CPSY 381: Health Psychology (Larson)

Searching databases for journal articles is a bit more challenging than using tools such as Google Scholar. The good news is that you have a lot more control over how you design your search. This also means you should get better, more targeted results. A search for the question: Does exercise help teenage smokers change their behaviors? could look like this.

You can use an asterisk at the end of a word to retrieve various endings. For example, adolescen* will retrieve adolescent and adolescence.

Other search tips that are useful in searching APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, and APA PsycBooks:

• Age Groups: Some age groups (e.g., teens) are easy to define in a search, but the age groups feature will be a life saver for other groups (e.g., middle age).
• Methodology: The most useful choices are:
  • Empirical Study - reports the results of original research
  • Literature Review - see if someone has already examined your topic. This can save time and also provide guidance on how to write a literature review.
• Thesaurus: If you are not sure about what terms to use, the APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms is very helpful. To learn more about the thesaurus and searching with subject terms, check out the "Research Tips" page on this guide.

If the full-text of an article is not available in the database, click on the "Find It @ SCU" link to see if it's available elsewhere. If not, you can request the article via Interlibrary Loan. This is a free service and you will usually get the article in 1-2 business days.

Never pay a publisher for an article while you are a student; use your library instead!