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*Psychology Research

This guide provides an overview of key databases, search strategies, and information on the different types of psychological material you may encounter.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Subject headings are a "controlled vocabulary," an organized list of terms assigned to database resources that assist in organizing all resources. 

The most common subject headings are created and maintained by the Library of Congress, which are sometimes referred to as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Most databases use LCSH to organize resources, which is why they can act as possible keywords or phrases.

If you are searching for medical and health sciences literature, those resources are organized using Medical Subject Headings or MeSH terms. MeSH terms work similarly to the Library of Congress Subject Headings. 

To search by subject headings:

  • Make sure to use the exact, complete subject heading to return results if you are using the 'subject heading' or 'subject' field. 
  • Check to see if the database has a thesaurus or subject list. You can enter your keyword, and it will provide the subject heading that you can use instead.
  • Subject headings are listed on the details page for individual items. Clicking on one of the subjects listed for a particular article or citation will display all items that also use that subject heading.

Using Classification Codes in PsycINFO

This video explains how to use classification codes in APA PsycInfo on the EBSCO platform to refine your research. Classification codes group articles, book chapters, and dissertations by broad subject categories. They're useful when you have too many search results or want to focus on a specific subfield.

Limiting Your Results By Methodology

This video provides a guide on how to use the methodology limiter in APA PsycInfo to find journal articles that use a specific study design. Although the video provides a demonstration in a different database, EBSCO also provides the same type of methodology limiter.