Webinar Alert: APA Style CENTRAL Trainings for February 2018

APA’s training specialists have developed several webinars for librarians, instructors, and students that include a content overview and a live demonstration of features.

Click on any session link to register (all times are EDT).

APA Style CENTRAL Online Introduction introduces librarians, faculty, and students to the platform:

Teaching with APA Style CENTRAL details how faculty, librarians, and other instructors can use APA Style CENTRAL in teaching APA Style:

Writing Papers in APA Style CENTRAL teaches end users how to create and save papers using APA Style CENTRAL:

For more information, including the full training schedule, visit the APA Style CENTRAL webinars page.

APA Style CENTRAL® Expert Tip – Adding Paper Sections

When you start writing a paper in APA Style CENTRAL®, you choose a template and then choose either the Student assignment or Professional manuscript version. The difference is that the Professional version includes three additional paper sections – an Author Note, an Abstract, and Keywords.

You can add these fields to a paper that was started using the Student template.

 

Click on the Customize Paper Sections on the upper right, and then select to Include Author Note, Abstract, and/or Keywords.

The Abstract and Keywords will be added as sections ahead of the Body on the left side, and Author Note will be added as a section within the Title Page.

If you have started a paper in the Professional template, and don’t want to use these fields, just leave them blank.

Updated Help Pages

At the end of last year, we reviewed and updated the APA PsycNET® help pages to make sure the content was current and easy for our users to navigate.

 

The main help explains how to set up a search, manage the results list, use your MyAPA Account, the Browse menu, and other tools you’ll see on APA PsycNET®.

http://help.psycnet.org/en/

 

The PsycTESTS help explains searchable fields and the record structure that are unique to the PsycTESTS® database on APA PsycNET.

http://help.psycnet.org/en/psyctests-help/

 

The admin center help is for library administrators and explains how to customize for your institution, view usage statistics, and use other tools in the APA PsycNET Admin Center.

http://help.psycnet.org/en/admin-center-help/

 

Something missing? Let us know! psycinfo@apa.org

In Case You Missed It – Searching By Keyword, Index Term, and More

In January of 2017, we posted about searching APA PsycInfo® by different vocabularies – keywords, index terms, classification codes, and MeSH.

In case you missed it, start the new semester off with a better understanding of which vocabulary will suit your needs.

Keywords (also called Key Concepts or Identifiers) – individual words, key concepts, or brief phrases that describe the document’s content; usually provided by the author or publisher.

Good for researchers who are new to a topic.

Index Terms (also called Subjects or Subject Headings) – are chosen by APA staff from Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms®.

Good for the focused researcher. 

Classification Codes (also called APA PsycInfo Classifications) – a descriptive term plus a corresponding numerical code; like the index terms, there is a pre-existing list, or controlled vocabulary.

Good to pair with keywords or index terms.

MeSH – Medical Subject Headings are a controlled vocabulary maintained by the National Library of Medicine for their PubMed database.

Good for medical or neuroscience topics.

To learn more about any of these search vocabularies, review our post on them from January 2017.

Related Resources:

APA PsycInfo Expert Tip – Searching by Keywords Across Platforms

APA PsycInfo Expert Tip – Classification Codes

Tutorial – Using APA PsycInfo Classification Codes on EBSCOhost

APA training events at ALA Midwinter 2018

Will you be at the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver this February? We hope to see you at our Lunch & Learn!

American Psychological Association Lunch & Learn @ ALA Midwinter

Sunday Feb 11, 1-2:30

RSVP link

 

This year’s session will include a look at keywords, index terms, and other searchable vocabularies on PsycINFO across multiple platforms, including a look at the new APA PsycNET interface. We’ll demonstrate APA Style CENTRAL’s Writing center, showing how a student would use it to start a paper, add citations and references, find contextual help, run checks, collaborate, and adjust paper settings.

 

Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend. Walk-ins are always welcome, but priority will be given to participants who register in advance. Please note that we will be unable to admit family members or others who are traveling with you.

 

If you can’t attend the session, please stop for a demo and updates at Booth 1446.