Psychology
Find journal articles, newspaper articles, book reviews etc.
Note: the search above won't find every article, for a more comprehensive search see the information below on databases.
To find relevant and good quality information for your academic research you can make use of databases that index the literature. The library provides you with free access to many searchable databases containing information about a wide range of quality-assessed journal articles, books, conference papers, newspaper articles and other information.
Databases
Two key databases you could use to begin your research are:
- PsycInfo
Produced by the American Psychological Association PsycINFO is an abstract database of psychological literature from 1806 to the present day. It contains more than 1.5 million references to journal articles, books, book chapters, technical reports and dissertations published in over 45 countries. All abstracts in PsycINFO are written in English but the covered literature includes material in more than 30 languages. - Web of Science
This database indexes nearly 10,200 journals in science, social sciences, arts and humanities, including psychology, from 1900-. Functionality within the database finds articles that have been cited by publications and that, in turn, cite them. This enables you to use a key reference to find more older and more recent, related references.
Other databases are available and should be explored, depending on your research topic different ones will be of value to you.
Help links for databases:
- PsycInfo - Quick Reference Guide and Detailed Guide
- Web of Science - Online training guides, videos and general search help
Internet sites
Once you know your essay or dissertation topic. use the Library's webpages on Information Skills to learn some basics on how to carry out a literature review, search for information, find theses and dissertations and so on.
If you would like some advice on searching for information, please contact me by email on heather.worlledge-andrew@glasgow.ac.uk or by phone 0141 330 6722. You are welcome to drop by my office, room 806, on level 8 but it is better to e-mail or phone first for an appointment as I may not be available.
You might find some resources useful for your dissertation which we don't have available from this Library. Through our Inter Library Loan service you can order books and journal articles free of charge. See the Need Something We Don't Have section on our website.
If you are an undergraduate student within the School of Psychology you are strongly encouraged to register for and work through the Moodles provided for you at each level.
- Information Literacy for Levels 1 and 2 (Enrolment key required)
- Information Literacy for Levels 3 and 4 (Enrolment Key required)
Referencing and citing – using your sources
What is referencing?
Referencing is the acknowledgement of items you have read and used while creating a written piece of work for your essay, dissertation, article or thesis.
It is important to keep an exact and complete record of the details of all the sources of information that you use for coursework, essays, dissertations or publications. Sources can include books, journal articles, web pages and legal cases. If you don’t keep a precise record you will have difficulty, and create a lot more work for yourself, when you need to list the sources in your reference list.
Citations
When writing an essay, report or dissertation, it is usual to cite [mention] the sources that you used, referred to, or took quotes from. These references might describe journal or newspaper articles, books, government reports, web pages
Citing accurate references is important for the following reasons:
- To give credit to concepts and ideas from other authors
- To provide evidence of the extent of your reading
- To use other work to support the arguments you make
- To allow the user to locate the cited references easily
- To help you avoid plagiarism
Which style of referencing does the School of Psychology use?
There are many styles for references, however, the School of Pscyhology requests that its students use the American Psychological Association (APA) style. The Library has a guide produced by the APA, 'Concise rules of APA style' currently in its 6th edition.
Managing your references using Reference Manager or EndNote software
Reference Manager and Endnote - These are reference management software programs [available locally] which help you to record and store references to books or journal articles and many other sources while you are working on a project. You can then use the stored information to generate bibliographies for your essay, thesis or article using a wide range of styles.
How do I get help with using referencing programs?
See our local Support web pages
IT Services also runs introductory courses where you can make an online booking to attend a training session on an advertised date.
Plagiarism – what is it and how to avoid it
You must always acknowledge the sources you use. Use of material without acknowledgement of the source is called plagiarism which is against the University's rules. The University Plagiarism webpages provide basic guidance but you should always ask for further clarification and guidance from the academic staff within your School.
TurnitinUK - Turnitin is a program used by the university to help you learn about what is meant by plagiarism. If you are asked to use it there is a lot of help available online including a basic Moodle on how to submit to it and interpret the results. The company themsleves also provide helpful guidance on their student web pages.
This guide provides you with all the essential information you'll need if you are studying psychology at the University of Glasgow - including how to find books and journal articles, carry out a detailed literature review using formal and informal sources and lots more! For more general information about using the Library have a look at the Information for students, staff and subscription members pages.
College Team Librarian for Psychology
Heather Worlledge-Andrew
Room 806 (Level 8)
0141-330-6722 / Email: heather.worlledge-andrew@glasgow.ac.uk
Contact me for help on how to find information for your assignments, projects or dissertations. I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday mornings.