LibGuides: Psychology: Articles

Psychology & Specialized Databases

We recommend these databases as places to search for scholarly information in Psychology. The best database depends on your specific research topic and you may want to search multiple databases.

PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
APA PsycINFO is the largest source of peer-reviewed literature in behavioral sciences and mental health. Start here for most of your Psychology topics!
Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection This link opens in a new window
Collection of Psychology and behavioral health related literature.
Social Sciences Citation Index This link opens in a new window
A broader body of literature across 58 social science disciplines. SSCI is a useful tool for identifying references and citing articles.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
Biomedical literature database funded by the NIH. Useful for topics related to clinical psychology, biopsychology, or other medical-related topics.

Tip: If your research cross into other areas of study (such as education, communication, sociology, etc.) you may want to search for articles in specialized databases for those areas. See the Library's complete Subject Guide collection for more recommendations or ask your librarian!

General Databases

Many Psychology topics may also be included in multidisciplinary databases. These resources are some of the library's broadest search tools but may point you in the direction of additional articles.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Subjects: General, Multidisciplinary Funded by ISU Libraries
Web of Science This link opens in a new window Subject: General Funded by ISU Libraries
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Subjects: General Free
OneSearch - Everything This link opens in a new window

Database Search Tips

Searching Databases: Using Boolean Operators

AND / OR / NOT

Boolean operators help you explain to a database how you'd like the words in your topic or research question to be related in the results that you find. Identify the main concepts or variables in your research topic (usually 2-3 is a good starting place) and any related terms or synonyms for each concept. Then, use the following operators to build your search.

AND - Searches for articles containing both terms. Use AND to combine main concepts or variables in your search.

Example: diet AND anxiety = results contain BOTH the words "diet" and "anxiety

OR - Searches for articles that contain EITHER or BOTH terms. Use for synonyms or related terms.

Example: women OR woman OR female OR girl = all results that mention any of these words

NOT - Excludes articles that contain a term. Use sparingly.

Example: anxiety NOT "obsessive compulsive disorder" = results that mention the word "anxiety" but not the term "obsessive compulsive disorder"

Tip: In most advanced search screens there are multiple search boxes where you can use each box to represent a "main concept" in your search. Here's an example search for information about the relationship between diet and anxiety in women.

Journals by Title

Did you find an article you'd like read, but don't know if the library owns the journal? Enter the journal title below to find the full text.

Interlibrary Loan

Can't find the full text? Don't despair! Learn how you can request the article from another library and how to use our ILLiad interlibrary loan system.

Psychology: Articles