New Thesaurus Terms for Searching APA PsycInfo (Fall 2022)

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians
In October, APA added 25 new terms to its Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms® to provide more effective searching on current topics, including cannabis use, socioeconomic status, and health problems related to alcohol use. This Thesaurus update also includes 50 new cross-referenced terms, 147 revised scope notes, and additional edits to historical notes.
Examples of new Postable terms include Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorders, Dihydroxyphenylalanine, Incarcerated, Low Vision, Research Psychologists, and Thought Disorders. Use the link at the end of the post to view the full list of Thesaurus change on the APA website.

Using the controlled vocabulary of the Thesaurus means a database search will quickly and accurately retrieve all publications related to a specific concept, regardless of the keywords the authors may have 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.

This latest Thesaurus update includes edits for some existing terms. Ten terms that were previously “cross-referenced,” that is, redirected you to the preferred “Use” or “postable” term, are now listed as postable terms themselves.

The 10 Terms changing changing from Nonpostable to Postable status are Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, Anxiolytic Drugs, Dyscalculia, Hyperactivity, Illness Anxiety Disorder, Non-Suicidal Self Injury, Psychedelic Drugs, Selective Muslim, Self-Hypnosis, and Shared Paranoid Disorder

In addition, 30 terms have been edited for clarity. 

Examples of terms with editing changes include Bacterial Infections, Blindness, Children's Games, College Dropout, Deafness, Heart Fibrillation, Illegitimacy (Child), Print Media, Promiscuity, Toxic Encephalopathies, and Women's Liberation Movement. Use the link at the end of the post to view the full list of Thesaurus change on the APA website.

All changes, including new terms, terms that have switched to preferred or “postable” status, and edited terms, have been backmapped to apply to older records in APA PsycInfo. 

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

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

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Marta Soto