Subject Guide for Psychology
- Introduction
- Contact Information
- Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
- Finding books and journals
- Finding articles
- Articles and periodicals miscellany
- Statistics
- Handbooks
- Tests and measures
- Other web resources
- Style Guides
- RefWorks @ SDSU
Introduction
Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of humans and animals. It is a broad discipline that includes numerous subfields, such as clinical psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, and cognitive psychology. In addition, several other fields of study are related to psychology, including biology, sociology, and the health sciences.
The literature of psychology is divided primarily between books and journals. While other kinds of information may also be useful (such as dissertations, conference proceedings, websites, etc.), you will want to focus on the book and journal literature. Reference books, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, are helpful in providing definitions and overviews of a particular topic. Other books may be useful when you want to get a summary of the research in a certain area of psychology. However, journal articles will make up the bulk of your library research. Dana Dunn, in The Practical Researcher, gives several reasons for this emphasis on journals in psychology, including the fact that journals are more timely than books, journal articles are subject to professional peer review, they always have the same style format (American Psychological Association, or APA, style), they are specialized and focused, and they generally answer specific questions with empirical research.
Critical thinking skills are important when evaluating information sources in psychology. Some useful guidelines to follow when determining appropriate sources for your literature review include the following: The source should be original research and should be published in a professional peer-reviewed scholarly journal or in a book from a well-known publisher. In addition, it should be written by an expert in the field, it should use sound methodology, and should be relatively recent. Using information that is old, non-authoritative, or derivative will not support your research.
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Contact Information
Bruce Harley can be contacted at bharley@rohan.sdsu.eduTop of page
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia of Psychology, edited by Alan E. Kazdin.
BF 31 E52 2000 REF
8 volume set, published jointly by the American Psychological Association and
Oxford University Press.
Encyclopedia of Human Behavior.
BF 31 E5 1994 REF
A four-volume work with alphabetically arranged articles on major topics in
human psychology. Subjects covered include developmental stages, psychiatric
disorders, learning and perceptual psychology, and more. Volume 4 has the index.
The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 3rd
ed.
BF 31 E52 2001 REF
In four volumes. Articles on major psychological topics, arranged alphabetically.
Articles include further readings and cross references to related topics. Includes
a collection of biographies about major psychologists.
Encyclopedia of Neuroscience
RC 334 .E53 1999 REF
2 volumes.
Encyclopedia of psychiatry, psychology, and psychoanalysis.
RC 437 E49 1996 REF
One volume encyclopedia containing short entries on individuals, theories, disorders
and other concepts in psychiatry and psychology.
The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
H 41 I58 2001 REF
IESBS is the most ambitious encyclopedia to date in the social and behavioral
sciences. It includes 4,000 signed articles, 15 million words of text, 90,000
bibliographic references, and 150 biographical entries. This is a 26 volume
reference work.
Psychiatric Dictionary.
RC 437 C36 1996 REF
Brief definitions of medical and psychological terms commonly used in psychiatry.
The Dictionary of Psychology.
BF 31 C72 1999 REF
This is the most exhaustive psychological dictionary ever published. It contains
short definitions, biographies, illustrations, and several appendices.
Lexicon of psychiatry, neurology, and the neurosciences
RC 334 A96 2000 REF
Over 1100 pages in this useful one volume lexicon. Many words or phrases have
more in-depth definitions than most dictionaries.
Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior.
HD 58.7 B57 1995 REF
Covers organizational behavior, industrial psychology and organizational psychology.
Includes short (signed) articles with brief bibliographies.
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Finding books and journals
Look for books on various aspects of psychology in the PAC (the Library's online catalog). Use terms beginning with "Psychology" under Subject, along with appropriate subdivisions. Some narrower terms are "Child Psychology," "Behaviorism (Psychology)," "Emotions," and "Personality." The terms "Psychology" and "Psychological Aspects" are used as subdivisions under other terms, such as "Students--Psychology."
Psychology books and journals are located throughout the SDSU Library. Psychology books are found both in the BF section (3rd Floor of Love Library) and in the RC section (5th Floor). Psychology journals are found on the 1st Floor of Love Library (including Current Periodicals) as well as on the 5th Floor (journals dating to 1985 or earlier). In addition, the Library subscribes to a growing number of electronic journals. The location of specific books and journals (in the Library or in electronic format) can be determined by performing either a Title (for books) search or a Periodical Title (for journals) search in the PAC.
To view online listings of new books and new media, go to NEW BOOKS AND MEDIA.
To recommend a book be acquired by the SDSU Library, please use the Suggest a Book form.
See also PsycBooks which contains the complete text of over 1,400 scholarly books in psychology, as well as over 21,000 book chapters.
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Finding articles
While relevant psychology journal articles may occasionally be found through manual browsing in the periodical stacks, the most efficient method of locating psychology journal articles is a database search. Many databases of journal articles have information pertinent to psychology. Ask a librarian for assistance in choosing which one is best suited for your research.
The most important database in psychology is PsycINFO. It contains over two million references and summaries of the world's journal, dissertation, and book literature in psychology and related disciplines. It indexes journals in 27 languages, and covers the years 1887 to the present. While some of these journals may be accessed in electronic format, most journals indexed by PsycINFO only contain abstracts of articles online. To find the full text of an article, use the "Find Full Text" feature within PsycINFO.
PsycINFO Search Tips (from the APA) gives helpful advice on searching PsycINFO. Also see the APA PsycINFO User Guide and "EBSCOhost User Guide: PsycINFO." In addition, see the APA's PsycINFO Classification Categories and Codes.
Ingenta (Periodical) Article Delivery Service
The Ingenta Article Delivery Service provides SDSU faculty, staff, and graduate students with free delivery via fax machine of full-text articles from approximately 18,000 journals dating back to 1988 (providing the copyright holder allows faxing, and the total cost of the article is not more than $50).
Articles and periodicals miscellany
See Cited Reference Searching Article Databases & Electronic Resources.
See also Subject Guide for Evaluating Periodicals.
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Statistics
National Institutes of Mental Health
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Handbooks
Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry
RC 454 C637 REF
A two-volume textbook covering all aspects of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.
Includes extensive, detailed and technical articles.
DSM-IV-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.
(Text Revision)
RC 455.2 C4 D53 REF
The American Psychiatric Association's guide to diagnostic criteria for mental
disorders. Two copies are in Reference, one at the Reference Desk and one in the Reference
Stacks.
ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical Descriptions
and Diagnostic Guidelines.
RC 455.2 C4 I34 1992 REF
International classification of diseases (focusing on mental illness) by the
World Health Organization.
Comprehensive Clinical Psychology
RC 467 C597 1998 REF
11 volume reference set covering research and methods, children and adolescents,
health psychology, geropsychology, and other topics related to the theory and
practice of clinical psychology.
Handbook of work and organizational psychology
HF 5548.8 H2655 1998 REF
4 volumes. Not arranged as a traditional encyclopedia but functions as the major
reference tool in the fields of industrial, personnel, and organizational psychology.
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Tests and measures
See the Subject Guide for Tests and Measurements.
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Other web resources
San Diego State UniversityCalifornia Board of Psychology
California Psychological Association
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Style Guides
See the Style Manuals and Citation Formats page for information on all style guides, including APA.
