PSYC 110 - Introduction to Psychology: Find Articles

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When you search in academic databases including MCC Library OneSearch, keywords give you the best search results. Next time you search, instead of typing in a long phrase such as "all the research that shows evidence to prove there's no life on the moon,"  try keywords.

A better search about lunar life would use keywords and look like this:

"life on the moon" and research

In the peer-review process, in addition to a journal's editorial staff reading a submitted article, a panel of the author's peers who work or do research in the same field also read the article to verify that the work meets the standards of that field. 

To limit your search results to peer reviewed articles, look for a box to check on the results page. It might be in different locations for different databases:

An example in the search results page:           An example on the search box page:       

Sometimes when you look at an article there is an indication of whether the journal is peer reviewed, but sometimes you might have to Google the journal -- you can look for "About" or "Submission Guidelines" on an journal's website to see if they use peer review when accepting articles. If you're still not sure, ask a librarian or your professor. We are glad to help!

Your assignment may ask that you find research studies or case studies. Studies always include a methods or methodology section and a results section. Adding the word study to a search can pull up many unrelated results  because it is a word used in many contexts besides research. 

Instead try specific terms like these (for more information on when to use *, "", AND review Search Tips):

method*

results

"case study"

For example here is a search you could use in databases or in the OneSearch box on the library's home page, that would help you find case studies:

"false memory syndrome" and "case study"

Another example, this time to find studies:

"congenital analgesia" and method* and results 

The following MCC Library databases contain many behavioral science publications.

See more MCC Library databases.

You do not have to read every word of a scholarly article--especially at first. Start with the abstract, then scan the introduction. This 5 minute video outlines a strategy for reading scholarly articles.