Category: For Librarians

New in PsycBOOKS: Jan – Dec 2019

Posted on by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

APA added 41 new titles to PsycBOOKS® in 2019, grouped by release month below.

Bibliographic records are available through your PsycBOOKS vendor. You may also download RDA records directly from APA by following the instructions in the APA PsycNET® Administrator Help Menu.

View the previous monthly PsycBOOKS update lists, a list of sample PsycBOOKS titles, and the full coverage list for PsycBOOKS.

PsycTESTS Expert Tip: Finding Supporting Documentation

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

PsycTESTS is APA’s database that provides descriptive summaries, full text, and relevant citations on the development and assessment of tests and measures that can be used in research and teaching.

Every PsycTESTS record includes a test profile with dozens of descriptive fields such as test name, summary, construct measured, permission, and reliability.

The full-text test can be found as a linked PDF in about half of PsycTESTS records.

Some PsycTESTS records also include an additional link for supporting documentation.

These are a few of the types of Supporting Documentation that can help you administer a test or analyze the data gathered:

  • Answer Sheet
  • Directions/Instructions
  • Instructor/Test Manual/Guide
  • Norms/Analyses

When searching PsycTESTS on its own, you will see an option on the advanced search page to limit your results to a particular type of Supporting Documentation.

When the original test author and publisher have granted APA permission, the supporting documentation will be included with the full text of the test as part of the PsycTESTS record.

If you have questions about supporting documentation that aren’t answered in the PsycTESTS record, you can always:

  • check the Correspondence field for author contact information or
  • check the Source Used field for a doi link to the original full-text publication that developed the test.

The screenshots above show how these fields appear in the APA PsycNET version of PsycTESTS.  

You can see how this looks on EBSCOhost, Ovid, or ProQuest in this step-by-step guide. 

Getting Started with PsycTESTS: What Is It, and How Can It Help Me?

Posted on by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

This is the first post in a series for anyone wanting to become familiar with PsycTESTS. Today we’ll cover what you’ll find in PsycTESTS, how to begin your search for a test, and resources to learn more about searching PsycTESTS. Future posts will cover how you can use a test that you find, and tips for navigating the platform.

Are you looking for a test to use in your research, or planning to develop your own? We have a database that can help!

PsycTESTS provides detailed information about the use of thousands of tests, scales, and measures reported in the behavioral sciences literature. Designed to connect researchers, students, educators, librarians, and practitioners with assessment tools, PsycTESTS is an ideal starting point for a new research project, helping you to avoid “reinventing the wheel” as you’re considering your metrics.

Continue reading →

Apply by Nov. 30: APA Librarian Conference Travel Award

Posted on by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

If you’re an early- or mid-career academic or health sciences librarian who’s planning to attend a conference next spring, there’s still time apply for the APA Librarian Conference Travel Award!

Now through November 30, 2019, we are accepting applications for conferences taking place from January to April 2020. This includes – but is not limited to – the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, ALA Midwinter, Electronic Resources & Libraries, Code4Lib, and the Annual Conference on the First Year Experience.

The award is intended to help offset conference-related expenses for librarians with less than 15 years of experience after receiving their MLS or MLIS degree. One cash award is distributed three times each calendar year, and the application cycle opens and closes on a rolling basis.

At this time, we are not limiting the conferences that are eligible for travel award funding. Applicants should identify the conference that best meets their professional needs and explain how attendance will support their current duties and future goals.

Continue reading →

Tutorial Thursday – How to Format a Citation in APA Style using APA PsycNET

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

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.

A new version of the tutorial How to Format a Citation in APA Style using APA PsycNET is available.

In this short video  you’ll learn how to access APA style citations for items in APA PsycNET.

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

  • Access an APA style citation for a result from an APA PsycNET search
  • Explain why it is important to double-check the citation that is found
  • Describe when it is valuable to use a citation management tool

Related Resource: How to Export Citations to Citation Management Tools from APA PsycNET