Psychology
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
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Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- APA Dictionary of Psychology
Level 1 Reference BF31 .A65 2007
This dictionary "represents a snapshot of the lexicon of psychology as it exists at the beginning of the 21st century." Focus areas of this dictionary include: personality, development, interpersonal relations, memory, motiviation, cognition, language etc.
- Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science
Level 1 Reference BF31 .E528 2001
This four volume encyclopedia provides the most current research on topics in psychology and behavioral science. Each entry (ex: aggression, aging and intelligence, creativity, culture and pcychotherapy) has a summary, references, and cross references for further information. Entries are informative and concise.
- Dictionary of Biological Psychology
Level 1 Reference QP360 .D52 2001
This dictionary provides definitions, cross references and reference information on biological psychology terms. A glossary of abbreviations, as well as the contributer to each entry and their qualifications are provided. Examples of entries include "A fibres" to "zygote".
- Dictionary of Multicultural Psychology
Level 1 Reference GN502 .H336 2005
This is a dictionary of psychology terms as they relate to multicultural psychology. The definitions are extensive, and also provide references for further reading.
- Encyclopedia of Human Development
Level 1 Reference HM626.E532006
Human development focuses on the psychological, social, physical, and emotional development of humans throughout all stages of life. This three volume encyclopedia provides in-depth discussion and analysis of how all sorts of events, people, places, and ideas that may affect human development. Entries are all alphabetical by topic, including abortion, religion and many others. You can find a guide to all of the issues discussed in volume 1.
- Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology
Level 1 Reference GN502 .E63 2006
This encyclopedia is for laypeople, students, or professionals who are new to the field of multicultural psychology. With a strong emphasis on culture (in multicultural populations) this encylopedia serves as an index for topics on social psychology, cognitive psychology, environmental psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and clinical psychology. Psychopathology and folk illnessess or "indigenous pathologies" are also in this encyclopedia. A further reading section for each entry provides additional resources.
- Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment
Level 1 Reference BF39 .E497 2003
A two volume encyclopedia that defines and discusses the many different psychological assessments. Organized alphabetically, each entry contains an overview, reasons for use, an explanation of the specific methdology, and an extensive section for further reading.
- Handbook of Psychology
Level 1 Reference BF121 .H1955 2003
These ten volumes cover a myriad of information about psychology, including history, research methods, experimental psychology, forensic psychology and much more. See the table of contents for each volume to find out what specific topics it covers.
- Penguin Dictionary of Psychology
Level 1 Reference BF31 .R43 2001
This is a thorough, easy to use dictionary of psychology terms. Each entry has a detailed definition and related terms.
- Psychologists' Desk Reference
Level 1 Reference RC467.2 .P78 2005 and Simmons Eresource
An authoritative, quick reference guide to everything that a psychologist (or a psychology student) may need to know, including assessment and diagnosis,ethical and legal issues, and specific treatments for types of patients, like children and adolescents. Each section includes thorough definitions and discussions, concerns, technologies available, professional resources, and much more.
- Steven's Handbook of Experimental Psychology
Level 1 Reference BF181 .H336 2002
This four volume set is the third edition of this useful reference tool, created by Stanley Smith Stevens, a pioneer among psychologists. The subject matter focuses on psychology as it relates to other fields such as neurology, physics, and biology. Each volume has an area of focus, such as memory and cognitive process, or learning and motivation.
- Counseling and Psychotherapy Transcripts, Client Narratives, and Reference Works
Simmons Eresource
A searchable collection containing real transcripts of therapy and counseling sessions and first-person narratives illuminating the experience of mental illness and its treatment, as well as reference works to contextualize the primary material.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- PsycInfo
Simmons Eresource
The comprehensive international database of psychology covering over 1,900 leading psychological, psychiatric, and related publications. PsycInfo covers the academic, research and practice literature in psychology from over 45 countries in more than 30 languages. Includes relevant materials from related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, law, criminology, social science, and organizational behavior. Indexes journals, dissertations, book chapters, books, technical reports, and other documents.Note: while PsycInfo is primarily a citation database, Simmons subscribes to a special enhanced version that includes the full text for articles from about 300 publications.
- Psychline
Free Online
An index of 2,000+ online psychology and social science journals. It links you to journal home pages and journal information on the web. You may use it to find out about existing journals in the field, contact publishers, browse tables of contents and abstracts, locate online articles, and much more. The PSYCLINE database covers English, German, French, Dutch, and Spanish language journals.
- CINAHL
Simmons Eresource
Provides authoritative coverage of the literature in nursing and allied health. Over 1200 English-language nursing and allied health journals are indexed along with virtually all publications from the American Nurses' Association and the National League for Nursing. Selected journals in biomedicine, consumer health, health sciences librarianship, behavioral sciences, and education are also included. CINAHL also provides references to healthcare books, book chapters, pamphlets, audiovisuals, nursing dissertations, educational software, selected conference proceedings, standards of professional practice, nurse practice acts, critical paths, and research instruments.
Note: while CINAHL is primarily a citation database, Simmons subscribes to a special enhanced version that includes the full text for articles from about 250 publications.
- Education Abstracts and Fulltext Journals
Simmons Eresource
Indexes over 500 scholarly and trade publications from the Education literature.
- ERIC
Simmons Eresource and Free Online
ERIC is the largest database of scholarly and non-academic literature on the field of education.
- Social Services Abstracts
Simmons Eresource
This database covers current research on social work, human services and related areas. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,300 serials publications and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews. It is updated monthly.
- Social Science Citation Index -- ISI Web of Science
Simmons Eresource
This resource finds article citations and abstracts from almost two thousand scholarly journals related to the social sciences, and the fields that make up the social sciences, such as economics and political science.
Note: Full text of the cited articles is not available through Social Science Citation Index. Click the link that says "Check for Full-Text Availability" to determine if the library has access to the article. Remember, if we do not have the entire article, it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you to find Psychology information on the free web. Use thi Psychology Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the SPsychology Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
Writing Style and Citation
For more information on style and citation for this discipline, please contact the Simmons College Writing Center
You may also consider consulting these resources:
- Writing Resources
Free Online
The Writing Center provides online resources for citing your research. If you are unsure of which citation style to use, consult your professor and consider the following:- Use APA (American Psychological Association) when your topic is in the Social Sciences
- Use ASA (American Sociological Association) when your topic is in Sociology
- Use MLA (Modern Language Association) when your topic is in the Humanities
- Use Chicago/Turabian when your topic is in Literature, History or the Arts
- Use CSE (Council of Science Editors) when your topic is in the Sciences
- RefWorks
Simmons Eresource
RefWorks is a great program for organizing articles, books, and other materials you need for research. You can also use RefWorks to create bibliographies, create in text citations in your paper (Write-N-Cite), and share your research with others. Access RefWorks from the A-Z list of resources on the library's web page, and then follow the instructions to create your own username and password. We hold RefWorks Clinics throughout the semester. For more information, ask a reference librarian
- Clinician's Thesaurus: The Guide to Conducting Interviews and Writing Psychological Reports
Level 1 Reference RC480.7 .Z83 2005
This is a thesaurus of terminology related to psychology. It is organized according to topic area, such as activities of daily living, abnormal signs, and personality patterns. Guides to conducting patient interviews, writing and formatting reports, and professional resources are also included.
- Concise Rules of APA Style
Level 1 Reference BF76.7 .C66 2005
A quick, easy to use guide to writing and citing a paper in APA style.
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Level 1 Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001
This is the official style guide to writing papers in APA style. Longer and more detailed than The Concise Rules of APA Style, it contains information about how to create footnotes, a reference list, how to prepare a manuscript, citing figures, and much more.
