Research Design in Psychology

Research in Psychology

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Wyndham Robertson Library

Use this guide as a starting point for research in Psychology using the WRL. The focus of this guide is books and journal indices. It is recommended that researchers begin with books and journal articles before moving to the Internet for source materials. If you have questions or would like more assistance with your research, call the Reference Desk at 504-362-7465 or use the AskRef form on the library web page.

Why start with books and journal articles? Because this is the means to insure your research is comprehensive and authentic. Books in the library collection are authored and selected by specialist in the field. Other material, regardless of authenticity, needs to judged by, and understood in relationship to, the body of research in your field ñ the ìscholarly literature.î

Expectations:

Expect to narrow, broaden, or even to change your topic all together depending on what you find in the literature.
Expect it to take time to learn to use reference sources and indices locate. It will take more time to retrieve items if the materials are not owned by the library. Give yourself more time than you think you need.

Books

Begin your search for books in the WRL online catalog accessed from the library web page at http://www.hollins.edu/academics/library/libtoc.htm. Select the button for Online Catalog. You may also use the online catalog to check for periodical title subscriptions. Remember that this is not an index to articles; this is just to check for the title.

Follow the prompts for searching the online catalog. Once you locate an item note the location (HU, RC, Special Collections, Reference, General Collection, etc.), the call number, and the status (Available, Due, etc.).

Reference Books are a good place to start your research. They provide an overview of a topic or discipline, review significant literature, and update you on current research. Books are generally placed in the Reference section because of their format, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals, etc. This collection is located on the first floor of the library.

Some Reference Books available at WRL to support research in psychology are:

Colman, A., (2001). A Dictionary of Psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [Ref BF31 .C65 2001]

Cone, J., (1993). Dissertations and Theses From Start to Finish : Psychology and Related Fields. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Ref BF76.5 .C645 1993]

Weiner, I., (2003). Handbook of Psychology. New York, NY: Wiley. [Ref BF121 .H1955 2003]

General Collection books are books available for check out. This circulating collection is located on the second and third floors of the library.

Some General Collection books you might find helpful are:

Bailey, J. & Burch, M., (2002). Research Methods in Applied Behavior Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [BF76.5 .B35 2002]

Camic, P. & Rhodes, J., (2003). Qualitative Research in Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [BF76.5 .Q338 2003]

Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y., (2003). Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [H61 .S8823 2003]

Hewson, C., (2003). Internet Research Methods: a Practical Guide for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [H61.95 .I484 2003]

Valiela, I. (2002). Doing Science: Design, Analysis, and Communication of Scientific Research. New York, NY: Oxford. [Q180 .A1 V35 2001]

In addition to the general books on psychology, check the online catalog for materials on your topic to locate books about specific aspects of a subject.

Periodical ArticlesÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ

Periodical articles provide current information in your area of research. Journals, magazines, and newspapers are all periodicals. For the purpose of academic research, it is best to use journals. In print, it is easy to differentiate between a magazine and a journal. In electronic form, it is more difficult to discern the differences. Check with a librarian if you have questions about the title you want to use.

To find periodical articles use a periodical index. Most of these are available online through the library web page at http://www.hollins.edu/academics/library/libtoc.htm. Select the button for e-Resources. While there are several indices that contain psychology related citations, the primary index for psychology is PsychINFO/PsychARTICLES. Indices to search include:

PsychINFO/PsychARTICLES ñ Index and abstracts for over 1,700 journals in psychology and related fields.

ERIC ñ Chiefly an educational resource but covers counseling as an aspect of education research and practice. Includes indexing and abstracts for journal articles and ERIC document. Some ERIC documents are available on microfiche located at the far end of the Government Documents Collection on the first floor.

Expanded Academic Index - Expanded Academic Index provides a combination of indexing, abstracts, images, and full text for scholarly and general interest journals embracing all academic disciplines.

Many articles are available in full-text in these databases and many are not. If you locate a citation to an article and the full-text is not available with the citation, ask for help at the Reference Desk. Some articles are available in other databases and the librarians will help you determine where your article can be found. If it is not available through any Library database or in print form, you will be directed to request the item through Interlibrary Loan.

For assistance in using any of the WRL databases ask at the Reference Desk or, call ahead for an appointment. (7465)

Internet Resources

There are many ways to find information on the Internet. The most popular way is to use one of the many available search engines. Some Web sites have been added to the online catalog and may appear in the result on a keyword or subject search. However you locate a Web site, remember that you must evaluate the site and the information you find. You want to be certain the information is accurate and appropriate for you topic. Much of the information on the Internet is not suitable for scholarly research.

Criteria for evaluation Web sites:

Accuracy ñ Is the information reliable and error free? Are sources cited:
Authority ñ Who is the author and what are his/her credentials or qualifications?
Objectivity ñ Is the information bias free or have they identified their bias upfront? Is the intent to persuade to one opinion or make a sale?
Currency ñ Is the information up to date? Is last update clearly given?
Coverage ñ What is included? One side of a topic? Is the topic covered in-depth?

Guides, directories, and subject specific search engines are also available on the Web. A couple to get you started are:

http://www.psychcrawler.com/index1.htmlÝ (from the American Psychological Association)

http://www.socialpsychology.org/Ý (a large social psychology database where you will find more than 5,000 links related to psychology)

While these directories have been compiled by librarians to provide good Internet sites for your research and most of the sites have been reviewed, you should evaluate each site using the above criteria. Many Web sites are in a constant state of flux and sometimes the quality changes.

Style Manuals

For research papers, reports, or projects in Psychology use the Publication Manual of the American Psychology Association. ÝCurrently in its fifth edition, the APA Manual is located at the Reference Desk. [Ref BF76.7 .P83 2001] Or, visit the Writing Center Web page at http://www1.hollins.edu/Docs/Academics/writingcenter/apa.htm.