Psychology Research Guide

This guide is the starting point for identifying, locating, using, and evaluating  materials relating to Psychology in Carmichael Library, in other libraries, and on the Internet.  If you need additional assistance, please Ask a Librarian.

Finding Library Materials     
Library Catalog

The Library Catalog is often the best place to begin research. Search by author, title, subject, keyword, or a variety of other specialized searches.  

Subject headings for psychology and related subject headings, and subtopics number well over 1,000 terms. Selected major headings are listed below:

• Adolescent Psychology

• Behaviorism (Psychology)

• Child Psychology

• Counseling

• Creative Ability

• Death - Psychological aspects

• Developmental Psychology

• Dreams

• Educational Psychology

• Emotions

• Human Behavior 

• Neuropsychology

• Personality

• Psychological tests

• Psychology, Applied

• Psychology, Comparative

• Psychometrics

• Psychotherapy

• School Psychology

• Sleep 

• Stress (Psychology)

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Call Numbers

Carmichael Library uses the Library of Congress system to classify its materials.  Most books on psychology can be found in the BF (Psychology), LB (Educational psychology), or RC (psychiatry) call number ranges:

• BF1-990 Psychology 

  • BF176-BF176.5 Psychological Tests

  • BF180-BF205 Experimental Psychology

    • BF203 Gestalt psychology

  • BF408-BF449.5 Creative ability, intelligence, thought and thinking...

  • BF501-505 Motivation

  • BF511-BF593 Emotions

    • BF575.A5 Anger (Psychology)

    • BF575.S75 Stress (Psychology)

  • BF636-BF637  Psychology, Applied

    • BF 637.B4 Behavior Modification

    • BF637.C6 Counseling

  • BF660-BF678  Psychology, Comparative

  • BF698-BF698.9 Personality

  • BF712-BF724.85 Developmental Psychology

    • BF719-BF720 Infant psychology

    • BF721-BF723 Child Psychology

    • BF724 Adolescent Psychology

  • BF789.A-Z  Psychology of special subjects

    • BF789.D4 Death - Psychological aspects

• BF1001-BF1389 Parapsychology

  • BF1048-BF1108 Hallucinations, Sleep, Dreaming, Visions

  • BF1111-BF1156 Hypnotism, Suggestion...

• LB1027.55 School Psychology

• LB1050.9-LB1091 Educational Psychology

• LB3051-LB3060.87 Educational Tests and Measurements

• RC321-571 Neurology and Psychiatry

  • RC475-RC489 Psychotherapy

  • RC500-RC510 Psychoanalysis

  • RC554-RC569.5 Personality disorders

  • RC569.7-RC571 Mental retardation

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Reference Materials

Selected psychology and psychology related reference books in Carmichael Library are listed below:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (2001).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Ref BF76.7 P83 2001). Style manual recommended by many education and social science disciplines. Library has three copies in reference. In addition, the Library's home page links to Purdue University's writing center where you will find explanations and examples. In addition, you can link to APA's electronic references to determine how to cite electronic media.   

• Corsini, R. J. (1999). Dictionary of psychology. Philadelphia, PA : Brunner/Mazel. (Ref BF31.C72 1999). One volume illustrated dictionary.

• Kazdin, A. E., ed. (2000). Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association; Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press. (Ref BF31.E52 2000). Eight volume encyclopedia with more than 1500 entries includes some 400 biographical sketches. Scholarly articles are signed  include bibliographies.

• Roeckelein, J. E. (1998). Dictionary of theories, laws and concepts in psychology. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press. (Ref BF31.R625 1998). More than 1,200 entries for terms concerning laws, theories, hypotheses, doctrines, principles, and effects in the early and contemporary psychological literature. Entries include definitions, commentary and sources. 

• Erwin, E., ed. (2002). The Freud encyclopedia: theory, therapy and culture. New York : Routledge. (Ref BF173.F6176 2002). "A useful reference for students and others who need an introduction to the influence Freud has had on all modern cultures."

• Wilson, R. A. and Keil, F. C., eds. (1999). The MIT encyclopedia of the cognitive sciences. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press. (Ref BF311 .M556 1999). Long essays with references on the cognitive sciences.

