Psychology  Tags: psychology  

The Thinking Business, Ltd. (2008)

Electronic databases and journals can be accessed off-campus by entering your Campus ID at the prompt as you click on a link from the library website or this research guide. 

For GIL account access and requesting materials from GIL Express or ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan), you will need your Library ID.  

For more information on these IDs and when they are used as well as troubleshooting, consult this page:Off-Campus Password & Login Information

This is a frequently updated blog in which I post research, library resources, and other news relevant to the departments of Counseling & Psychological Services, Educational Policy Studies, Educational Psychology & Special Education, and Psychology.

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I will be out of the office Tuesday, November 17 through Friday, November 20.   If you need reference assistance during this time, please use the AskALibrarian service to contact a librarian via live chat, email, phone, or in person at the Research Support Desk on the 2nd floor of Library North.  If not urgent, feel free to send an email to brenna@gsu.edu and I will respond to it when I return on Monday, November 23.

Every Wednesday this semester from 2:00-4:00pm (except for 11/18)

in UL 1191

Brenna will be available to work with faculty, students, and staff on all things library, such as:

• finding sources/developing searches for your research or course assignments
  
• accessing resources
• navigating the library website
• requesting materials from other libraries
• Book/DVD requests for the library's Psychology collection
  

...and many more!

No appointment necessary.

Hello!  I am the librarian for Psychology now that Lyn Thaxton is retired.   I have been at GSU Library for 5 years and also work with departments in Education (including Counseling & Psychological Services and Educational Psychology & Special Education).  I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling and was an academic counselor for 8 years. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the faculty, students, and staff of this department.   

Feel free to contact me with research questions or curriculum needs--contact options are on the right.

Brainstorm possible search terms for your topic. Keep in mind that you may need to simplify long phrases by breaking them up into separate search terms or smaller phrases.  Here is an interactive tutorial that provides detail about the brainstorming process. 

Read through background information.  Taking a few minutes to read about your topic in a specialized encyclopedia, dictionary or handbook may be one of the most effective and time saving research tips on this list. You will probably refine and refocus your topic several times before you finalize it.  Some specialized reference sources, located on the second floor of Library North, are listed under the Books tab above.  These books are good places to start your research when you know little about a topic, when you need an overview of a subject, or when you want a quick summary of basic ideas. They are also useful for discovering the names of important people and can familiarize you with the vocabulary of the field. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by carefully selected bibliographies or lists of references to other works, useful items to have as you begin looking for additional information.

Focus on scholarly sources. For most research assignments, you will want to use primarily scholarly or peer-reviewed sources. Such articles are typically not freely available on the Web and cannot be found by searching Internet search engines like Google or Yahoo. See the Articles tab above to find more information about identifying scholarly articles.

Books vs. articles. Books (including reference books) may be helpful for background information and for familiarizing yourself with a topic. Articles, on the other hand, are more current and typically address a very narrow piece of a topic, such as details of a specific study. The scope of your assignment will determine what types of sources are best. Many class projects will involve identifying primary empirical research, which is available primarily through articles.

Keep a log of your search process. It's often helpful to know what sources you've consulted and whether they were helpful. Keeping a search log is an easy way document what sources and search terms "work" and which ones do not. 

Cite as you go. Even if you're not sure whether you will use a source, it's much easier to note the citation information up front than to decide you need it later!  Carefully citing will also allow you to avoid plagiarism.  See this interactive tutorial to learn the basics of paraphrasing and citing appropriately.  More information about citing in APA format can be found through the Articles tab above.

LibX is a browser plugin that adds a toolbar, links and search features to give you easy access to GSU Library resources.

Features:

• A search toolbar that searches the GSU library catalog (GIL) and other research sites like Google Scholar
• "Magically" appearing GSU Library links to sites like Amazon.com and Google, and anywhere an ISBN book number appears on a web page
• Library search choices that appear anywhere you right-click in your browser window
• An easy way to sign in with your Campus ID to get access to research sites that require GSU authentication

Need to search a database? Watch this Boolean clip to learn how to combine search words and get the results you are looking for.

Adapted from the materials created by The University of Auckland Library, NZ.

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