Product Overview: APA PsycINFO
Introduction
APA PsycINFO is the premier abstracting and indexing database in the behavioral and social sciences, provided by the American Psychological Association (APA). For over 55 years, it has been the most trusted index of psychological science globally, supporting the research needs of students, scientists, and educators across a wide range of disciplines.
Key Features
Comprehensive Coverage
- APA PsycINFO boasts an extensive collection of more than 5,000,000 peer-reviewed records, spanning 600 years of content. It includes citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, technical reports, and dissertations.
- The database covers literature from the 1800s to the present, making it a valuable resource for both historical and cutting-edge research.
Interdisciplinary Scope
- PsycINFO is not limited to psychology; it also covers related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, criminology, social science, business, and organizational behavior. This broad subject coverage makes it an indispensable tool for interdisciplinary research.
Advanced Search Capabilities
- Users can leverage advanced search features, including the use of Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), asterisks (*) for wildcard searches, and exact phrase searches using quotation marks. These tools enable precise and focused searches, enhancing the efficiency of research.
Controlled Vocabulary
- The database utilizes the APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, a controlled vocabulary that helps users find relevant articles by navigating a hierarchy of terms. This thesaurus includes narrower, broader, and related terms, as well as scope notes and used-for notes, to refine searches.
Personalized Research Assistance
- APA PsycINFO integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide a personalized research assistant. This feature helps users monitor trends, explore content analytics, and access full-text articles with one-click convenience.
Multilingual and Global Content
- The database includes research in 30 languages from 50 countries, making it a global resource. It indexes records from over 2,400 journals and updates its content twice-weekly to ensure users have access to the latest research.
Additional Functionality
- PsycINFO allows users to restrict searches by various criteria such as date published, language, age of the subject population, and methodology. It also provides links to full-text articles via Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and includes numerous fields such as age, population, methodology, tests, and measures.
User Interface and Access
- The database is accessible through platforms like EBSCOhost, which offers drop-down menus to specify where in the database record to search. This interface facilitates systematic searching and evidence synthesis.
Key Benefits
- Broad Audience Reach: Used in major libraries worldwide and accessed by millions of professionals and the general public, increasing citations and references for participating publishers.
- Comprehensive and Current: Weekly updates ensure the database remains current, with records released into the database within days of publication receipt.
- High-Quality Indexing: Abstracts are edited to ensure accurate reflection of content, and records are indexed by highly skilled indexers and abstractors.
In summary, APA PsycINFO is a powerful and comprehensive research tool that offers unparalleled coverage and advanced search capabilities, making it an essential resource for anyone conducting research in the behavioral and social sciences.