Objective:  Using Library Resources in Conducting a Literature Search

I. Clearly define your research problem

Use Reference Resources to clearly define  your research problem and gather background information. Selected resources in the WSU library are listed below.  Look on the shelves near these books; there may be similar books nearby with helpful information.

• Encyclopedia of Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E522 2000
• The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology & Behavioral Science
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E52 2001
• Encyclopedia of Human Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E5 1994
• The Concise Dictionary of Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .S62 1998
• Biographical Dictionary of Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 109 .A1 B56 1997
• Handbook of Psychological Assessment
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 176 .G76 1997
• Handbook of Counselling Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 637 .C6H315 1996
• Handbook of Social Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HM 251 .H224 1998
• Comprehensive Clinical Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  RC 467.2 .P78 1998

II. Select your search terms

• State your research topic as a thesis statement or a question:
  the effects of substance abuse on domestic violence
• Identify the separate concepts that make up your topic; put phrases in quotation marks
  "substance abuse"; "domestic violence"
• Make a list of search terms for each concept.  Be sure to include synonyms, related terms, and terms that may be broader or narrower:
  "substance abuse": "drug abuse", "drug use", alcoholism
  "domestic violence": "family violence", "child abuse", "intimate abuse"
  Contemporary Thesaurus of Search Terms and Synonymns
• Add appropriate official subject headings to your list(s):
  Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms - ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of Sociological Indexing Terms - ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors [Education] - ask at Reference Desk
  Library of Congress Subject Headings - ask at Reference Desk

III. Devise your search strategy

Based on your list(s) of search terms, devise your search strategy:

• use boolean operator OR; this tells the computer to search for all the terms at the same time:
  "substance abuse" or "drug abuse"; "domestic violence" or "family violence"
• use boolean operator AND; this tells the computer to restrict retrieval to both concepts:
  "substance abuse" and "domestic violence"
• use truncation (*) to broaden your search to include variants of a term:
  alchohol* will retrieve alcohol, alcoholic, alcoholics, alcoholism
• use parentheses to group terms combined using OR:
  ("substance abuse" or "drug abuse" or alcohol*) and ("domestic violence" or "family violence")

IV. Conduct a literature search

Finding books:

To find books, search one or more of the following library catalogs:

• WSU Stewart Library Online Catalog (iPac) - catalog for WSU's library
• Utah Library Catalogs - links to catalogs for other libraries in Utah

Be sure to check the shelves near any books you find; there may be other books with similar information nearby.

You can also find books on Psychology and related fields by browsing the shelves in the Top Level of the library in the General Collection under the following call numbers: BF [Psychology], RC [Psychiatry, Neouroscience], HV [Social Work. Criminal Justice], HM [Sociology], HQ [Family. Marriage. Women. Aging], and GN [Anthropology].

If the book you want is not available in our library, use ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system) to request the book from another library. This usually takes 4 to 7 days.

Finding articles:

To find articles, you need to use an article database, which is is a searchable database of references to journal, magazine and newspaper articles. Some article databases also include the full-text of the article.

To find scholarly journal articles in Psychology, the best place to start is PsycINFO. Some of the articles cited in PsycINFO are available as linked full text, but most are not available electronically. See Obtaining Articles below to learn how to obtain articles not available as linked full text.

Another great source for scholarly journal articles in Psychology is Academic Search Premier. It contains thousands of full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and scholarly journals, including many in Psychology and related disciplines. To limit your search to scholary journal articles in Academic Search Premier, click on the box next to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals. You may also limit your search to articles available in full-text on the computer by clicking on the box next to Full Text. The library also has access to many other Social and Behavior Sciences article databases that may include relevant articles. You can also use our News article databases to find newspaper articles by subject or keyword.

Obtaining articles: 

If the article is available in full-text in the article database you are using, download and/or print the article.

If the article is not available in full-text in the article database you are using, check the library's EJournals list to see if full-text for the journal containing the article is available in another article database. This list will also tell you if we subscribe to the journal in print format. You can also search the EJournals list by subject.

If the article is only available in print, do a Journal Alphabetical search in our Online Catalog to identify the call number for the print journal. Recent issues of magazines and journals in Psychology and related fields are found in the BF section of the Current Periodicals Area on the Middle Level of the library. Earlier issues are shelved by call number in bound volumes on the Top Level of the library.

If the article is not available either online or in print, use ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system) to request a copy of the article from another library. This usually takes 2 to 4 days.

Check the bibliography:

When you find a good book or article, be sure to check the bibliography to identify other books and articles on your subject.

Finding Internet Resources:

To find Internet resources in Psychology, an excellent place to begin is the Stewart Library's list of web resources in Psychology.  Most of the sites listed will provide links to additional sites, so explore!  Use Internet search engines to find additional information.

V. Carefully evaluate the information you find

Use the following criteria to determine if the article represents scholarly research:

• Does it include a Methods section that describes such things as the independent and dependent variables; the population studied; and the methods used?
• Does it include a Literature Review that discussed previous research on the topic?
• Does it include a Results section that provides detailed information on the results of the research, including tables, charts, etc.?
• Does it include a Discussion section that discusses the results of the research?
• Does it include an extensive Bibliography or list of References Cited?

You can also use the general criteria found on the library's Scholarly vs. Popular Articles guide to determine if the article is indeed scholarly. You should also verify this with your instructor.

Need Help?

• Visit the Reference Desk or call  626-6415 and speak to a reference librarian
• Online reference help via email:  Ask-A-Librarian Service