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DCTC Library | Research Guides | Psychology Subject Guide

Psychology Subject Guide

Getting Started | Finding Books | Finding Articles | Web Sites | Reference Librarian

Getting Started: Handbooks, Textbooks and Reference Works

As you begin your research, refer to books such as these for an overview, background information, and definition of terms.

General

APA dictionary of psychology. American Psychological Association.
REFERENCE BF31 .V295 2006

Concise encyclopedia of psychology. 2nd ed. Raymond J. Corsini and Alan J. Auerbach, eds.
REFERENCE BF31 .C67 1998

Development across the life span. 4th ed. Robert S. Feldman.
MAIN BF713 .F45 2006

Foundations of health psychology. Howard S. Friedman and Roxane Cohen Silver, eds.
MAIN R726.7 .F68 2007

The Gale encyclopedia of psychology. 2nd ed. Bonnie Strickland, ed.
REFERENCE BF31 .G5 2001

Handbook of psychology. Irving B. Weiner, ed. Wiley, 2003.
Multi-volume eBook set, available through NetLibrary.

The Oxford companion to the mind. Richard L. Gregory, ed.
REFERENCE BF31 .O94 2004

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed.
REFERENCE BF76.6 .P83 2001
A style manual for writing papers in the fields of psychology and other social sciences.

Writing papers in psychology. 7th ed. Ralph L. Rosnow and Mimi Rosnow.
MAIN BF76.7 .R67 2006

Child and Adolescent

The Cambridge encyclopedia of human growth and development.
REFERENCE QP84 .C26 1998

Child development. 3rd ed. Robert S. Feldman.
OVERSIZE HQ767.9 .F43 2004

Handbook of educational psychology. David C. Berliner and Robert C. Calfee.
REFERENCE LB1051 .H2354 1996

Seeing young children: a guide to observing and recording behavior. 5th ed. Warren R. Bentzen.
MAIN BF722 .B46 2005

Adult and Geriatric

Adult development and aging. 4th ed. John C. Cavanaugh and Fredda Blanchard-Fields Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
MAIN BF724.5 .C38 2002

Adult development and aging. 5th ed. William J. Hoyer and Paul A. Roodin. McGraw-Hill.
MAIN BF724.5 .R9 2003

Abnormal

Abnormal psychology: an introduction. 2nd ed. V. Mark Durand and David H. Barlow.
OVERSIZE RC454 .D87 2000

Abnormal psychology: the problem of maladaptive behavior. 9th ed. Irwin G. Sarason and Barbara R. Sarason.
OVERSIZE RC454 .S28 1999

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Text Revision. (DSM-IV-TR)
REFERENCE RC455.2 .C4D536 2000

Videos & DVDs

The biological mind. 3 videodiscs.
AUDIOVISUAL RA785 .S47 2006
v.1 Seriously stressed; v.2 Deeply depressed; v.3. Acutely anxious.
This three-part series combines case histories with expert commentary and 3-D animations to explore the mind/body connection as it relates to these illnesses.

Discovering psychology: updated edition. 4 videodiscs. Annenberg/CPB.
AUDIOVISUAL BF131 .D55 2001
Highlights major new developments in the field, offering an overview of classic and current theories of human behavior.

Raising Cain: exploring the inner lives of America's boys.
AUDIOVISUAL HQ775 R357564 2006

The world of abnormal psychology. 2 videocassettes. Annenberg/CPB.
AUDIOVISUAL RC443 .W6 1991

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Finding Books

Begin your search with MnPALS, our online catalog. MnPALS provides access to books, audiovisual materials, eBooks, and other resources available at DCTC and at other libraries in the MnPALS system. Our books and audiovisual materials are organized according to Library of Congress call numbers. Items not available from the DCTC Library can be requested online through interlibrary loan (ILL).

The best way to begin a search in MnPALS is to enter one or two keywords on your topic. To focus your search, find the most relevant records in your results and look at their subject headings. MnPALS displays subject headings as links and clicking on them will begin a search for that particular topic.

MnPALS includes the titles of our magazine and journal subscriptions but does not provide the articles themselves. To search for articles, see the Finding Articles section below.

Sample subject headings for psychology:

psychology
developmental psychology
psychology, pathological
child psychology
sex differences (psychology)
child psychology
personality disorders
adulthood
aging

Most books about psychology are shelved in call numbers beginning with BF. Some books about abnormal psychology, however, are in call numbers beginning with RC (internal medicine). You can browse those shelves for additional books.

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Finding Articles

Use periodical indexes and databases to locate articles, reports, and other documents on your topic. Most of these resources provide full-text articles, which you can print, save, or e-mail. We also have print subscriptions to some magazines and journals that aren't available electronically. We keep the current year and three previous years of most magazine and journal issues. If an article you need is not available at the DCTC Library in either print or electronic format, you can request the article from another library through interlibrary loan (ILL).

Periodical Indexes & Databases

PsycARTICLES (1894 - Present)
PsycARTICLES provides full-text articles from 66 journals published by the American Psychological Association and other associations.

EBSCO MegaFILE (1865 - Present)
EBSCO MegaFILE indexes nearly 24,000 publications and provides full text for over 19,100 publications. EBSCO MegaFILE covers virtually all subjects and includes biographies, company profiles, primary source documents, and images. EBSCO MegaFILE combines four EBSCO indexes and databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier, and Regional Business News.

PubMed (1965 - Present)
PubMed lets you search more than 16 million bibliographic citations and abstracts in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and preclinical sciences.

Access World News (1977 - Present)
Access World News provides full text articles from more than 2,000 newspapers, wire services, and broadcast transcripts from all over the world.

ProQuest Newspapers (1980 - Present)
ProQuest Newspapers provides full text articles from nearly 700 newspapers and wire services from all over the world.

Journals

Developmental Psychology
Indexed with full text from 1985 to present in PsycARTICLES.

Health Psychology: the official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association
Indexed with full text from 1993 to present in PsycARTICLES.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Indexed with full text from 1985 to present in PsycARTICLES.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Indexed with full text from 1981 to present in PsycARTICLES.

Psychology Today
Indexed from January 1, 1984, with full text from January 1, 1992 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE.

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Web Sites

American Psychological Association

Current Topics in Psychology
This directory is a well-organized, quick reference collection of articles, Web sites, and research tools. The page is divided between a section listing more comprehensive resources (Web of Addiction, PsychCrawler, Exploratorium's Memory, etc.) and a section of links to more specific topics (articles on ergonomics, Internet addiction, etc.). Maintained by a clinical psychologist.

Encyclopedia of Psychology
Links to psychology sites on the Web divided into various categories such as Environment Behavior Relationships , People and History , and Paradigms and Theories . There are also links to psychological organizations and publications and a section on careers in the field of psychology. Available in nine languages. From the Department of Psychology, Jacksonville (Alabama) State University.

Facts for Families
A collection of over 80 brief fact sheets developed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on various issues relating to childhood and adolescence. Topics include child abuse, child and adolescent development, medical health and disease, mental health and disorders, media issues, parenting and family problems, and sexuality issues. Reports are available in several languages.

Web sites and annotations from Librarians' Internet Index.

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Reference Librarian

The DCTC Library's Reference Librarian is

Barbara Tuttle
651-423-8345

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or for additional help with your research.

This page is maintained by Michael Kirby and Barbara Tuttle.
Last updated: October 25, 2007.