1. WHAT IS PSYCINFO? AN OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCINFO DATABASE by MARK HABER THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE GILL LIBRARY DECEMBER 2008

2. PSYCINFO FACTS PsycInfo is an abstract database of psychological literature from the 1880’s to the present. PsycInfo contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from: Journal articles Books Chapters of books Dissertations

3. Limiting Your Search PsycInfo Searches can be limited to: Journal articles only Peer reviewed journal articles Full text journal articles

4. You can limit your search to full text, peer reviewed journal articles

5. Controlled Vocabulary Agreed upon term for a subject or concept Manic Depression USE Bipolar Disorder Marital Adjustment USE Marital Relations Miscarriage USE Spontaneous Abortion Parental Participation USE Parental Involvement

6. Use of Thesaurus List of PsycInfo Subject Headings Scope Note (PsycInfo’s definition of the term) Other Terms (Broader, Narrower, Related)

7. To go to the PsycInfo Thesaurus, click “Thesaurus”

8. Type “manic depression” and click “Browse”

9. Click “Bipolar Disorder”

10. The scope note and other terms are listed

11. Boolean Searching Combine Search Terms “AND” narrows the search (retrieved item must have all the terms) “OR” broadens the search (retrieved item can have one or more of any of the terms) “NOT” limits the search (retrieved item does not have the term)

12. divorce and parent child relations and emotional adjustment

13. Click on the title for detailed record

14. This is the detailed record for the article

15. Scroll down to read the abstract (summary)

16. Scroll up and click “PDF Full Text”

17. This is the full text article

18. Truncation The asterisk* at the end of the root of a word retrieves the word and all forms of the word Adolescen* retrieves adolescent, adolescence, etc. Parent* retrieves parent, parental, parenting, etc. Home* retrieves home, homeless, homesickness, etc.

19. adolescen* and parent* and home*

20. Retrieving the full text Some articles are available full text Others can be requested at the Circulation Desk Journal articles, books, and dissertations that are not owned by CNR can be ordered via Illiad

21. Click on the title for detailed record

22. This is the detailed record for the article

23. Scroll down and click “Search for Article”

24. Next to “Print Holdings” click “Journal”

25. Print holdings of the journal “Psychological Reports”

26. Advantages of Using PsycInfo Contains journal articles, books, and dissertations Comprehensive Thesaurus Boolean Searching