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PSYC 2301: Sledge

This guide exists to help you research and cite your sources for the mental health project.

Finding journal articles on mental health disorders

Recommended databases

Most of these databases have options to limit your search results to full text and scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals. Be sure to check those options so you can limit results to journal articles you can read in full!

Database search tips

Use individual, descriptive keywords instead of lots of terms together. A Basic Search with all your terms grouped as a phrase might not work so well:

 

           

         

So try an Advanced Search and enter one keyword or phrase per line. You should see a big difference in the number of results:

 

 

 

Most databases have options to limit search results to full text, scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals, and by date. Be sure to use those options to limit results to journal articles from the last 5 years you can read in full.

 

 

Without limiters checked, we have 210 results. After setting our limiters, we go down to 42 results. Fewer to sort through, and they fulfill our journal and date requirements:

 

 

 

Take the time to read abstracts of the articles to see what they're about before you commit to reading the entire article. To find a primary research study, remember to look for words like study, objectives, methods, participants, n =, trial, results, etc. 

 

This is an example of an abstract that is not a primary research article:

 

And here's an example of one that is a primary research article. Notice words like "results," "the aim of this study," and "methods/design." 

 

 

 

When you find articles that look relevant to your topic, use the tools in the database to work with the articles: email them to yourself, download or print them, and grab the automatic citation in APA. It will save you time in the long run!