database, or on microfilm. Use the Get It @ FSU tab to see where you can access the journal (electronically, on the shelves in the library, etc).
  • Try the journal's website or Google Scholar.  Sometimes articles are available free online.
  • If you still can't find it, use Interlibrary Loan to request the article be sent from another library. (1-2 weeks)

PsycINFO searchable fields

Learn to focus your searches using searchable fields.

Drop-down menu with "DE Subjects [exact]" selected

Limit by Methodology

"Methodology" box with "empirical study" and "literature review" options selected

In PsycINFO, limit  your results by methodology on the left side of the search results page.

You may also choose to limit by:

  • Peer reviewed journals
  • Year
  • Subject
  • Publication

               and more...

Going mobile?

Core Article Databases

Article Searching by Keyword or Subject in PsycINFO

A keyword generally refers to a term that occurs anywhere in an article, including the title, author, subjects, abstract, or full text.  To search this way in PsycINFO, use the Select a Field (Optional) designation rather than Keyword, since using Keyword from the search drop-down menu will only search specific keyword tags.

  • Search by keyword if you're searching for a new concept, if you want to broaden your search, or if you don't know or can't find a subject term to use. 

Example PsychINFO search for "human experimentation" with a circle drawn around the "Select a Field (optional)" box

*Tip: Using an asterisk to truncate the end of a word will yield both all variations of that word (e.g. experiment* will locate experiment, experimental, and experimentation)

A subject is a term assigned to a book or article to describe its content.  Using a database's Thesaurus or Subject Terms can help you find the specific term(s) that the database uses to describe your topic.  It can help you differentiate between similar terms, such as Conservation (Concept) vs. Conservation (Ecological Behavior).

  • Search by subject and combine subject terms to immediately narrow your search to relevant articles. 

Step 1: Click on Thesaurus at the top of the search page.

Circle drawn around "Thesaurus" option at the top of PsychINFO search page

Step 2: In the lower box, search for keywords related to your topic, such as experimental subjects.  Then choose Browse.

Example search for "experimental subjects" with circle drawn around the "Browsing: PsycINFO -- Thesaurus" box

Step 3: Check the box for the subject term for which you'd like to search.  You can also click on the term for more information, such as a description of the term or broader, narrower, or related terms.

Example result with "Experimental Subjects" link selected and "Used primarily for human populations" in Scope Note underlined

Step 4: Then Add the subject term to your search.  If you are searching for multiple terms (such as experimental ethics), repeat steps 1 and 2 and add multiple subject terms to a single search using AND (to narrow search by finding articles with all terms) or OR (to broaden search by finding any of the terms).

"Add" button circled on PsycINFO search page

Step 5: Then click Search.

"Search" button on PsycINFO search page

 

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