Washington and Lee University
This guide will direct you through the research process, but you may have questions that are not answered on this guide. Be sure to begin your research early in case you need help from a librarian!
Start your research by searching the W&L catalog, Annie, to gather background information on your topic. Use a simple keyword search to locate books and other media. You may have to do several different searches to find all the items you need. Go to the Annie help page to get tips on searching.
Research methods in psychology Leyburn Archives (Faculty Publications)
Handbook of research methods in developmental science BF713.5 .H36 2005 Science Library
Handbook of research methods in experimental psychology BF76.5 .H35 2003 Science Reference
Measuring behaviour : an introductory guide BF76.5 .M35 1993 Science Library
Essentials of psychological testing BF176 .U73 2004 Science Library
Essentials of research design and methodology BF76.5 .M317 2005 Science Library
An intermediate guide to SPSS programming : using syntax for data management HA32 .B67 2005 Leyburn Reference Office
A Handbook for data analysis in the behavioral sciences : methodological issues BF39 .H26435 1992 Science Library
A Handbook for data analysis in the behavioral sciences : statistical issues BF39 .H264371992 Science Library
Statistical models in behavioral research BF39 .E72 1991 Science Library
Guide to publishing in psychology journals BF76.8 .G85 2000 Science Library
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association BF76.7 .P83 2001 Science Reference
Concise rules of APA style BF76.7 .C66 2005 Science Reference
What are journal articles? Journal articles contain much more specialized information than books and other monographs. Since the turnaround time for publication is shorter, the information is very current. You should be aware of the difference between scholarly journal articles and popular ones. Use W&L's Online Databases to find journal articles related to your topic.
Why look at journal articles? Before you begin any research project, you must become familiar with any other research that has been conducted previously. This is where the literature review comes in. Researchers perform a literature review to make sure there is a need for their original research, and to discover gaps in the research that they may want to fill. Researchers often include a literature review in their final publication to familiarize the reader with previous research.
PsycINFO This is the best database for psychologists to use. It is the most comprehensive, with entries dating back to 1887. 1500 journals indexed, updated weekly.
PsycArticles Not as comprehensive as PsycINFO, but contains full-text. All contents of PsycArticles are incorporated into PsycINFO.
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology Synthesis of the primary literature in Clinical Psychology. Published annually, with full-text access from 2005.
APA Journals Not ideal for searching, but is a great tool to browse the journals published by APA.
PubMed / MEDLINE Geared toward the medical fields, contains some information on behavioral therapies, clinical trials, experimental psychology, and other neurosciences
While you
are searching a database, you will often find citations
or abstracts
for articles that are perfect for your paper, but the full
text (body) of the article is not available. However, the article
is available somewhere! Depending on the database you are using, click
on the "WebBridge" button 
to determine if the article is available full text in another database, or
if it is available in one of W&L University Libraries' periodical subscriptions.
If the WebBridge button is not available, use the W&L Periodical Finder. This tool allows you to see all of the periodical titles that W&L subscribes to in print or online. Be sure to use the journal title, and not the title of the article!
If all of this fails, your last resort should be Interlibrary Loan, also known as "other libraries letting us borrow their stuff."
This is the most important part of the assignment, but many students neglect some very important details. If you are having trouble getting started, formatting your paper, or confused about language use, visit the Writing Center. The following is a list of online resources that will help you through the process.
Documentation Styles in the Sciences
Journal Abbreviations in the Sciences
Other W&L Resources for Psychology