PsycINFO for
Education Research
Jeannie Kamerman
Fall 2009
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Table of Contents
Path to the database Slide 3
Peer-reviewed defined Slide 8
Option 1: Keywords & limiters Slide 11
Option 2: Keywords with more limiters Slide 17
Option 3: Classification codes Slide 19
More tutorials Slide 23
Research consultation Slide 24 make an
appointment for a research consultation
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Finding the database: PsycINFO
To find PsycINFO database go to the library’s homepage and
under the Quick Links in the lower right, locate the Find category
and click the Online Databases Link.
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Library homepage
To find PsycINFO database select the letter P. A display of the
library’s databases beginning with P will be returned to you.
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A to Z list of databases
Select PsycINFO.
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An abstracting and indexing
service which covers
scholarly books, journals, and
dissertations. More than 2
million records from the early
1800s to the present are
included.
PsycINFO
To limit the number of items
returned we will use some of
the limiters. We will limit by
“date span” and “peerreviewed journal only”.
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We will be searching for a
specific learning disorder
“autism” and look for particular
interventions.
We will request that the search be limited to
articles written between 2005 to 2009 and that
the articles be from peer-reviewed journals.
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Peer Reviewed v. Refereed
Often people use the terms
peer reviewed and refereed
journal interchangeably.
You may or may not be interested in the
distinction between the two, and may want
to skip the next two frames. However if you
continue to read, there is a difference
between the two terms.
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Peer Reviewed v. Refereed
Cabell’s definition of refereed
cites specific differences
between the terms:
A refereed article is one that is blind
reviewed and has two external reviewers.
The blind review requirement and the use of
external reviewers are consistent with the
research criteria of objectivity and of
knowledge.
9
Peer Reviewed v. Refereed
From Ulrich’s FAQs page a bit of confusion.
Q: Where does the information about
refereed journals come from?
A: The Ulrich's editorial team assigns the
"refereed" status to a journal that is designated
by its publisher as a refereed or peer-reviewed
journal. Often, this designation comes to us in
electronic data feeds from publishers. In other
cases Ulrich's editors phone publishers directly
for this information, or research the journal’s
information posted on the publisher’s website.
10
Keywords and limiters
Note that we are in the Advanced Search tab. First we enter
our keywords, and then for more efficient searching we will
limit by date and peer-reviewed journals only.
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Search results
At this point we have 1,364 results. There are a number of paths we may
take to further limit our results. One option is to look in the “Narrow
Results by” box on the left and chose a term which meets our needs.
Let’s us look at the 234 articles with the index term “Early Intervention”.
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More focused results
The second article looks good. Let’s click on the title to obtain
more information.
13
Finding full text
To find full text for this article look to the Links box on the right.
You will have more consistent results in finding the article if you
click the “Find it” button rather than “Full text from publisher.”
14
SFX linking to full text
We have many options
for locating the full text
of the article. Because
many distributors place
an embargo on a
particular journal title
(Embargo is a period
during which access of
electronic full text is not
allowed) check each
option before deciding
you will not be able to
find full text availability.
As it is ProQuest is the only
distributor with full text
access.
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Full text with options
Among the many options on the menu bar you have options to save,
email, or print the article. You even have a “cite this” option. The
user should scrutinize the citation style to be certain it is correct.
16
Search alternative: more limiters
Alternatively we could have put an additional limitation on our initial
search. To find articles related to a specific age group, we will choose
preschool age (2 to 5 years).
17
Limited results
By limiting our original search which returned over 1,000
articles to a specific age range (2 to 5 years), we have more
focused results and only 284 targeted articles.
18
Unsure about topic?
One more alternative
If you are unsure about where to start, another option for finding articles
is offered through the APA classification codes. The codes are 4-digit
numbers representing broad subject categories. We will start with code
3272 Learning Disorders.
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Classification Code searching
Rather than entering any terms in the search boxes. We look through the
Classification Code list. To find the option, look under the search boxes, in the first
“none selected” we pull down the downward arrow, find Classification Code and in
the box to the right, we look through until we find a category that meets our needs.
We also limit by Peer-Reviewed Journals only and date span.
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Too much of a good thing
The system has given an overwhelming 7,407 results for the term
Learning Disorders. We need to decide which direction to take.
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Choices, choices, choices
Now additional choices need to be made to meet the student’s personal
interests: Speech Disorders, Language Development or Specific Language
Impairment. After a choice is made additional subcategories will be offered .
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Learning opportunities
The brief tutorial you have just viewed may leave you with other research questions.
For additional guidance return to the Library Home page, under the Quick Links, find
Research, click Online Tutorials. The Education Research Modules may answer your
questions. If not …
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Research Consultation
If you need additional research
assistance, you may schedule a
research consultation.
Please call or email:
Jeannie Kamerman
jkamerma@uwf.edu
850-474-2439
Building 86, Room 105
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