Recommended databases for locating primary research or review articles related to psychology are listed under the Articles tab.
Some general strategies:
- Pick 2-3 keywords or phrases to represent your research question. Type these keywords or phrases into the search box(es) for the database you select.
- Skim the first page of your search results.
- If most or all of the articles look as if they would address your research question, you can start downloading full text or requesting articles through interlibrary loan.
- If you would like to improve your search results, skim your results to find one or two articles that look most promising. Look at the information for those articles to see what subject headings or descriptors are used to describe the content of the articles, then start a new search using those subject terms.
- Download the articles. If you do not see a PDF or HTML icon or link next to the article abstract or citation, click
, then click on the "View Full Text" or "Journal" link. If full text is not available, or the UW Print Collection is your only option, click on the Interlibrary Loan icon. Library staff will scan and email the print article to you if we have it, or the library will get the full text from another library and email it to you--usually within 1-3 days.