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APA PsycInfo and ERIC have a new look

If you've used APA PsycInfo and ERIC in the past, you'll notice that they have a new user interface. Don't worry! Most of the changes are intuitive, and there are some new features you'll love.

This brief video from EBSOhost (the database provider of APA PsycInfo and ERIC) highlights the use of the new interface.

Most useful databases

APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Key database in the field of psychology. Includes information of use to psychologists, students, and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, and education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
Description: PsycInfo is a key database in the field of psychology. Includes information of use to psychologists, students, and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, and education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
Time Period: 1887 to present
Sources: Indexes more than 2,500 journals.
Subject Headings: Education, Mobile, Psychology, Social Sciences (Psychology)
Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly
Primary Materials: Journal Articles
Information Included: Abstracts, Citations, Linked Full Text
FindIt@BALL STATE: Yes
Print Equivalent: None
Publisher: American Psychological Association
Updates: Monthly
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
ERIC (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
ERIC EBSCOhost is a key database in the field of education, providing access to bibliographic records of journal and non-journal literature. About one third of the content is accessible in full text from within the database.
Description: ERIC EBSCOhost is a key database in the field of education, providing access to bibliographic records of journal and non-journal literature. About one third of the content is accessible in full text from within the database.
Time Period: 1966-present
Sources: Indexes more than 650 journals.
Subject Headings: Education, English & Linguistics, Mobile, Music
Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly
Primary Materials: Abstracts, Books/e-books, Dissertation and Theses, Grey Literature, Journal Articles, Reference Resources, Report
Information Included: Abstracts, Citations
FindIt@BALL STATE: Yes
Print Equivalent: None
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Updates: Monthly
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited

Other databases to consider

Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary database covering articles in the most impactful journals. Good for learning who has cited a particular title.
Description: Cross searching of Science Citation Index Expanded back to 1973, Social Sciences Citation Index back to 1981/82, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index back to 1976.
Time Period: 1900-present
Sources:
Subject Headings: Art & Architecture, Education, English & Linguistics, General, Health, History, Humanities, Law, Music, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology, Science, Social Sciences, Technology
Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly
Primary Materials: Abstracts, Citations, Journal Articles
Information Included: Abstracts,Citations
FindIt@BALL STATE: Yes
Print Equivalent: Social Sciences Citation Index, Science Citation Index
Publisher: Clarivate Analytics
Updates: Weekly
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
Professional Development Collection This link opens in a new window
Covers education journals geared towards teachers and other education professionals.
Description: Professional Development Collection provides indexing and access to education journals geared towards education professionals.
Time Period: 1965 to present
Sources: Indexes roughly 700 journals.
Subject Headings: Education
Scholarly or Popular: Semi-scholarly
Primary Materials: Journal Articles
Information Included: Abstracts, Full Text
FindIt@BALL STATE: Yes
Print Equivalent: None
Publisher: EBSCO
Updates: Daily
Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited

Searching Strategically with the CHOP, DROP, and OR method

To search like a pro, use the CHOP, DROP, and OR technique. This works in most every library database.

CHOP your topic into the different concepts involved.

Sample topic: whether taking breaks outside during the school day can have positive effects on students in terms of their school work.

Concepts: breaks, outside, positive, students

DROP each concept into a separate search box on an Advanced Search screen. (I'll have to add extra search boxes to do this search.)

Then think of whether there are different spellings, synonyms, or related words for each concept and type them in (if there are), using OR between them.

breaks OR recess OR rest periods
outside OR outdoor OR nature
positive OR benefits OR advantages

Here's how those terms might be entered into an Advanced Search form in APA PsycInfo:

Then, of course, you want to evaluate what you find.

When you see a good title, that seems on-target topic-wise, read through and note if it uses different terms you could incorporate into your search.
Incorporate terms from the subject field when possible. Consult the database Thesaurus (="Subjects") for help.
You may find research that leads you in a new direction with your research. Follow it!