Psychology Resource Guide
introduction
This guide provides an overview of tools that can be used for research in Psychology. Included is information about relevant library research databases, journal holdings, reference sources, and major Internet resources. All collections marked VCU are available to users on both campuses OR off-campus with EZProxy.
You can search the following selected databases for psychology-related articles, assessment/survey information, and data. For additional databases, see the list of all social sciences databases. You may also be interested in other related guides including tests and measures, education, or sociology.
Many of the databases listed below include at least some full text articles, but very few databases are 100% full text. Look for the 
button. This service provides hyperlinks to a variety of options such as linking to electronic full-text (if available), the VCU library catalog (if we have the journal in print), ILLiad (if we don't have it in the collection), and Ask-a-Librarian (for help).
MAJOR DATABASES
PsycINFO (1887 - Present) VCU
Scholarly psychology material including empirical research and peer reviewed journal articles from 1887 to the present.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (1965 - Present) VCU
A comprehensive database covering topics related to emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry and psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods. Note that everything indexed in here is also in PsycINFO.
PubMed/MEDLINE VCU
Primary database of information in biomedical and health sciences fields. Useful for information about psychiatric care and psychoactive drugs.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
Academic Search Complete (1887 - Present) VCU
Comprehensive scholarly multi-disciplinary full-text database. Includes over 5,500 full-text periodicals and indexing/abstracting for over 9,500 journals. Covers science, social sciences, mathematics, engineering, and many other subjects.
Dissertations Abstracts Online (1861- Present) VCU
Abstracts of dissertations completed in the U.S. and abroad. See finding dissertations for additional help.
ERIC (1966 - Present) VCU
Abstracts of articles, books, and Department of Education publications including links to some full text reports. You have three different options for searching the ERIC database - directly, via EBSCO (like PsycINFO), CSA (like Sociological Abstracts), and FirstSearch (like WorldCat).
Social Sciences Citation Index (1965 - Present) VCU
Database of references cited in articles from more than 1,725 major journals across 50 social sciences disciplines.
Social Sciences Index (1983 - Present) VCU
Citations to articles of at least one column in length from English-language periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of social sciences journals.
TESTS AND MEASURES
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) (1985 - Present) VCU
Information about measurement instruments (e.g., questionnaires, interview schedules, checklists, index measures, tests, etc.) in the health fields, psychosocial sciences, organizational behavior, and library and information science. Search tip: Select the Primary Source box to retrieve resources that actually contain the test or reference the original source where instrument was published.
Inter-university Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR) VCU
The world's largest archive of social science data, ICPSR archives survey data on psychological wellbeing, emotional states, cognition, child development and much more. Codebooks often include full text of survey questions and response frequencies. View more information and search help.
Mental Measurement Yearbook (1985 - Present) VCU
Information about and reviews of standardized tests in the fields of education and psychology. See tests and measures for additional help.
See Tests and Measures Resource Guide for additional help. Please note the VCU Libraries do not typically have full copies of survey instruments.
If you need help developing a search strategy, Ask a Librarian.
Searching the Catalog:
You can access the library catalog from the main VCU Libraries Web page at http://www.library.vcu.edu by clicking on the Search the Catalog link under the Find Information heading.
General Searching: When you are looking for books on a topic you may conduct a Words Anywhere search first. example: behaviorism. If you are concerned that you are getting too many irrelevant results, you may opt to conduct a subject search
E-Books: VCU Libraries provides access to a large and varied collection of electronic books. These collections are searchable via the catalog (see e-Resources tab) or via their individual collection sites on the Internet. These books are available via the Internet 24 hours a day.
Browsing the Shelves: The VCU Libraries use the Library of Congress Classification system for cataloging and shelving. If you would like to browse, see the Library of Congress Classification Outline for Psychology (see section BF - this is a PDF document) to see how you can locate books by LC Call number.
"Where do I find things?": Check out where things are in the Cabell Library.
Borrowing from Other Libraries: VCU Libraries will get items you need (books, articles, and other media) if they are not in the VCU Libraries collection via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). To search for materials in other libraries, use the Worldcat VCU or check the catalogs of other Virginia Libraries.
For an overview of psychology-related topics, you can consult the following reference books:
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science (netLibrary VCU)
Encyclopedia of Psychology
Cabell Library Reference BF31.E52
Oxford Reference Online VCU
Provides access to more than 140 dictionaries and reference works published by Oxford University Press including the Oxford Companion to the Mind and a Dictionary of Psychology.
Other useful sources include the following books:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)
Ask for the print manual at the reference desk. There is also an electronic version available through Stat!Ref Electronic Medical Library VCU (select the Table of Contents tab and look for the appropriate link).
Library Use: Handbook for Psychology
Cabell Library Reference BF76.8 .R43
Publication Manual of the APA
Ask for the print manual at the reference desk. The APA Style Guide to Electronic References is a downloadable PDF file. It is a supplement to the print edition. For additional help with APA style, see Citation Styles and Guides.
If you need help finding materials, Ask a Librarian.
Journal Finder
You can search here to find out if the VCU Libraries have a print and/or electronic version of a particular journal available. If an electronic version is available, you can click on the link from the catalog and then browse available issues or look up a specific citation. To find a specific citation you will need the year, volume, issue, and starting page number.
Note: the search box only searches for the names of journals, not the subject content - use one of the research databases for this.
Already have a citation? Use the Citation Linker (tutorial) on the Journal Finder page to find full text articles from citations.
Select Journals
The American Journal of Psychology VCU
Print and Electronic Holdings, 1887 (v. 1) - Present
Clinical Psychology VCU
Cognitive Psychology VCU
Print and Electronic Holdings, 1970 (v. 1) - Present
Developmental Psychology VCU
Print and Electronic Holdings, 1969 (v. 1) - Present
The Journal of Black Psychology VCU
Print and Electronic Holdings, 1974 (v. 1) - Present
The Journal of Social Psychology VCU
Print and Electronic Holdings, 1930 (v. 1) - Present
The following resources will help you with psychology research. Please note that the list is selective. For more Web resources, you can search some of the sources listed below. When using the Web for research, remember to evaluate your sources for currency, objectivity and authority.
American Psychological Association (APA)
http://www.apa.org/
Resources from the APA including publications like the Monitor on Psychology, guide for Library Research in Psychology, and APA Style Tips.
Encyclopedia of Psychology
http://www.psychology.org/
Over 2,000 links to psychology-related Web sites covering career, environment behavior relationships, organization, paradigms and theories, people and history, and publication sources.
Finding Psychology and Related Departments on the Internet (Hanover College)
http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/other.html
Directory of psychology and related departments on the Internet.
Psych Web
http://www.psywww.com/
Created by Russell A. Dewey, PhD, of Georgia Southern University, and contains "lots of psychology-related information for students and teachers of psychology" including links to APA Style resources, books, brochures, career and education resources, commercial products and services, psychology departments on the Web, and scholarly resources on a variety of topics.
Social Psychology Network
http://www.socialpsychology.org/
Over 12,000 links related to psychology.
SOSIG Psychology Gateway
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/psychology/
Provides access to psychology resources on the Internet. Resources have been evaluated and categorized using the APA PsycINFO coding scheme.