Introduction to Psychology - Recently Updated Pages

Tools for Researching Topics in Mental Illness

sknight@ramapo.edu — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:03:39 CST

Getting Started:

Choosing a Topic

Where Do I Find Information I Need?

How Do I Evaulate Information I Found?

How Do I Develop an Annotated Bibliography?

Citing Sources

Need More Help!

Contact Shirley Knight@ sknight@ramapo.edu or 201.684.7315

Reference Desk 201.684.7574

Q&ANJ virtual chat reference

Where Do I Find the Information I Need?

sknight@ramapo.edu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:16:25 CST

Locating Books

The on line catalog provide books, journal titles NOT ARTICLES, government documents (print & electronic), e-books,reserve items, music, and movies owned by the library. You may limit a search by keyword, author, subject, language, type of material etc. This may take a few seconds to load.

Lets use keywords, author, or Subject Heading feature.

First, search the catalog using keywords to locate a broad range of material and look for resources for your topics, for example, Mental Illness

Secondly, search by author to locate material written by an expert in psychology, for example, Saks, Elyn R., writes about multiple personalities

Thirdly, search Subject Headings feature ONLY if you know the Library of Congress Subject Headings,for example:

Subject Headings
Body Image Cognition and Emotion Depression, Mental Perception Personality disorders Psychology Schizophrenia Social Psychology Stress (Psychology)

Subject Headings

Body Image
Cognition and Emotion
Depression, Mental
Perception
Personality disorders
Psychology
Schizophrenia
Social Psychology
Stress (Psychology)

TIPS to Keep in Mind

Start with broad searches. It is easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Subjects, etc. tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus on more relevant material.
You can also "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.
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Locating Articles

The library subscribes to numerous databases that are ONLY available to Ramapo students. Databases are not the internet and are the best resources to get journal
articles. See Databases and the Internet for differences.You can use them 24/7 both on and off campus. Off campus use requires your Ramapo email and password.

Suggested Databases Content

PsycInfo	Contains more than two million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, as well as related topics as sociology, anthropology
PsycArticles	A great source to use for locating full-text peer reviewed scholarly articles published by the APA and other allied organizations. Covers general and specialized psychology, basic, applied, clinical and theoritical research
Psychology Journals	Encompasses a wide-range of topics from psychology, clinical, social psychology, social welfare, criminology and more
Social Science Journals	A full-text database that provides information on hundreds of topics such as family studies, addiction and urban studies and more.
Academic Search Premier	A multidisplinary database that contains many full-text articles. May also limit to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals.

Tips for Searching Databases

Use the "Thesaurus" and "Subject Terms" tab in a database to find the best search terms to use.
Refine your search by using different terms
Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
Always use quotes around a phrase. The system searches the phrase as one word. Example: "major depression"
Use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search to help narrow and broaden a search.
AND narrows your search.Example: major depression AND Treatment
OR broadens your search. Example: major depression OR bipolar disorder
NOT eliminates search results. Example: major depression NOT treatment
Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.
"Check Availability" link to see if articles are full-text
Use Journal Finder: to find journal, magazine and newspaper full-texts articles online, in print or available on microfilm.
Get a book or an article through Interlibrary Loan if the Potter library does not own it.
Check out Ulrich's International Periodical Directory to see if a journal is Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed. Articles in these journals have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by the journal.

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Locating Web Sources

Use the following Psychology links found under Subject Resource to locate supplemental information on mental disorders.

Current Topics in Psychology:- Assembled by a practicing psychologist, this collection of articles, weblinks and research tools is organized by topics: Addiction, Attention Deficient, Bipolar Disorder, Clinical/Abnormal Psychology, Emotional Intellegience, Famil Relations etc.
Mental Health Net - Quick information on disorders, treatment, treatment facilities and more.

Other WebSite and Search Engine

National Institute of Mental Health - find national leadership information dedicated to understanding, trating, and preventing mental illness through basic research on the brain, and through clinical, epdemiological, research and more.
Ixquick MetaSearch - you can search many popular search engines at one and in ten or more languages.

Choosing a Topic

sknight@ramapo.edu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:34:49 CST

No ideas of What to write about!!

Suggestions to get you started:

Pick a behavior that interests you

Start by browsing through your class readings and notes to get ideas

Read through journals or browse the library's reference and circulating collection

If your professor provided a list of topics, choose a topic from that list
Keep a Handle on Your Research by using the Research Strategies Worksheet to track your research. Refer back to it when compiling your work cited list or as a review of what you have done and need to do. Try it now!

Record your thoughts.

Write out what you are looking for. For example, Is obsessive compulsive behavior more prevalent in adult men than women? Your key words are men, women, and obsessive compulsive behavior.

Write down everything you know and want to know about your topic
You want to start with a broad topic and began to narrow your topic as you focus on the specific area you want to research. The best way to start narrowing a topic is to consult with reference materials to get an overview of your topic, names of important authors, and references to other useful sources. Refining your topic is an ongoing process. You may need to refine your topic several times.
Limit your resources to a time frame, geography etc. (if any)
Consider how much information you need
Above all, start early to have enough time to complete your project!

The Suggested Reference Sources are located on reference stacks on the 3rd floor of the library, which is also the entrance to the library.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Handbooks	Call Numbers
Dictionary of Psychology	Ref BF 31 .C65 2006
APA Dictionary of Psychology	Ref BF 698.4 .H28 2007
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science	Ref BF 31 .E52 2001
Encyclopedia of Human Development	Ref HM 626 .E53 2006
Handbook of Personality Psychology	Ref BF 698 .H3345 1997
Handbook of Personality Disorders	Ref RC 554 .H23 2001
Blackwell handbook of Social Psychology	Ref HM 251 .B48 2001
Obesity in Childhood & Adolescence	Ref RJ 399 .C6 O3352 2008
DVDs/Films
Against My Will	Ref HV 6250.4 .A334 2002
Psychology, the Human Experience: Observational & Cognitive Approaches	Ref BF 121 .P974 2001

Citing Sources

sknight@ramapo.edu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:25:13 CST

When you use others words, charts, and graphs without documenting where you got the information, you have plagiarized!

There are Consequences!

Use these tools:

Academic Intergrity to give credit where credit is due.
Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"
Use Citing Websites and Print Sources to locate call numbers for APA style paper copies
Check out the Citing Sources tutorial for more information

How Do I Develop an Annotated Bibliography?

sknight@ramapo.edu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:08:28 CST

What's an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources in which each citation is followed by a brief paragraph that summaries, describes, and critically evalutates the source.

Your assignment is to develop an annotated bibliography categorized by a topic of your choicing using the APA citation style.

What Information Can I use to Compile One?

See How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography (Cornell University), Annotated Bibliographies (University of North Carolina), Writing an Annotation (CollegateUniversity Libraries) on criteria you should include in an annotated and examples in the APA citation style.

How Do I Evaluate What I Found?

sknight@ramapo.edu — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:58:59 CST

Reliable sources are an expectation of college level research

You want to identify and use sources that are reliable and relevant for your projects.

What Type of resource did You Use?

Get tips on criteria for Evaluating Books you used.

Check out Scholarly vs Popoular Journals to clarify whether or not you used a scholarly journal?

Use Evaluating Websites to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper

See Also, Evaluating the Internet tutorial for more information on using the