LibGuides: Psychology: Find Sources

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Find@Farley doesn't have everything! Check out the information below to search for more specific types of information. For more help searching, visit the Search Effectively page.

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What are journal articles?

Also known as "scholarly articles," "peer-reviewed articles" and "academic articles."
These are sources that are written and reviewed by scholars and professionals in the field.
Peer-reviewed means the information has been read and approved by other experts before the article is cleared for publication.
Journal articles provide new research and analysis about a specific topic based on scholarly research and expertise.
Articles are often focused on a narrow subject or a single case study.
Articles are intended for an academic audience.

Visit the Evaluate Sources tab for more information on how to identify scholarly journals.

Visit the Research Metrics Guide for more information on how articles, journals and authors are rated.

Find psychology journal articles:

APA PsycArticles This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles in the fields of psychology and psychiatry from APA and allied organizations.
Psychology Database This link opens in a new window
A collection of psychology resources, including behavioral, clinical, cognitive, developmental, experimental, industrial and social psychology, along with personality, psychobiology, and psychometrics.
Social Science Database This link opens in a new window
A collection of resources for social science disciplines, including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Search within a single database to find materials across all major subject areas, including business, health and medical, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, science and technology, and religion.
SAGE Journals This link opens in a new window
Full-text scholarly articles in the fields of humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and medicine.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Find articles, books and reference works in the life, health, physical and social science fields, as well as in the humanities.

Full list of psychology databases
Publication Finder
Locate journals that the library owns online and in print.
InterLibrary Loan
If Wilkes does not have access to the article or book you need, you can request it via InterLibrary Loan.

Accessing journal articles:

In Find@Farley and EBSCOhost databases, full text articles can be easily accessed by clicking on the "Access Now" button in the search results.

Sometimes there will be a drop-down menu with different access options.

If an article is listed as available in full text but does not give you access, contact a librarian.

If Wilkes does not have access to the article, try looking for the article in Google Scholar. Occasionally, the authors of the article will post a copy of their paper in ResearchGate or similar website. These sources will likely not appear in a Wilkes database search.

If you still cannot access the article, you can click on "Request through interlibrary loan" link and we can try to obtain the article from another library. Visit the InterLibrary Loan page for more information on how to register for an account.

How do books differ from journal articles?

Scholarly books are often written on a broader general subject matter.
They can contain collections of related chapters by different authors.
Chapters may contain much more information than a short article, but information may be older.
Remember, books can be both physical volumes AND digital copies!

Visit the Evaluate Sources tab for more information on scholarly book sources.

Find books:

Use the Classic Catalog for all print and electronic books in Farley Library.

EBSCO eBooks This link opens in a new window
E-books covering the topics of art, business and economics, education, literary criticism, medical, performing arts, philosophy, social science, technology and engineering, and more. See instructions for downloading EBSCO eBooks.
Project MUSE eBooks This link opens in a new window
A collection of ebooks covering subjects in the humanities, arts and social sciences.
ProQuest eBooks This link opens in a new window
A collection of ebooks covering subjects such as Business, Medical Sciences, History, Economics, and other subjects.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Worldwide catalog of books, journals, recordings, etc. held by member libraries of the Online Computing Library Center (OCLC). You can request any resource you find in WorldCat for free via InterLibrary Loan.

Browse By Call Number

Class B - Philosophy. Psychology. Religion

BF1-990 - Psychology

BF173-175.5 - Psychoanalysis
BF207-209 - Psychotropic drugs and other substances
BF309-499 - Consciousness. Cognition
BF636-637 - Applied psychology
BF660-685 - Comparative psychology. Animal and human psychology
BF692-692.5 - Psychology of sex. Sexual behavior
BF698-698.9 - Personality
BF712-724.85 - Developmental psychology
BF725-727 - Class psychology

BF1001-1389 - Parapsychology

BF1404-2055 - Occult sciences

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Studies

What's the difference?

Quantitative Studies:	Qualitative Studies:
Have results that can be counted numerically, quantifiable	Have results that cannot be counted numerically
Focus on measurements rather than descriptions	Focus on descriptions of qualities rather than measurements
Often take place in a controlled environment or study	Often take place in naturalistic environments
Use statistical analysis	Often don't use statistical analysis
What to look for: data analysis, structured responses close-ended surveys charts, graphs mention of a specific statistical analysis method (ANOVA, Chi Square, T-test, etc.) a comparison of multiple variables using numerical or statistical data	What to look for: interviews focus groups open-ended surveys unstructured responses case studies histories lack of numerical or statistical data descriptive words or feelings

How do I find qualitative or quantitative studies in my research?

You can specify the type of study in the APA PsycArticles database. You can find this option in advanced search in the right column.

Unfortunately, many other databases lack the ability to limit results to quantitative or qualitative research. However, adding "quantitative" or "quantitative" to your keyword searches will often give you these studies in your results, as many researchers often use these terms in their abstracts or article text.

Here is an example using Summon search:

Note that "All Fields" is another term for a keyword search.

Make sure to verify the methods are quantitative or qualitative by reviewing the article itself. Most articles will have a "Methods" or "Methodology" section that explains how the researchers conducted their study.