This document provides an overview of resources and search tips for the John F. Reed Library website, including searching the library catalog and databases, using keywords, boolean operators, and other search techniques to efficiently find scholarly sources for psychology topics. It also discusses how to save, export, and cite sources using EndNote Online and the APA citation style. Help from a librarian is available for any additional research or citation questions.

1. PSYC 200
Psychology as a Major & Profession
Library Instruction Session
Valeria Skarbek
Electronic Resources Librarian
Reed 141, x7424
vaskarbek@fortlewis.edu

2. Overview
1. Introduction
2. Overview of John F. Reed Library Website
3. Searching Tips and Electronic Resources
4. Tricks and Tips for searching the PsycINFO database
5. Finding Full-Text Articles Outside of FLC Databases
6. Help with Collecting and Citing Sources
7. APA citation format overview
8. Reference Help

3. library.fortlewis.edu
1. Catalog: items in our
collection which
include books, eBooks,
DVDs, audio, streaming
videos, etc.
2. Research Guides:
Library created guides
to support academic
programs and provide
citation help.
Psychology
3. Class Reserves:
Textbooks on reserve;
can search by course
name, number, or
faculty name.
4. Library Info: Our hours,
ways to reach us, FAQs,
etc.

4. Searching Reed Library Resources
1. Library Engine:
Searches many, but
not all, of our
databases.
 Most of the best
resources for
Psychology topics
are located in EBSCO
databases.
 Library Engine will
search all EBSCO
databases or you
can choose specific
databases.

5. Searching Reed Library Resources2. Databases:
 Choose a subject (ex.
Psychology) or browse by
database title.
 Some databases must be
searched separately because
their results do not appear in
Library Engine Searches.
*ScienceDirect results now appear in
Library Engine results!
 If the database name has
(EBSCO) after it, those results
will appear in Library Engine
searches but some databases
are better searched separately
for more functionality. Ex.
PsycINFO, PsycBOOKS
In PsycBOOKS, you can search all text within books if you
choose to search the database by itself but this does not
work if you search in the combined database.

6. Searching Reed Library Resources
3. Databases good for
Psychology searches:
 “Best Bets!” are listed
at the top.
 These are databases
where you are more likely
to find helpful resources
for that subject.
 Non-EBSCO databases
you might search
separately for Psychology
topics include:
Web of Science
 JSTOR

7. Quick Tips for Efficient Searching: Keywords
Before you search, think of the words or concepts of great significance to your topic and
how to connect them so the library’s databases understand what you want.
Ex. psychology in Hollywood movies
 You can limit your
results to:
 Peer
Reviewed/Scholarly
Journals (see box)
 Full Text (the entire
article, not just the
abstract)
 Published Date
(sometimes you’ll need
recent articles or
historical ones)
Peer reviewed or scholarly articles are written by experts
for the purpose of sharing original research or analyzing
others' findings. They are reviewed by several other
experts in that field before the article is published in the
journal in order to insure the article's quality.

8. Efficient Searching: Quotation Marks
 In EBSCO, if you type in multiple keywords, they are searched in the order in which
they are entered.
 Use quotation marks “ ” when you have a specific phrase or title or when you want to
search words in a specific order. Ex. “Girl, Interrupted” movie psychology

9. Efficient Searching: BOOLEAN Operators - AND
Once you have keywords, you need to connect them with Boolean operators so the
database understands how they’re related.
 Boolean Operators connect and define the relationship between keywords
 AND – all search terms must be present. Use for narrowing your search because the
results should have to do with both search terms.
Ex. Piaget AND puberty
Piaget puberty

10. Efficient Searching: BOOLEAN Operators - OR
 OR – any of the search terms can be present. Use with synonyms to broaden your
search.
 OR gives you more results. In this case, using “teen development” OR “adolescent
development” expands your search, because you could have results about teen
development, adolescent development, or both of those terms.
“teen
development”
“adolescent
development”

11. Efficient Searching: BOOLEAN Operators - NOT
 NOT – excludes search terms.
 You won’t have to use NOT as much, but it’s really helpful for excluding results that
are problematic. If you’re interested in adolescent development and want nothing to do
with child development, NOT can fix that.
“adolescent
development”
“child
development”

12. Efficient Searching: Truncation
 Truncation searches a keyword stem
 Truncation is a great way to search for all of the words that start with the same stem
at once. It’s a more efficient way to search than trying to remember if you’ve searched
for educate or educational yet.
Adoles*

13. PsycINFO Search Tricks and Tips
• Enter your search string: ex. “Beck Depression Inventory” AND psychometric* AND adolescent

14. PsycINFO Search Tricks and Tips
• Click box above search field: “Suggest Subject Terms” and related terms will appear.

15. PsycINFO Search Tricks and Tips
• Use the Thesaurus to help you figure out what search term to use.

16. PsycINFO Search Tricks and Tips
• If you click on the term in blue, the Thesaurus will show you the year the term was
introduced, broader terms, related terms, and what the term is used for in this database.

17. Finding the article
1st Check the database record thoroughly. Sometimes links are at the bottom.
2nd Google Scholar - a Web search engine that specifically searches scholarly literature and
academic resources
 Use Google Scholar to search for the article title in quotation marks. If the article can be
accessed through FLC’s resources, a link will appear next to it.
*Go to “G” in the FLC list of databases to ensure your search links to FLC resources.
• Not available,
request
through ILL. • Available- click the link
to access the article.

18. If you can’t find the full-text of an article
 You can request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
 ILL allows patrons to obtain materials not available in our local collection.
 Enter your FLC CAS logon and password. Use your FLC email address to create your ILL account.

19. If you can’t find a book
 If you can’t find a book in our catalog, first check Prospector then MOBIUS before using ILL.
 For more info and FAQs, please visit http://subjectguides.fortlewis.edu/faqs/prospectorill

20. Collecting your sources: Save in a safe place!
• Enter your search string: ex. "Girl, Interrupted" AND "borderline personality“ and choose
limit to Peer Reviewed/Scholarly Journals
• Click the folder icon to collect
results then export them at once.

21. Ways to save your article and its citation
• Always double-check the citations. They are not
always formatted correctly.
• You can add the permalink to your citation.
• Email to self or export
to EndNote Online

22. EndNote Online:
 EndNote is a software
program available to FLC
students. You can export and
import citations directly into
EndNote Online.
 EndNote can store, recall, and
cite bibliographic information
in your chosen style for
composing research papers.
 Go to the Reed Library
website under “How Do I?” >
Use EndNote Online

23. EndNote:
 To create an
account, click
“Sign up” and be
sure to use your
FLC email address
for your account.

24. Setting up APA format in EndNote Online:
• Go to Format > Bibliography and choose your references and Bibliographic
style: APA 6th – Sentence Case (so it capitalizes the article title correctly).
• You can choose to Save, Email, or Preview to copy and paste citations into
Word.

25. Citation Research Guide: APA format

26. Need more help?
Contact a librarian 
 Stop by the Reference desk (especially for search and APA format help)
 Give us a call at 970-247-7551
 Schedule an appointment with a librarian (30 minute sessions)
 Email us at library@fortlewis.edu
Chat with us! Click the icon below.