Finding Empirical Studies in PsycInfo

UC MERCED LIBRARY TUTORIALS

Finding Empirical Studies in PsycINFO

If you are off campus, you will need to connect to the campus network with the VPN before starting this tutorial.

http://library.ucmerced.edu/use/technology/vpn

Use the active web page on your right to complete the tutorial.

Use the right arrow at the bottom of this window to move through the tutorial.

Introduction

This tutorial will help you locate research articles based on studies that were conducted using empirical methodology.

What is empirical methodology?

Access PsycINFO

• Click on the Databases tab in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the library homepage.
• Type in PsycINFO.
• Click Go or hit Enter/Return on your keyboard.

• Click on PsycINFO.

Constructing & Narrowing Your Search in PsycINFO

You are now on the Advanced Search screen of the database.

Let's say you were looking for empirical studies focused on sports and life expectancy.

• Enter the search terms sports and "life expectancy", visible in the screenshot below, into the search boxes.

NOTE: Use terms related to your own research topic if you'd prefer.

NOTE: Don't click on Search just yet.

• Select Peer review underneath the search boxes.
• Scroll down until you see the area where you can limit by Methodology.
• Select Empirical Study from the list.

• Click Search.

Locating Full-Text

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PsycINFO is primarily a citation database rather than a full-text database. This means that although citations are available, full-text articles are usually not available in this type of database.

When in a citation database, you will often click the UC-eLinks button to locate the full-text of an article.

The full-text may be immediately available elsewhere in another database or journal website to which the library subscribes or may need to be requested through Interlibrary Loan. You will learn about Interlibrary Loan shortly.

Locating Full-Text

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NOTE: Clicking on UC-eLinks will take you to a new tab or window, and you will lose these tutorial instructions. You will need to come back to this tab or window to finish the tutorial.

Click on the UC-eLinks button under the title of an article.

This will take you to the article from the journal's website where you will see the option to download the full-text of the article as a PDF.

Find the full-text PDF of the article.

Locating Full-Text

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Most of the articles from your search in PsycINFO are available in other databases or journal websites to which the library subscribes.

If the article is not available, UC-eLinks may prompt you to request the article from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

What is Interlibrary Loan?

Conclusion

This concludes the Finding Empirical Studies in PsycINFO tutorial.

If you get stuck with your research and want to speak with a librarian, visit the library’s home page, and click on the Ask a Librarian button for 24/7 chat support.

 

What is your faculty instructor's name?

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