Tag: APA PsycInfo

APA Databases Webinars: Spring 2026

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

Interested in strengthening your APA database skills? Join an APA trainer for the next round of  webinars designed for students, faculty, and anyone else who wants to learn more about how to search APA PsycInfo more effectively!

Details and registration links are below; all times shown are U.S. Eastern.

APA PsycInfo: Beginner Search

This 60-minute session will help anyone who is new to searching the behavioral sciences literature using APA PsycInfo.

We’ll demonstrate simple yet powerful techniques that can increase your proficiency in short order, including how to quickly identify the best search terms; apply filters to narrow the range of results; and pinpoint empirical studies. Demo includes PsycInfo on multiple platforms and a preview of the PsycInfo Research Services platform.

Highlights include the use of APA Thesaurus terms and other database fields to target your search, Boolean operators to accurately include or exclude concepts, and cited references to find related research. 

Techniques covered can also be used with APA PsycArticles® and APA PsycBooks®.

APA PsycInfo: Advanced Search

This 60-minute session highlights some of APA PsycInfo’s advanced functionality that’s designed to increase your efficiency by retrieving better search results faster.

After an overview of the three main vocabularies [keywords, Thesaurus subjects, and Classifications] you can use to search APA PsycInfo, we’ll share some easy ways to quickly expand or narrow your list of search results.

You’ll also learn about syntax for proximity search and truncation; using citations to explore related research; applying search limits and results filters; using the Author Affiliation field to discover where research of interest is happening; searching the Test and Measures field for information about tests used in the scholarly literature; and using the Grant/Sponsorship field to discover potential funding sources. Demo includes PsycInfo on multiple platforms and a preview of the PsycInfo Research Services platform.

Semester Special: APA PsycBooks

This live demo focuses on the APA PsycBooks database and other Books titles and collections. 

Topics include:

–Top recommended fields to search, filter, and browse
–The new accessible ePub format
–“Explore Books” within APA PsycInfo Research Services
–APA Books beyond the PsycBooks Database
–Beyond Books: What’s new with APA Publishing 

Can’t attend a scheduled session?

New Thesaurus Terms for Searching APA PsycInfo (Fall 2025)

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

In November, APA added 94 new terms to its Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms® to provide more effective searching on current topics, including positive psychology, neurology, and trauma. These new terms will be back-mapped to older records.

This Thesaurus update also includes 102 new cross-referenced terms, 673 revised scope notes, and 68 revised history notes. As part of this Fall 2025 update, our taxonomist reviewed about 1000 thesaurus terms that were introducted in the 1980s. 

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.

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

In addition, six terms have been edited for clarity. 

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 or view the PDF for more details.  

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

 

Finding Literature Reviews in APA PsycNet

Posted on by Marta Soto in 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.

In this video you’ll learn how to find literature reviews in APA PsycNet. First, we’ll discuss the value of using literature reviews for your research. Then, we’ll demonstrate how to filter for literature reviews from the Advanced Search page. We’ll also show you how to check an individual item from the results page to make sure that it is in fact a literature review.

By the end of this video you will be able to:
• Find literature reviews in APA PsycNet
• Explain the value of using literature reviews
• Identify if an item in APA PsycNet is a literature review

 

APA PsycInfo Webinars: Fall 2025

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

Interested in strengthening your APA database skills? Join an APA trainer for the next round of  webinars designed for students, faculty, and anyone else who wants to learn more about how to search APA PsycInfo more effectively!

Details and registration links are below; all times shown are U.S. Eastern.

APA PsycInfo Beginner Search

This 60-minute session will help anyone who is new to searching the behavioral sciences literature using APA PsycInfo.

We’ll demonstrate simple yet powerful techniques that can increase your proficiency in short order, including how to quickly identify the best search terms; apply filters to narrow the range of results; and pinpoint empirical studies.

Highlights include the use of APA Thesaurus terms and other database fields to target your search, Boolean operators to accurately include or exclude concepts, and cited references to find related research. 

Techniques covered can also be used with APA PsycArticles® and APA PsycBooks®.

 

APA PsycInfo Advanced Search

This 60-minute session highlights some of APA PsycInfo’s advanced functionality that’s designed to increase your efficiency by retrieving better search results faster.

After an overview of the three main vocabularies [keywords, Thesaurus subjects, and Classifications] you can use to search APA PsycInfo, we’ll share some easy ways to quickly expand or narrow your list of search results.

You’ll also learn about syntax for proximity search and truncation; using citations to explore related research; applying search limits and results filters; using the Author Affiliation field to discover where research of interest is happening; searching the Test and Measures field for information about tests used in the scholarly literature; and using the Grant/Sponsorship field to discover potential funding sources.

 

Semester Special: Using AI Tools with APA PsycInfo Research Services

Join us for a live demo training on how to turn your rapid open web search into a more robust discovery strategy through APA PsycInfo research services.

See how our ethical & responsible AI enhanced research assistant can guide you through our selective and secure scholarly collection.

Tools we’ll cover include:
–Browse and Filter by Journals, Books, and Dissertations
–Semantic Search
–Topic Mapper and Citation Mapper
–Author Mapper and Author Info
–Personalized Notifications

 

 

Can’t attend a scheduled session?

APA PsycInfo Research Services: Your AI-Powered Research Assistant

Posted on by Cambria Sawyer in For Faculty, For Individual Subscribers, For Librarians, For Students

APA PsycInfo research services are fully responsive on any device.

Think of APA PsycInfo research services as your personal psychology research assistant.

Your institution’s subscription to APA PsycInfo provides courtesy access to a suite of complimentary, premium features to aid the search process. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, these services support students, researchers, and faculty as they monitor the latest research trends, explore analytics, and personalize content discovery—all within the most trusted index of psychological science in the world.

Read on for an overview of the main features within APA PsycInfo research services, and tips on using its many discovery tools.

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