The document provides guidance on searching the PsycINFO and PubMed databases for journal articles, including what each database indexes, how to perform searches using keywords and Boolean operators, and how to save, print, and email results. It also reviews APA citation style and how to cite sources from the databases in papers. Key aspects of the databases and citation style are defined.

1. APA Citation
Searching PsycINFO & PubMed
Roën Janyk
Web Services Librarian

2.  What is a database? Index?
 What is a journal? Periodical? Magazine?
 What is an abstract? Full-text?
 What is a citation?
 What is APA?

3.  Library website > Find Articles
 Choose by subject or alphabetically
 Psychology: Electronic resources
(including databases, encyclopedias, etc.)
relevant to psychology
 PsycINFO & PubMed

4.  What is it?
• Abstracting & indexing database (>3 mill records)
• Behavioural sciences and mental health disciplines
• Devoted to peer-reviewed journals, books, and
dissertations
• Indexed by subject experts at APA
• Direct links to available full-text journal articles, books,
and book chapters
 Most complete source for finding journal
articles in the field of psychology

5.  Tofind journal articles on a particular
subject enter your search terms in the
boxes provided.
 Boolean operators, AND, OR, NOT, to
combine your search terms.
 Retrieve articles not from PsycINFO.

6.  NLM = US National Library of Medicine
(provider)
 ~5400 journals (citations & abstracts)
 What are your key concepts?
 Terms matched to MeSH, Journals, &
authors; no match? Keyword
 “Term Mapping”: Will apply your term to other
equivalents
 Automatic AND between terms; recognizes
some phrases; use “” for exact phrases (no
broader term mapping)

7.  Search for all terms that begin with a root
word (truncation): * (ex. Memor*)
 Search tags for specific fields ([au] [ti] [tiab]
[tx] [ta] [mh] [majr] [sh] [pt]), following term
(or use advanced search)
 Limits: age group, pub types, dates, etc.
(start broad) **Remove for subsequent
searches**

8.  Summary format (author, title, journal title,
date, volume, issue, pages)
 Click title for abstract
 Sorted by date (most recent first), choose
from “sort by” column to sort by author,
journal, pub date, etc.
 Choose “filter your results” from right side
of page to view only certain articles

9.  Mark results you want
 From “send to” menu, choose clipboard
(stores for 8 hours); Max 500 citations
 To see citations, click Clipboard
 Save, select File from “send to” men, save to
computer
 Print, use browser print button
 E-mail, select e-mail from “send to” menu,
select format, enter email address, click email

10.  Save searches, set up email alerts
 Register (free)
 Click “advanced search” link to display your
search history (those you’ve already done)
 Over the search box, click “save search”
 Name the search, select whether you want
results emailed
 Edit, delete exisiting searches, schedule
email alerts

11.  Use the single citation matcher for checking
incorrect or incomplete citations
 Use related citations from articles you like
 Combine search history sets using search
history (add numbers and Boolean terms)
• Ie. #14 AND #16 (Boolean terms must be in caps)
 Use MeSH terms to find terms related to your
topic (provide definitions, subheadings,
sysnonyms, broader & narrower terms,
related MeSH terms) (search via drop down
menu)

12. “Scholarly communication is the entire set of
activities that ensure that research and
new knowledge can be made known”
(DeFelice, 2009).

13. APA = American Psychological Association
The Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association is a style manual that
provides guidance and standards in:
• research ethics
• the publication process
• article format and presentation
• AND

14. Publication (Registration
Creation and Certification) Dissemination
Manuscript & IP Editor
Academic
Publisher Library
Peer
Reviewers
Reformulation

15.  Citations demonstrate how you developed
your argument and ideas from the ideas of
others
 Citations give credit where credit is due
 Citations give the reader of your work a
path to the sources you used, so they can
investigate those sources if interested
(Mohanty et al., 2009)

16.  If you don’t acknowledge other people’s work,
words or ideas you commit plagiarism
“Penalties for plagiarism serve both to educate
students about standards of scholarship and to deter
deception and poor scholarly practices. Penalties will
reflect the seriousness of the offence; including
whether the offence was intentional or unintentional
and whether it was a first or a repeat offence”
(Okanagan College, 2010, Penalties section, para. 1 ).
Okanagan College Academic Offenses regulations and

17. • Direct quotes
• Paraphrases
• Words or terminology specific to or unique to the
author’s research, theories, or ideas
• Use of an author's argument or line of thinking
• Historical, statistical, or scientific facts
• Graphs, drawings, etc.
• Articles or studies you refer to in your work
(Mohanty et al., 2009)

18. Refer to APA resources to determine citation style.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association
6th ed., second printing
Available at all OC Library campuses; Call no. BF 76.7
OC Library APA style guide webpage
.P83 2009
• PDF and HTML versions of most common APA
examples
• Links to other APA resources
Important: The APA manual is the definitive source of APA
citation information. If a resource contradicts the manual – use the
manual.

19. In text citations: citations given in the body of the article,
essay, paper, or assignment.
Example:
(Morgan & Hunt, 1994)
Morgan and Hunt (1994) noted that….
Reference list citations: “provides the information necessary
to identify and retrieve each source” (APA, 2009, p. 180).
Example:
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of
relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58, 20–38.

20. From article by Xie and Peng (2009):
In marketing literature, for example, Morgan and Hunt (1994) regard trust as a
prerequisite and a central factor for successful relationship marketing. Trust
has been defined both in connotative and evaluative terms, such as “a
willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence”
(Moorman, Zaltman, & Deshpande, 1992, p. 315).
References
Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships
between providers and users of market research: The dynamics of
trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing
Research, 29, 314–328.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of
relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20–38.