• The Mental measurements yearbook. (1941-date). Highland Park, N.J.: The Mental measurements yearbook. (Ref BF431.M46 Year). Produced by the Buros Institute, contains fulltext information about and reviews of all English-language standardized tests covering educational skills, personality, vocational aptitude, psychology, and related areas. The Mental measurements yearbook is also available online; from the Library's homepage, select Databases, then link to this database. This database product contains data from Yearbooks 9 to the present.

• Levinson, D., Ponsetti, J. J. and Jorgensen, P. F., eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of human emotions. New York : Macmillan Reference USA. (Ref BF531 .E55 1999). Two volume encyclopedia with extensive articles that are signed and include illustrations and references.

• Damon, W., ed. (1998). Handbook of child psychology. New York : Wiley. (Ref BF721 .H242 1998). Four volume set:  v.1 - Theoretical models of human development; v.2 - Cognition, perception, and language; v.3 - Social, emotional, and personality development; v.4 - Child psychology in practice.

• Carskadon, M. A., ed. (1993) Encyclopedia of sleep and dreaming. New York : Macmillan. (Ref BF1078 .E63 1993). Signed articles discuss "medical, biological and psychological facets of sleep and dreaming." Many include references.

• Berliner, D. C. and Calfee, R. C. (1996). Handbook of educational psychology.  New York : Macmillan. (Ref LB1051 .H2354 1996). Organized in five sections, signed articles are encyclopedic in nature, with references following that discuss educational psychology theories, research and methodologies.

• Reynolds, C. R. and Gutkin, T. B., eds. (1999). The Handbook of school psychology. New York: Wiley. (LB1051 .H2356 1999).

• Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders : DSM-IV-TR. (2000). Washington, DC : American Psychiatric Association. (Ref RC455.2.C4 D54 2000). Text updated from 1992 edition. 

• Noll, R. (2000).  The Encyclopedia of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. New York: Facts on File. (Ref RC 514. N63 2000). Covers and defines terms for schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. Most entries include "carefully chosen reference sources."

• Doctor, R. M. and Kahn, A. P. (2000). The encyclopedia of phobias, fears, and anxieties. New York: Facts on File. (Ref  RC535 .D63 2000) Defines, gives historical background (when appropriate), and includes some bibliographic references. 

• Cassell, D. K. and Gleaves, D. H. The encyclopedia of obesity and eating disorders.  New York: Facts on File. (Ref RC552.E18 C37 2000). One volume encyclopedia, with definitions ranging from short paragraphs to multi-page entries. Many include references.

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Journals and Periodicals
Journals and periodicals are listed in the Library's Main Catalog under their individual titles (e.g. American Psychologist, Journal of Personality, etc.) and also under appropriate subject headings followed by the subdivision - Periodicals (e.g. Psychology - Periodicals).  

To determine the contents (titles and authors of articles in journals) of each journal, you will need to consult one of the online databases or periodical indexes such as PsycINFO, Expanded Academic ASAP, etc. 

Carmichael Library receives many of its psychology journal subscriptions in print (i.e., paper). Others may be accessed  electronically via one of our subscription databases. Current journal issues are filed on the main floor until they are bound and in some cases replaced with microfiche. Bound periodicals are shelved on the Ground Floor in alphabetical order. Periodicals on microfiche may be found in the microfiche cabinets on the Main Floor of Carmichael. They are filed in alphabetical order by journal title, then by volume and issue in the microfiche cabinets. 

Below is a selected list of Psychology journals currently received by Carmichael Library.  

• American journal of psychiatry

• American journal of psychology

• American psychologist

• Cognitive development

• Cognitive psychology

• Developmental psychology

• Journal of abnormal psychology

• Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology

• Journal of clinical psychology

• Journal of experimental psychology: General

• Journal of experimental psychology: Human Perception

• Journal of experimental psychology: Learning

• Journal of personality

• Omega

• Psychological bulletin

• Psychological review

• Psychology of women quarterly

• Teaching of psychology

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Electronic Resources
Databases

Electronic access to journal articles is available from the Databases  page.  [From the Library 's Home page (http://www.montevallo.edu/library), select  "Databases by Name".] Most databases can be searched using author, title or subject in either basic or advanced search formats. The results of a search will include either a citation, a citation and abstract, or a citation, abstract and full text of the article depending on the database searched.

