Skip to Main Content

Psychology Research Guide

A starting assistance to students and faculty for the research in Psychology area.

Why do we need to use APA Thesaurus and index terms?

A training video created by APA.

Please note: Our CU's PsycINFO is using the ProQuest platform, but the Thesaurus function is the same.

How to search PsycINFO with the Thesaurus and Index Terms on ProQuest?

There are more videos in the APA Training playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL79EDF5C7AA14D90D .

How to find information of a test or measurement?

Here are some major sources that will help you to find information about a test or measurement.

 

  • Tests In Print (Now this database is a part within Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests In Print)

Tests in Print (TIP) is a comprehensive bibliography to all known commercially-available tests that are currently in print in the English language. For each test, TIP provides the information about test purpose, test publisher, in-print status, up-to-date price, test acronym, intended test population, administration times, publication date(s), and test author(s). TIP also gives cross reference to critical, candid test reviews published in the Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY) series.

 

This database contains the most recent descriptive information and critical reviews of new and revised tests from the Buros Institute's 1st volumn through most recent volumn. It covers more than 2,200 commercially-available tests in personality, developmental and behavioral assessment, achievement, education, speech & hearing, etc. Compared with the printed versions, the online version provides easier and more powerful keyword search function.

Please note, the print versions of MMY will still be kept in Mullen's Reference Reading room with call number "L103.4.P8B96M5".

What to do if you cannot find a measurement in MMY? If you can make sure that you have the correct information of a measurement's title or author, but cannot find it in MMY, that maybe because this measurement is NOT commercially-available. In this case, try to search either PsycINFO or Health and Psychosocial Instruments.

 

Health and Psychosocial Instruments provides citations to information on measurement instruments (i.e., questionnaires, interview schedules, checklists, index measures, coding schemes/ manuals, rating scales, projective techniques, vignettes/scenarios, tests) in the health fields, psychosocial sciences, organizational behavior, and library and information science. HAPI assists researchers, practitioners, educators, administrators, and evaluators, including students, to identify measures needed for research studies, grant proposals, client/patient assessment, class papers/projects, theses/dissertations, and program evaluation. By creating an organized resource of previously unavailable measurement information, HAPI: (a)provides a means of locating a variety of instruments, (b) helps to reduce inefficiency and cost, and (c) eliminates duplication and "reinvention of the wheel."

This database provides primary sources, secondary sources, and review sources for instruments.
"Primary Source" means that HaPI provides citation of the original article where the instrument was first published or a resource that contains the full-text of the instrument; "Secondary Source" means that HaPI provides citations of the articles that describe how the instrument was used, outcomes, and more; "Review Source" means that HaPI provides citations of the articles that discuss the use of an instrument.

 

Please see the guide "Tests and Measures" for more sources.

How to find citing articles?

If you have an article, and want to find out how many times the article has been cited or by whom it has been cited, you have several ways to find such information. However, due to the different coverage of sources, the citing numbers will be varied.

Usually PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and EBSCO's Academic Search Premier provide the citing information.

First, search for the article in those databases. After you find the right article, look for or click on the citing information. See below for examples in each database.

 

In PsycINFO:

Cited by in PsycINFO

 

In Google Scholar:

Cited by in Google Scholar

 

In EBSCO's Academic Search Complete:

Cited by in Academic Search Complete

How to find the full-text of a test?

There are several possible ways to find the full-text of a test. It maybe was attached in a journal article by the author, or was provided as an appendix in a reference book. Please see below for different possibilities and the methods to locate it.

  • Tests in journal articles

Some journal articles include the test instrument that be discussed. Searching PsycINFO (or ERIC, if your topic is education or children related) may result some findings.

Sometimes, some books also include the full-text test instruments, check this database to see which book has the tests you want.

Please note: The links to "RefWorks' RefShare Interface" and "UT Arlington Web site" are not working any more, but you still can browse the section of "Collections examined". If you find an instrument you want, copy the book title and search it in our library's SearchBox to see whether our library has that book.

This online database also can help you to locate tests in books.

Input the test title or acronym in the search box. Record the book title, and go to our library catalog to search whether we have this book.

How to link back to Catholic University Libraries full text databases from PubMed?

First please use this URL (which has the Catholic University code to tell PubMed where you are from) to access PubMed:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?otool=dccuallib

When you find an article in PubMed and don't see full text at PubMed, use the blue “FindIt@CU” button at the right upper corner, which will search in our SearchBox to locate the full text of the article or provide the option to submit an ILL request.

Findit button in the new PubMed

How to use PsycINFO to search for tests and measures?

You can use PsycINFO to search who and how other researchers used a test or measurement, and whether the full text of a test or measurement available as an appendix in someone's publication. See the YouTube video for details. [Please note: Our CU's PsycINFO is using the ProQuest platform, not the APA PsycNet, but the search for tests and measures function is the same. Also CU doesn't have the subscription to PsycTest.]