In February 2021, APA added 35 new terms to the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms® to provide more effective searching on current topics such as COVID-19 and racial issues.  

Most of these new terms are mapped back and added to previously published records in APA’s databases. This Thesaurus update also included 15 new cross-referenced terms, and new and revised scope notes. 

The 9,800+ index terms found in the Thesaurus provide precise and consistent terminology for searching all APA research databases. Using the controlled vocabulary of the Thesaurus means a database search will quickly retrieve all items about a specific concept no matter what keywords the authors used. 

The Thesaurus tool is found on all platforms as part of APA PsycInfo® and redirects synonyms to the preferred “Use” term to include in your search. Each Thesaurus record includes links to broader terms, narrower terms, and related terms, the year the term was introduced, an historical note if applicable, and a scope note providing definition and application. 

You can see the full list of Thesaurus changes on our website.  

Related Resource: 
YouTube Tutorial – Using the APA Thesaurus to Find Relevant Articles on a Topic