Listed below are databases pertaining to Psychology that are available from the Databases page.  You can access these, and other databases, from the Databases by name page or the Databases by subject page.

Please click on database of interest:

• PsycINFO contains more than one million citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports, all in the field of psychology. Journal coverage from 1887 to present, includes international material from more than 1,700 periodicals in many languages. It also includes information about the psychological aspects of related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law.

The PsycINFO version offered by Montevallo is produced by EBSCO. To access selected full text journal articles in PsycINFO, click on the "Linked Full Text" link. Full text article links are limited to UM's data base subscriptions from EBSCO such as Academic Search Premier, etc.. Additional full text articles may be accessed by clicking on the "Check library catalog for holdings."

• Mental Measurements Yearbook produced by the Buros Institute, contains fulltext information about and reviews of all English-language standardized tests covering educational skills, personality, vocational aptitude, psychology, and related areas as included in the printed Mental Measurements Yearbooks. This database product contains data from Yearbooks 9 through 15.

• Expanded Academic ASAP This database contains many psychology or psychology related journals that may be full text. 

Additional information about specific databases is available at each database site. 

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Internet Links
Please click on web link of interest: 

• Careers in Psychology This online brochure is produced by the American Psychological Association. "It is intended to help answer your questions about what working in psychology is like and what educational requirements are needed. It also covers the differences among the various degrees available in psychology, types of careers, and what psychologists do."

• Current Topics in Psychology Site maintained by Dr. Michael Fenichel, a clinical psychologist. He has assembled "some of the best articles, websites and research tools." His web page is divided into two sections: Psychology Reference Guide and the Quick Reference Guide. Regularly updated.

• Encyclopedia of  Psychology The Encyclopedia of Psychology is intended to facilitate browsing in any many areas of psychology and is maintained and hosted by Jacksonville State University in Florida. Provides links to about 2000 sites. It is updated regularly.

• Psych Central is a "one-stop index for psychology, support, and mental health issues, resources, and people on the Internet, since 1992. Nothing here is meant to replace professional advice or care from a licensed mental health practitioner." Site is developed and maintained by John M. Grohol, clinical psychologist.

• PsychCrawler^® "is a product of the American Psychological Association created to provide quick access to quality content in the field of psychology."

• Psychology Web Links by Topic Site is maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University.

• Psych Web Resources This web site "contains lots of psychology-related information for students and teachers of psychology." Psych Web was created by Russell A. Dewey, PhD, Georgia Southern University.

• Social Psychology Network Site is maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University. It is "the largest social psychology database on the Internet. In these pages, you'll find more than 5,000 links related to psychology."

• Yahoo! - Psychology Directory of internet resources maintained by Yahoo!

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Additional Resources
Associations
Please click on association of interest:

• American Psychological Association "Promotes research and represents the professional interests of psychologists in the United States."

• American Psychiatric Association "The world's largest psychiatric organization -- represents over 38,000 psychiatric physicians from the U.S. and around the globe."

• Psychological Associations "Google Directory of Psychology Associations by category with links to web pages."

• American Psychological Society  "Professional organization for the advancement of scientifically oriented psychology."

• American Counseling Association "Promotes the counseling profession through work in advocacy, research and professional standards...."

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Additional Research Guides
Please click to select item of interest: 

• Classics in the History of Psychology This site was developed and is maintained at York University in Toronto by Christopher D. Green. "One of the primary goals of the "Classics" web site is to encourage instructors of history of psychology courses to assign primary source reading to their students."

• Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs and Body Language Cues An online dictionary developed by David B. Givens at the Center for Nonverbal Studies.  

• The Phobia List An indexed listing of phobias, compiled by Robert Haining. Compiled from various dictionaries and reference books.

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Government Resources
Click to link to appropriate resource below: 

• National Institute of Mental Health This "website provides information from the Federal agency that conducts and supports research on mental illnesses. ... Description: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of various mental illnesses. Included are brochures and information..."

• Medline Plus Mental health and behavior topics with links to drug information, encyclopedia, dictionary, directories and other resources.

• ERIC "ERIC is a national information system funded by the US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide access to education literature and resources." Many psychology topics are covered extensively by this database. Carmichael Library subscribes to ERIC (EBSCOHost) database.

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