Psychology Research Guide

Assignment Quick Reference

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Step 1: Plan Your Strategy

Don't just start typing keywords. Plan your approach first.

Break down your topic into main concepts:

• What are the 2-3 main ideas in your research question?
• What synonyms or related terms could you use?
• How will you combine them?

Example Topic: Social media's impact on adolescent mental health

• Concept 1: "social media" (OR "social networking" OR Instagram) ► 42,080 Results (!)
Concept 2: adolescents (OR teenagers OR "high school students") ► 603,703 Results (!!)
• Concept 3: "mental health" (OR stress OR anxiety) ► 1,288,400 Results (!!!)
• Combined: ("social media" OR "social networking" OR Instagram) AND (adolescents OR teenagers OR "high school students") AND ("mental health" OR anxiety OR stress) ► 1,174 Results 
•  

Step 2: Use Subject Headings (PsycINFO's Secret Weapon!)

Subject headings are official tags that psychology experts have assigned to each article.

Why subject headings matter: Instead of searching for words that just happen to appear in articles, you're searching for what psychology experts determined each article is actually about.

How to use them:

• Start with keyword search to explore
• Try searching using "Subjects - SU" field instead of "All Fields"
• For age groups, use a filter instead of a subject heading (see below)

Step 3: Use Additional Filters

  Your research topic is specifically about adolescents.

Where to find it in PsycINFO:  Look for the All Filters button under the search field. Then look for the "Age" options.

  Your assignment requires peer-reviewed articles only.

Where to find it in PsycINFO: Look for the "Scholarly (Peer-reviewed)" button under the search field.

  Your assignment requires at least 4 empirical studies (original research with data collection and analysis).

What Makes an Article "Empirical"?

Look for these keywords in the abstract:

• Methods, methodology, procedure
• Participants, subjects, sample (with numbers)
• Data collection, survey, experiment, interview
• Results, findings, analysis
• Statistics, correlation, significant difference

What is NOT Empirical?

• Literature reviews (summaries of other research)
• Meta-analyses (statistical summaries of multiple studies)
• Theoretical articles (ideas without new data)
• Opinion pieces or editorials

Examples

EMPIRICAL Example: "This study examined the relationship between social media use and anxiety in college students. 234 participants completed surveys measuring social media usage and anxiety levels. Results showed a significant positive correlation (r=.43, p<.01)..."

NOT EMPIRICAL Example:
"This literature review examines current theories about social media's impact on mental health. Previous research suggests several potential mechanisms..."

Getting Better Results in PsycINFO

Too many results?

• Use subject headings instead of just keywords
• Combine multiple concepts with AND
• Try more specific terms
• Use filters (age groups, methodology, etc.)

Too few results?

• Use broader, more general terms
• Try synonyms (anxiety = stress, worry, fear) combined with OR
• Remove some search terms
• Check spelling

Results don't look relevant?

• Make sure you're using psychology-specific subject headings
• Try searching in "Subjects - SU" field instead of "All fields"
• Look at good results and see what subject headings they use

APA Style Required

• Use PsycINFO's built-in citation tool -- but *always* compare the original article to the output
• Try Zbib from Zotero -- but *always* compare the original article to the output
• Learn more at Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA Style (7th Edition)