PSY 290 Research Methods in Psychology

OR

To broaden your search, use the "OR" operator. For example, "attachment behavior" OR "attachment disorder" will provide a list of results with either term.

The image shows an APA PsycInfo database search results page with a teal header. Below the header, the "Advanced Search" feature includes search boxes where users can input search terms. Two search fields are visible, containing the phrases "attachment behavior" and "attachment disorder," connected by an "OR" operator. Each search box has a dropdown to select where to search for the term. Below the search fields, there are options to add additional rows and limit search results by peer-reviewed articles or impact statements.

NOT

To narrow your results, use "NOT," but be cautious. NOT eliminates all results containing a specific word, so be very careful using the NOT operator because you might unintentionally exclude records.

Example: (testimony OR witness+) NOT expert. 

The image shows an APA PsycInfo database search results page with a teal header. A search bar with the query "(testimony OR witness*) NOT expert" in the search field. Below the header, it indicates that 16,303 results are available. On the left is a sidebar, which contains filter options such as sorting methods, source type, and publication date. The main section to the right shows the list of search results, with brief information about each item, such as the title, authors, publication source, and options for accessing full text or more details. Each entry is numbered, and options to "Get it @ ASU" are displayed for the listed works.

Nesting | Parentheses ( ) 

You can enclose search terms in parentheses to specify the order in which they are interpreted. Information within parentheses is read first, then information outside parentheses is read next. For example: 

memory AND (optimis* OR pessimis* AND personality)

The computer first searches for everything that has either optimis* OR  pessimis* AND personality. Then, from that pool of results, it will limit it to only those results that also include memory.

The image shows an APA PsycInfo database search results page with a teal header. A search bar with the query “memory AND (optimis* OR pessimis* AND personality)”, resulting in 631 entries. On the left, sorting options include "Relevance," "Peer reviewed," "Source type," and a date range slider from 1890 to 2023. The right side lists search results, each entry featuring a title, author, and publication details. Icons for citation, email options, and scholarly journal indications are present alongside each entry. Three results are visible, discussing topics that relate to memory, personality, optimism, pessimism, and neuropsychological performance.

Truncation* 

Truncation means "to shorten" and is a function that allows you to substitute any character (or number of characters) from the point where the truncation symbol is placed. In the ProQuest interface, the truncation symbol is an asterisk (*), which represents up to five characters within or at the end of a word. For example, therap* will locate records with therapy, therapies, therapists, therapeutic, therapeutically, etc.  

The image shows an APA PsycInfo database search results page with a teal header. A search bar with the query "(artificial intelligence OR AI) AND therap*". To the right, options for modifying the search, viewing recent searches, or saving the search are available. The main panel displays a total of 1,537 results, sorted by relevance. Each search result is listed with a title, authors, source information, and publication details. Options to view abstracts, full text, and citations are underneath each entry. The left side features filters like peer review options, source type, and publication date with a bar graph for visual guidance.

Plural +

The "+" symbol instructs the database to search for both the plural and singular forms of the words. For example, witness and witnesses: 

The image shows an APA PsycInfo database search results page with a teal header. A search bar with the query "(credibility OR reliability) AND (testimony OR witness*) NOT expert." Below the search bar, it shows "755 results." The results are sorted by relevance, with an option to limit to peer-reviewed sources. There are various icons for sorting, sharing, and saving searches.

Quotations

Use quotations " " to search for the exact phrase. For example, "stress scale" will NOT retrieve "perceived stress scale," "scale of perceived stress," or any other variation. It will retrieve only "stress scale."

Tip* When using the ProQuest database platform that hosts both PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES, you can also use curly brackets { } and the search will include spelling (humor v humour) and grammatical variants (tall will retrieve tallest) of the exact term. Example: compare "stress scale" with "{stress scale}" 

The image is a screenshot of the APA PsycNet search interface, affiliated with the ASU Library. Below, there is a navigation menu with options like "Search," "Browse," and "APA Thesaurus." The main section shows an "Advanced Search" form and a search bar with the query "stress scale." Two search fields are visible, with drop-down menus allowing the user to specify the search parameters. Options for filtering results are present, including checkboxes for "Peer-Reviewed," "Impact Statement," and "Open Access." A checked box labeled "Test Available" is visible. On the right, there are sections labeled "Search Tools," "Recent Searches," and "Trending," with sub-options like "Author Lookup" and "Journal Lookup." 

PRE/X: finds terms with X number of words between them, in the order they are entered in the search. 

NEAR/X: finds terms with X number of words between them, regardless of the order in which they occur. 

        Specifying NEAR/1 can be helpful for finding results that include specific phrases because the two terms are next to – or “one word away” from — each other.

        Increasing the proximity search limit to NEAR/2 will return records that have the search terms appearing within two words of each other (i.e., next to each other or separated by a single word between them). For example, searching for child* NEAR/2 trauma* {in Abstract field} AND experience {in Any Field} will retrieve records with useful variations due to both the word order and the truncation operator.

Matching search results for this proximity search would include (but aren’t limited to)

• Experience of childhood trauma
• Traumatic childhood experiences
• Experience of children with traumatic [brain injuries]
• Trauma on child [emotional health]
• Trauma-exposed children
• [Psychological] trauma for children
• Children experience traumatic [stress]
• Children after trauma
• Children’s traumatic experiences

The image shows an advanced search page from the PsycINFO database. Below, there are search fields with drop-down menus for selecting search criteria. The first search field contains the text "child* NEAR/2 trauma*" with the option "in Abstract - ABSTRACT". A second query line displays "experience" with "in Anywhere". There is a button labeled "Add a row" to include additional search criteria. Below the fields, options to limit search results are displayed, with checkboxes for "Peer reviewed" and "Impact statements".

Similar to truncation, a wildcard character replaces any single character inside or at the end of the word. One single "?" will retrieve only one more character. It can be used within or at the end of a word. In PsycINFO (on the ProQuest interface), the wildcard character is a question mark (?) and substitutes zero or one character.

• For example, searching gr?y would retrieve “grey” and “gray.”

**Note** Some databases use the # symbol for Wildcard searching. 

Use this direct link for support with PsycINFO via the ProQuest platform.