21. What is it?
• Journal article
• Book
• Report
Building blocks?
What format? • Author(s)
• Print • Publication date
• Electronic • Title
• Publication information
• Format-specific details
(i.e. page numbers,
doi)

22. Journal article retrieved online: Some APA rules to
note
• Author: “Invert all authors names; give surnames and
initials for up to and including 7 authors” (APA, 2009, p.
184).
• Publication date: “Give in parentheses the year the work
was published” (APA, 2009, p. 185).
• Article title: “Capitalize only the first word of the title and
of the subtitle, if any, and any proper nouns; do not italicize
the title or place quotation marks around it” (APA, 2009, p.
185).

23. Journal article retrieved online: Some APA rules to
note
 Journal title: “Give the periodical title in full, in uppercase
and lowercase letters. Italicize the name of the periodical”
(APA, 2009, p. 185).
 Publication Information:
• “Give the volume number after the periodical title; italicize it (APA,
2009, p. 186).
• “Include the journal issue number … along with the volume
number if the journal is paginated separately by issue (APA, 2009, p.
186).
• Give inclusive page numbers on the which the cited material
appears” (APA, 2009, p. 186).

24. Journal article retrieved online: Some APA rules to
note
• “Provide the DOI, if one has been assigned to the content” (APA,
2009, p. 191).
• “When a DOI is used, no further retrieval information is needed to
identify or locate the content” (APA, 2009, p. 191).
• What’s a DOI?
• “If no DOI has been assigned to the content, provide the home
page URL of the journal….If you accessing the article from a
private database, you may need to do a quick web search to locate
this URL” (APA, 2009, pp. 191-2).

25. Journal article retrieved online: Some APA rules to
note
• “In general, it is not necessary to include database information”
(APA, 2009, p. 192).
• “Do not include retrieval dates unless the source material may
change over time” (APA, 2009, p. 192).

26. How do we cite?
Journal article retrieved online
Anderson, K., Durbin, E., & Salinger,
(2008) Identity theft.
M.
Journal of Economic . 22(2),171-
Perspectives,
Retrieved from
doi:10.1257/jep.22.2.171 192.
http://www.aeaweb.org/jep/index.php
No doi?

27. Journal article retrieved online: Some APA rules to
note
In text: “When a work has two authors, cite both names,
every time the reference occurs in text. When a work has
three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time
the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include
only the surname of the first author followed by et al. ….
and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within
a paragraph” (APA, 2009, p. 175).

28. Journal article retrieved online: Citation
Initial citation:
(Anderson, Durbin, & Salinger, 2008)
Anderson, Durbin, and Salinger (2008) found that…
“direct quote” (Anderson, Durbin, & Salinger, 2008, p.
190)
Subsequent:
(Anderson et al., 2008)
Anderson et al. (2008) found that…
“direct quote” (Anderson et al., 2008, p. 190)

29. Reference list: Some APA rules to note
• “Double-spaced and … entries have a hanging indent”
(APA, 2009, p. 180).
• “Alphabetize by author surname” (APA, 2009, p. 181).
• “References with the same authors in the same order
are arranged by year of publication, the earliest first”(APA,
2009, p. 182).

30. Anderson, K., Durbin, E., & Salinger, M. (2008). Identity theft. Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 22(2), 171-192. doi:10.1257 /jep.22.2.171
Bonson, A. (2002). Jessie Nagle and Susan Nagle. In K. Carter (Ed.), The small details
of life: Twenty diaries by women in Canada, 1830-1996 (pp. 119-122).
Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Ethier, C. R., & Simmons, C. A. (2007). Introductory biomechanics: From cells to
organisms [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://www.cambridge.org
Gu, W., & Wong, A. (2010). Estimates of human capital in Canada: The lifetime
income approach (Catalogue no. 11F0027M, no. 062). Retrieved from
Statistics Canada website http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub
/11f0027m/11f0027m2010062-eng.htm
Langowitz, N. S. (2010). Small business leadership: Does being the founder matter?
Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 23(1), 53-63. Retrieved
from http://www.jsbe.com

31.  Give credit where credit is due
 Consult OC Library APA Citation Style
guide
 Consult APA Publication Manual
 If you are unable to identify a specific
example, use an example that is most like
your source
 OC Library Research Writing & Citing
guide
 Ask!

32. American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC:
Author.
Association of College and Research Libraries. (2009). ACRL scholarly communication 101: Starting with the basics [PowerPoint].
Retrieved from http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/scholcomm/docs/SC%20101%20Introduction.ppt
Barber, K , (Ed.). (2004a). cite. In The Canadian Oxford dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.oupcanada.com
/reference_trade/dictionaries.html
Barber, K , (Ed.). (2004b). citation. In The Canadian Oxford dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.oupcanada.com
/reference_trade/dictionaries.html
Barber, K , (Ed.). (2004c). plagiarize. In The Canadian Oxford dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.oupcanada.com
/reference_trade/dictionaries.html
Defelice, B. (2009). New models of scholarship & publishing. Retrieved from http://www.acrl.ala.org/scholcomm/node/7
Mohanty , S., Orphanides, A., Rumble, J., Roberts, D., Norberg, L., Vassiliadis, K. (2009). University libraries' citing information
tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.lib.unc.edu /instruct/citations/introduction/
Okanagan College. (2010). Academic offenses. Retrieved from http://webapps1.okanagan.bc.ca/ok/calendar
/Calendar.aspx?page=AcademicOffenses
Xie, Y., & Peng, S. (2009). How to repair customer trust after negative publicity: The roles of competence, integrity, benevolence,
and forgiveness. Psychology & Marketing, 26(7), 572-589. Retrieved from
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-MAR.html