Introducing New Features in PsycINFO: Starting Your Research on EBSCOhost

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Faculty, For Librarians, For Students

In August, PsycINFO® added new fields and features to help researchers like you search with greater precision and to include more information right in the record.

Because of the interlinking of APA’s products, PsycARTICLES®, PsycBOOKS®, and PsycCRITIQUES® also include these updates.

Four of the new fields are particularly useful as you begin a research project or assignment. They can help you quickly narrow down search results and spot more information about the topic and why it is important.

  • Impact Statement – A summary like an abstract, but instead of describing the technical process, it explains the relevance of the research to the general public. This can help to justify a research project, especially if you are applying for a grant.
  • Open Access – A flag on the record indicates that the fulltext is available through open access. This provides access to resources beyond PsycINFO.
  • Data Sets – A description of the data set is provided, as well as links for access or download when available. Looking at the data yourself enables you to better understand the research conducted in the published study, and to identify your own project that builds on this previous work.
  • Dissertation Details – Advisor(s), Degree, Institution and Department are included in the PsycINFO record. This helps you to find leaders in evolving areas of research, or note other disciplines that are working on similar topics.

Check out our SlideShare presentation for a guide on using these new fields on EBSCOhost.

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If you access PsycINFO through a different database platform, you can check the Vendor Status page to see when these new features will go live.

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Marta Soto

2 comments

  1. this is the 3rd time this exact blog has been posted. I’m wondering why. Also, the title says EBSCOHOST – what do these fields have to do with EBSCOHOST? there is nothing in the text…. is this a typo?

    • Hi Bruce –

      PsycINFO and APA’s other databases are available to college and university libraries on four different interfaces: APA PsycNET, EBSCOhost, Ovid, and ProQuest. We create training and support materials for all of those interfaces, and librarians often use them as they work with faculty and students. This particular post highlights a few of the new fields and features we recently added to PsycINFO, with an accompanying presentation that includes screenshots from EBSCOhost. This is part of a series we’re doing, where we’re highlighting the new fields and features on each of the interfaces. As the update is not yet available on each of those interfaces, we can’t provide all of the presentations at once.

      If you’re only interested in seeing information for our APA PsycNET Gold, Gold Plus, and Platinum subscribers, I recommend using the blog’s Individual Subscribers section as your homepage. You can use the link in the navigation bar at the top of any page, or bookmark https://blog.apapubs.org/category/individuals/

      Regards,
      Alison

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