Psychology Professors Saterfield  

Reading your Article

These articles are often very difficult to read! Here are strategies to help:

·         Re-read abstract

·         Ask your professor

·         Search for a “review” article

·         Ask classmates

·         Do more background reading using your textbook, encyclopedias and dictionaries, online and in print

Using Your Article

Cite your source using a format APA (American Psychological Association):

Diana Hacker APA style website

Use the APA style website itself!

Citation Builder:  enter the information for your source (author, journal title, date, etc.) and this website will create a citation for you in any style.

Ask a librarian for help!

Scholarly articles are written by experts in the field and, additionally, reviewed by a panel experts in the field.  They tend to include a lot of research and data, and the information in the article is backed up by a list of references. 

Example of a Journal with Scholarly Articles

Popular articles are often written by journalists for a general audience and are not reviewed by experts in the field.  Popular articles rarely include references.

Example of a Magazine with Popular Articles

For more detailed information on what a scholarly article looks like, see the excellent tutorial Anatomy of a Scholarly Article.

A few of my favorite advanced search techniques:

• When you find an article you like, look at the left margin to see how it is classified. Other similar articles might be available under "related subjects", although they might not be full-text or peer-reviewed.
• Limit to a particular journal
• "within" search can be useful, but be careful

Finding Scholarly, Refereed Articles on Psychology

• Start at the Library homepage:  www.canadacollege.edu/library
• Locating Articles
• On or Off Campus (Off campus, you'll need your library card number and PIN -- the last 4 digits of your phone number)
• Academic OneFile
• Advanced Search
• Limit to Full Text
• Limit to Peer-Reviewed Publications
• Limit to Subject. Begin typing "psychology" and then select specific subject
• Print or e-mail

Other advanced tips:

• Limit to specific journals. Example: If you like soccer, find a journal on sports psychology and then search within it for "soccer" 
• Type your words (Not too many) (Use asterisk to “truncate” for example musc* will get muscular, muscle, muscles, muscularity)

Next try searching psychology journals in JSTOR. 

• Go to Advanced Search
• Scroll down to select Psychology under "Narrow by discipline and/or publication title." 
• Search through the results.  If you see something that interests Email yourself the citation. JSTOR will send you a stable URL link to a PDF of the article. 

Using a database off campus? You need a library card from any library in San Mateo County. Don't have one? Get one at the library!

It's a 2 step process.

Step 1: In-Text citation in the body of your paper:

BASIC FORMAT FOR A QUOTATION

Ordinarily, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last name followed by the year of publication in parentheses. Put the page number (preceded by “p.”) in parentheses after the quotation.

Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight
Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in
ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor
and the young” (p. 5).

If the author is not named in the signal phrase, place the author’s name, the year, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation: (Critser, 2003, p. 5).

NOTE: APA style requires the year of publication in an in-text citation. Do not include a month, even if the source is listed by month and year

According to Carmona (2004), the cost of treating obesity is
exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use
(para. 9).

The cost of treating obesity is exceeded only by the cost of treat-
ing illnesses from tobacco use (Carmona, 2004, para. 9).

For more information on in-text citation in APA style, see Diana Hacker.

Step 2: Your references, listed at the end of your paper:

ARTICLE FROM A DATABASE

 To cite an article from a library’s subscription database, include the publication information from the source (see items 7–12). If the article has a DOI (digital object identifier), give that number at the end and do not include the database name. If there is no DOI, include the name of the database and the document number assigned by the database, if any.

 Holliday, R. E., & Hayes, B. K. (2000). Dissociating automatic and
   intentional processes in children’s eyewitness memory. Journal of
   Experimental Child Psychology, 75(1), 1-42. doi:10.1006/jecp.1999.2521

Howard, K. R. (2007). Childhood overweight: Parental perceptions and readiness for change. The Journal of School Nursing, 23(2), 73-79 Retrieved from PsycINFO database. (2007-05057-003)

For more information on creating a list of references in APA style, see Diana Hacker.

Gale Virtual Reference Library is a GREAT starting place! It's a collection of encyclopedias online.

 I love encyclopedias? Why? Because an encyclopedia gives me a starting point. It gives me the big picture.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

If you are at home, you will need your library card number.

You can also search individual encyclopedias, such as  The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology

Dave Patterson, Librarian 
pattersond@smccd.edu
(650) 306-3476

About the Library

Website: http://www.canadacollege.edu/library

Phone: (650) 306-3267

Hours:

Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm,

Fridays 8am-3pm

Library Services

Textbooks on Reserve – Ask at the front desk. Usually only for using in the library for 2 hours.

Computers – The library has over 40 free-use computers. Just sit down and start!

Getting a Library Card

• You can use any San Mateo County library card at Cañada College Library

• With a library card you can place holds on books, CDs, DVDs and more and pick them up at Cañada College Library

Gale Virtual Reference Library is a GREAT starting place! It's a collection of encyclopedias online.

 I love encyclopedias? Why? Because an encyclopedia gives me a starting point. It gives me the big picture.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

If you are at home, you will need your library card number.

An easy to read encyclopedia is called UXL American Decades. To find it:

• Go to advanced search
• Type keyword: examples "jazz" or "black power"
• Publication Title: "uxl"