1. WHAT IS PSYCINFO? AN OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCINFO DATABASE by MARK HABER THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE GILL LIBRARY DECEMBER 2008

2. PSYCINFO FACTS PsycInfo is an abstract database of psychological literature from the 1880’s to the present. PsycInfo contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from: Journal articles Books Chapters of books Dissertations

3. Limiting Your Search Searches in PsycInfo can be limited to: Peer reviewed journals English language materials Full text materials

5. Controlled Vocabulary Agreed upon term for a subject or concept Manic Depression USE Bipolar Disorder Marital Adjustment USE Marital Relations Miscarriage USE Spontaneous Abortion Parental Participation USE Parental Involvement

6. Use of Thesaurus List of PsycInfo Subject Headings Scope Note (PsycInfo’s definition of the term) Other Terms (Broader, Narrower, Related)

11. Boolean Searching Combine Search Terms “AND” narrows the search (retrieved item must have all the terms) “OR” broadens the search (retrieved item can have one or more of any of the terms) “NOT” limits the search (retrieved item does not have the term)

14. Truncation The asterisk* at the end of the root of a word retrieves the word and all forms of the word Adolescen* retrieves adolescent, adolescence, etc. Parent* retrieves parent, parental, parenting, etc. Home* retrieves home, homeless, homesickness, etc.

16. Retrieving the full text Some articles are available full text Others can be requested at the Circulation Desk Journal articles, books, and dissertations that are not owned by CNR can be ordered via Illiad

24. Advantages of Using PsycInfo Contains journal articles, books, and dissertations Comprehensive Thesaurus Boolean Searching