Our fall semester lineup of webinars for librarians kicks off on September 8. If you’re looking to expand your search skills, or just need a PsycINFO refresher, we hope you’ll join us! We offer two different one-hour sessions, both of which include live search demos. Continue reading
Tag: APA PsycInfo
Webinar Alert: PsycINFO Sessions for Students & Faculty This Fall
Google Keep note art by sage solar on flickr.
Our fall series of webinars for students and faculty is starting on September 28, 2016. Help us spread the word to faculty, students, and anyone who teaches research methods.
APA provides free training webinars tailored for PsycINFO® searchers at all levels of proficiency. We feature three 30-minute sessions: Basic Search, Advanced Search, and Results Management. The sessions may be taken separately, but we encourage interested students to take all three and offer the sessions on consecutive days. These webinars are an ideal way for students to get a refresher on PsycINFO if they have had training earlier in the semester.
Descriptions are provided below. Visit our website to register today for these no-cost sessions.
Research Methods instructors and other faculty: If you would like your students to attend for extra credit, we offer certificates of completion for each session.
We will provide information relevant to all search platforms including APA PsycNET, EBSCOhost, Ovid, and ProQuest. The platform used will be based on the needs of the attendees of each session. Continue reading
In Case You Missed It: New Terms Added to the PsycINFO Thesaurus
In November 2015, we released an update to The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, the source of the controlled vocabulary used in indexing PsycINFO® and the other APA databases. This particular update was significantly larger than previous vocabulary updates, containing 227 new Index Terms.
In December, we shared the details of the update, highlighting some of the new terms and other changes that were incorporated. We also provided a document with the full list of Index Terms included in the update.
Did you miss that post? Take a look! It explains several important points about the new terminology, including a change to the language used to tag research on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Related Resources
Changes to the Thesaurus sometimes impact search alerts and saved searches. For example, when a new term replaces an older term, saved searches and search alerts created with the older term will no longer generate updates. In this update, 5 terms were changed such that any saved searches or search alerts that use them will no longer retrieve the desired results.
Here are the terms that were changed, along with the new Index Terms that have taken their places:
| Terms that are now Use references | New Index Terms to search |
| Aspergers Syndrome Autism Pervasive Developmental Disorders |
Autism Spectrum Disorders |
| Complications (Disorders) | Sequelae |
| Q Sort Testing Technique | Q-Sort |
For assistance in updating your search alerts, please see our post PsycINFO Expert Tip: Updating Search Alerts When a Thesaurus Term Changes.
PsycINFO Expert Tip: Classification Codes
Have you ever noticed the Classification Codes in PsycINFO® and wondered what they’re for?
The Classification Codes limiter on APA PsycNET.
Our indexers tag and categorize each item in PsycINFO so searchers can more easily locate exactly what they need. Classification Codes categorize an item, such as a journal article, by its main theme. Each item receives one, sometimes two, Classification Codes. Continue reading
In Case You Missed It: PsycINFO Quick Reference Guides
Have you looked at our PsycINFO® Quick Reference Guides lately? Many librarians know and love these compact handouts, which use a series of screenshots and captions to reinforce foundational PsycINFO search techniques.
An excerpt from the PsycINFO Quick Reference Guide for APA PsycNET(R). This demonstrates how to perform a Keyword search.
Available for PsycINFO on APA PsycNET®, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and Ovid, the guides cover search basics such as formatting an author search, finding for a journal by title, using the Index Terms or Subjects, and more.
PsycINFO Quick Reference Guides are available as PDFs to easily share via email, or link on your LibGuides, course modules, and other resources.
Librarians can also request a quantity of print guides, which APA will ship free of charge! The print guides are formatted into small, accordion-fold handouts – easy to tuck into a bookbag, satchel, or purse for convenient reference no matter where or when you’re searching PsycINFO.
To make a request, please contact us at psycinfo@apa.org. Be sure to include your mailing address, the number of guides you’d like, and indicate which platform you use to access PsycINFO.
Download or link to the PsycINFO Quick Reference Guide PDF for: