Psychology Research Guide
Other Psychology Guides
Welcome to the Psychology Guide!
This guide is your one-stop library resource for scholarly and non-scholarly books and eBooks, databases and journals, web resources, research tips and tools, career information, and more on psychology or related topics! In this guide you'll also find information on library services, tools, and other web resources to help you write your papers, do your presentations, cite your sources, and more.
Use the blue buttons on the left to navigate through the guide and find what you need. Ask a librarian (ask@snhu.libanswers.com) if you need additional assistance!
Psychology is a fascinating and varied discipline. Often, you'll find that the core resources below contain the information you need for your research. Also look to the menu on the left, where librarians have identified helpful resources for specific areas of research within psychology.
Core Psychology Resources
For many topics and research questions in Psychology, you'll find the resources below helpful. Icons indicate what kind of resources are included in each database.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)The most comprehensive, current, and critical resource for clinical practice available to today's mental health clinicians and researchers of all orientations. DSM-5 is used by health professionals, social workers, and forensic and legal specialists to diagnose and classify mental disorders, and is the product of more than 10 years of effort by hundreds of international experts in all aspects of mental health. The criteria are concise and explicit, intended to facilitate an objective assessment of symptom presentations in a variety of clinical settings - inpatient, outpatient, partial hospital, consultation-liaison, clinical, private-practice, and primary care.
Databases
- PsycARTICLES - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowFrom the APA: a definitive source of full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology
- PsycBOOKS - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowPsycBOOKS includes the newest APA published scholarly and professional books including reference works from the APA Handbooks in Psychology Series that delve deep into specific subfields within psychology. Essential to education, research and teaching across the behavioral sciences, PsycBOOKS is an indispensable resource for every psychology program.
- PsycEXTRA - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowProduced by the APA; document types include technical, annual and government reports, conference papers, newsletters, magazines, newspapers, and consumer brochures
- Psychiatry Online This link opens in a new windowCollection of psychiatric references, including books, journals and self-assessment tools. Provides access to the DSM-5. The following journals are available through this database: The American Journal of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services, and The Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences.
- Psychology Database - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowFull-text journals and indexing from top psychology and related publications
- PsycINFO - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowFrom the APA, contains citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines
- SAGE Journals This link opens in a new windowThe SAGE Journals platform includes full text of scholarly journals from SAGE publications in many disciplines, such as, education, sociology, women's studies, criminal justice and business.
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowOffers a collection of full-text, scholarly journals and eBooks in science, technology, medicine, and social sciences.
- SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new windowSAGE Knowledge is home to an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content alongside SAGE Video, containing over 4,600 titles. Content includes reference works, academic books, professional development titles and more. This cross-media platform allows users to search and browse over 10,000 items, video, book and reference titles within the Social Sciences.
- VisualDx This link opens in a new windowVisualDx is an award-winning diagnostic clinical decision support system designed to enhance diagnostic accuracy, aid therapeutic decisions, and improve patient safety. Features include: an extensive curated medical image library; a smart search for chief complaints, diagnoses, and drug reactions; a custom patient-specific differential diagnosis builder.
Video tutorial on using Shapiro Library Psychology databases
Library Book Search
To locate print and eBooks about your psychology-related topics, you would search the library's online catalog.
Psychology Associations
Professional psychology associations are great resources for students and practitioners. They provide current research, conferences, professional development (courses and certificates), networking, career and internship opportunities, and many other resources specific to the discipline.
- American Psychiatric Association (APA)The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists working together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental illness, including substance use disorders. It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its vision is a society that has available, accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.
- American Psychological Association (APA)APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 121,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members. This site includes a search box to find books and articles as well as a page to explore topics within Psychology.
- Association for Psychological Science (APS)APS is the leading international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders. Members provide a richer understanding of the world through their research, teaching, and application of psychological science.
Psychology Podcasts
Podcasts are becoming an increasingly popular format for sharing current, relevant information and often scholarly information in a discipline. There are some excellent podcasts available on psychology topics. Some examples are listed below.
- Finding Our VoiceFinding Our Voice brings the viewpoints and opinions of the next generation of psychiatrists—including residents, fellows, and early career psychiatrists—to the forefront. Each episode focuses on systemic racism within a racial, ethnic, or minority group. Listen as our host, Dr. Sanya Virani, leads discussions with guests who offer fresh perspectives on difficult issues by sharing their own stories and those of their patients. We hope you come away from each episode with new insights or a change of perspective. Finding Our Voice is a production of American Psychiatric Association Publishing and Psychiatric News.
- Hidden BrainHidden Brain, hosted by Shankar Vedantam, explores the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior and questions that lie at the heart of our complex and changing world.
- Speaking of PsychologySpeaking of Psychology is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important, and relevant psychological research being conducted today. Produced by the American Psychological Association, these podcasts will help listeners apply the science of psychology to their everyday lives.
Types of Psychology Sources
There are many sources you will encounter as you research in psychology. These sources have different characteristics. Take care to match the sources you use to your projects.
| Publication Type | Examples | Content | Authors | Audience | Reviewed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Journals | Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health | Original research, In-depth, Specific, Sources cited | Scholars and Practitioners | Scholars, Industry Professionals, Students | Scholars (Peer Review) |
| Popular News and Magazines | Psychology Today | Brief articles on topics of general interest, Advertisements | Journalists | General Public | Editors |
| Case Studies |
Psychotherapy.net |
Detailed examination and analysis of a specific case | Scholars and Practitioners | Scholars, Industry Professionals, Students | Scholars (Peer Review) |
| Government Information |
National Institute of Mental Health |
Research, Health Guidelines | Government Agencies, including NIH and CDC | Scholars, Students | Government Agencies |
Find more with Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other web sites. Google Scholar searches may be narrowed down by date in the left margin of the results list.
Each result in a Google Search has options beneath it including:
- Citation for the article in 5 formats & export to various citation managers
- "Cited by" lists all the articles written more recently that cite the article
- Related articles
If the full text is available, it will appear as a link to the right of the citation. To access Google Scholar, click on the link below.
The link below demonstrates how to link Google Scholar to the Shapiro Library databases.