Author: Marta Soto

From the Deck of: ALA 2021

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

Welcome to “From the Deck of . . .” a series in which we highlight search demos and other information from the slide decks we create for our conference training sessions.

For the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition (Virtual), APA submitted a pre-recorded Exhibitor Showcase Stage presentation.

This Showcase Stage:

You can view or download the slides from our ALA 2021 Exhibitor Showcase Stage below.

Or, if you registered for ALA this year, you can watch the recording.

Download this powerpoint [698.28 KB]

New Thesaurus Terms for Searching APA PsycInfo

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

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 

The MyAPA Homepage

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

Our newest tutorial gives an overview of The MyAPA Homepage. 

In this video you’ll learn how to use your MyAPA homepage. We’ll explore how to retrieve resources such as databases, journals, and book chapters that are available to you through your subscriptions or purchases. We’ll also demonstrate how to set up alerts to be notified when new APA resources become available.

By the end of this video you will be able to:

  • Login to your MyAPA account
  • Update your APA profile
  • Access any databases, magazines, journals, pdfs, or book chapters that are available to you
  • Set up a journal, book, database, news, newsletter, or research alert.

Finding Tests in APA PsycTests: Using the Ovid Platform

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

In this short video you’ll learn how to find psychological tests and measures from the APA PsycTests database using the Ovid platform. We’ll also discuss getting permission to use a test and how to find more information about a specific test.

By the end of this video, you should be able to:

  • Find tests or measures on a specific topic using APA PsycTests
  • Limit results in APA PsycTests to find full-text tests or measures
  • Explain the situations in which you need permission to use a test or measure and how to find results in APA PsycTests where permission is granted

Related Resources

Blog Post: Using a Test You’ve Found

Blog Post: Finding Psychometric Information About a Test

Finding Tests in APA PsycTests: Using the ProQuest Platform

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

In this short video you’ll learn how to find psychological tests and measures from the APA PsycTests database using the ProQuest platform. We’ll also discuss getting permission to use a test and how to find more information about a specific test.

By the end of this video, you should be able to:

  • Find tests or measures on a specific topic using APA PsycTests
  • Limit results in APA PsycTests to find full-text tests or measures
  • Explain the situations in which you need permission to use a test or measure and how to find results in APA PsycTests where permission is granted

Related Resources

Blog Post: Using a Test You’ve Found

Blog Post: Finding Psychometric Information About a Test