From the Deck of . . . The ACRL 2017 Databases Lunch & Learn

Posted on April 4, 2017April 3, 2017 by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

Welcome to “From the Deck of . . .” an irregular series in which we highlight search demos and other information from the slide decks we create for our live training sessions. You can view and download these materials from the PsycINFO SlideShare account.
At the recent Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference, we presented two training sessions. During our APA Databases Lunch & Learn, we looked at some of the fields and features added to PsycINFO® in August 2016. Among the search examples for this section of the presentation was an explanation of how and why you might use the Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH terms, that have been added to PsycINFO.

In PubMed, a health sciences database from the National Library of Medicine, articles are indexed with MeSH terms, which work similarly to the Index Terms in PsycINFO. (For a more in-depth explanation, see our post PsycINFO Expert Tip: Searching by Keyword, Index Term, and More.) About 30% of the articles indexed in PsycINFO are also included in PubMed. When you find one of those articles in PsycINFO, you’ll now see the MeSH terms assigned by PubMed, as well as the article’s PubMed Identifier (PMID). How can this information be of use to your health sciences researchers and students?

Researchers are increasingly aware that research relevant to their interests may be available outside their specialty. For example, perhaps you’re working with someone who’s looking at brain inflammation and its impact on mood. They’ve found some information in PubMed, but would like to recreate their search in PsycINFO to find additional resources from psychology.

One easy way to find the relevant terms from the PsycINFO Thesaurus is to start by looking at some of the useful articles the researcher has already found in PubMed. By using the PMIDs to find some of those articles in PsycINFO, you can review the MeSH terms and the PsycINFO Subject Headings assigned to the article. From there, you can rebuild the search using terms from the PsycINFO Thesaurus.

To review the full search example, take a look at the slides from our APA Databases Lunch & Learn. You’ll also find some sample search scenarios for PsycTESTS®, and a brief review of APA Style CENTRAL®.

APA Lunch & Learns at ACRL 2017

Posted on March 7, 2017February 24, 2017 by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

Will you be at the Association for College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference in Baltimore? APA will be offering two training sessions this year, and we hope to see you at one of them!

Can’t attend the session you’re interested in? Stop by booth #1011 for a demo and updates.

APA Style CENTRAL® Lunch & Learn
Thursday, March 23, 2017
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Join us to learn more about how you can use APA Style CENTRAL on your campus. We’ll have a discussion about how APA Style® is being taught on your campus and how APA Style CENTRAL can fit into your current workflow. We’ll also look at tools and services in APA Style CENTRAL from faculty, student, and academic support perspectives, suggesting possible opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

Don’t have a current subscription or trial? Don’t worry! This session is intended for all those interested in how APA Style CENTRAL can be integrated into campus workshops, programs, and curricula.

Walk-ins are always welcome, but priority will be given to participants who register in advance. Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend: http://asc-lunch.eventbrite.com/?aff=b

APA Databases Lunch & Learn
Friday, March 24, 2017
11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Join us for an update on APA’s Databases and Electronic Resources. This year’s session will include a refresher on PsycTESTS®, and will also review new fields and features recently added to PsycINFO® as we celebrate it’s 50th anniversary. The additions include new fields that highlight information that’s increasingly important to researchers, such as data sets clinical trials, and that improve cross-platform searching and search precision.

We will also provide a brief overview of APA Style CENTRAL®, our institutional resource for learning, teaching, and writing in APA Style®. For more in-depth information on APA Style CENTRAL, consider attending our training session on Thursday.

Walk-ins are always welcome, but priority will be given to participants who register in advance. Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend: http://apa-lunch.eventbrite.com/?aff=b

APA Librarian Conference Travel Award: Apply by Nov. 30 for Spring 2017 Conferences

Posted on November 7, 2016November 1, 2016 by Patti Avellanet in For Librarians

Do you work in an academic or health sciences library in the United States? Are you an early- or mid-career librarian? Are you looking for sources of funding for a conference you’d like to attend this spring?

If the answer to all of those questions is yes, please consider applying for an APA Librarian Conference Travel Award! Through November 30, 2016, we are accepting applications for conferences taking place from January to April 2017. This includes – but is not limited to – the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, ALA Midwinter, Electronic Resources & Libraries, the ACRL 2017 Conference, Code4Lib, the ACRL Immersion Teaching with Technology Track, and the Annual Conference on the First Year Experience.

The award is intended to help defray conference-related expenses for librarians with less than 15 years of experience after receiving their MLS. Three cash awards are 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.

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