New Thesaurus Terms for Searching APA PsycInfo (Winter 2024)

In February, APA added 70 new terms to its Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms® to provide more effective searching on current topics, including military psychology; population health; and racial, ethnic and cultural groups and issues. This Thesaurus update also includes 55 new cross-referenced terms, and 75 revised scope notes.

New terms from this winter update will initially be applied to current content only; following the Fall 2024 release, the majority of 2024’s new postable terms will be back-mapped to older records.

a list of new thesaurus terms
 
screenreaders can view the PDF version of this list 
https://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/training/thesaurus-update-winter-2024.pdf

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.

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 playlist – Using the APA Thesaurus to Find Relevant Articles on a Topic 

APA PsycInfo® Webinars for Fall 2023

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

APA’s expert trainers will lead three different webinars this fall, so you can choose the one that best matches your interest.

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

APA PsycInfo: Beginner Search

This 45 minute session is for anyone who is new to searching the behavioral sciences literature.

APA trainers demonstrate simple yet powerful techniques including how to quickly identify the best search terms, apply filters to narrow the range of results, and pinpoint empirical studies.

Highlights include using 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.

APA PsycInfo: Advanced Search

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

We provide an overview of the three main vocabularies [keywords, Thesaurus subjects, and Classifications] you can use to search APA PsycInfo, and show easy effective 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: APA PsycTherapy

Every spring and every fall, APA trainers offer a deeper dive into one area of our tools and databases. These hour-long trainings are designed for researchers and librarians who use APA PsycInfo frequently.

The topic for Fall 2023 is APA PsycTherapy.

A live platform demo will focus on: the extensive content update of June 2023; The APA PsycTherapy Teaching Guide & corresponding APA PsycTherapy playlists; and individual account tools.

Can’t attend a scheduled session?

New Thesaurus Terms for Searching APA PsycInfo (Summer 2023)

 

In June, APA added 76 new terms to its Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms® to provide more effective searching on current topics, including therapy and treatment; artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks; and research integrity and ethics. This Thesaurus update also includes 55 new cross-referenced terms and 76 revised scope notes. 

New terms from this summer update will initially be applied to current content only; following the fall release, the majority of new postable terms for 2023 will be back-mapped to older records.

Full list of New Postable Terms that can be found in the PDF for the full list of Thesaurus changes on the APA website, also linked below.

New terms in the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms as of June 2023

You can see the full list of Thesaurus changes on our website 

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

APA PsycInfo Research Services: Your AI-Powered Research Assistant

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.

Continue reading

APA PsycInfo® Webinars for Spring 2023

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

APA’s expert trainers will lead three different webinars this spring, so you can choose the one that best matches your interest.

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

APA PsycInfo: Beginner Search

This 45 minute session is for anyone who is new to searching the behavioral sciences literature.

APA trainers demonstrate simple yet powerful techniques including how to quickly identify the best search terms, apply filters to narrow the range of results, and pinpoint empirical studies.

Highlights include: using 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.

APA PsycInfo: Advanced Search

This 45-minute session highlights some of APA PsycInfo’s advanced functionality, designed to increase your efficiency by retrieving better search results faster.

We provide an overview of the three main vocabularies [keywords, APA Thesaurus subjects, and Classifications] that you can use to search APA PsycInfo, and show easy yet effective ways to quickly expand or narrow your list of search results.

You’ll also learn how to find important information about tests and measures and how to uncover details about grants and sponsorships that can reveal potential funding opportunities.

Semester Special: APA PsycInfo research services

Join us for the first ever “Semester Special,” a deeper dive into one area of APA’s research tools and databases. The topic for Spring 2023 is APA PsycInfo research services.

Leveraging AI and machine learning, these services ease access to full text, analytics tools, and discovery of the latest scientific literature—all within the most trusted index of psychological science in the world. This service was designed to keep you current in your field of study without wasting your time or cluttering your email.

Come for a demo of our newest research tool, and stay for a refresher on APA’s other research alerts – the Email Preferences Center and APA PsycAlerts.  

Can’t attend a scheduled session?