Research Guides: Psychology : Home

Primary & Secondary Sources in Psychology

Primary Sources are original records of information.

A Secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes a historical event or phenomenon.

Examples---Primary

Interview, diaries, oral histories, birth certificates, original research, court reports, letters, manuscripts and creative works (paintings, music or poetry) just to name a few.

Examples-----Secondary

Magazine articles, books, documentaries, critical essays, textbooks and bibliographies.

DMS-V

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders :V

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Getting Started

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Journal, magazine and news articles in all academic disciplines.
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 6,600 journals.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Search engine for scholarly literature from Google.
To set Rowan University as your default institution when using Google Scholar directly from the internet, go to https://scholar.google.com/scholar_setprefs?instq=Rowan%20University

URL: https://scholar.google.com/?inst=12320807419666651891
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Journal, magazine and news articles in all academic fields, in 27 subject databases.
ProQuest Central is the largest, multidisciplinary, full-text database available in the market today. This resource provides access to 27 of ProQuest's most highly used databases, with a variety of content types across over 160 subjects, making this the broadest single research resource in the world.
PsycArticles (APA) This link opens in a new window
Definitive source of searchable full text articles on current issues in psychology. The database covers general psychology and specialized, basic, applied, clinical and theoretical research in psychology.
PsycInfo (APA) This link opens in a new window
Resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations; it is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.
Science Direct This link opens in a new window
ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 journals and almost 20,000 books. The database covers the Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences and the Humanities.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Full text database of scientific journal articles with data on who has cited them.
Web of Science® provides immediate data on who has cited research papers, covering over 12,000 of the highest impact journals worldwide, including Open Access journals and over 150,000 conference proceedings. You'll find current and retrospective coverage in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, with coverage to 1900.

Online Reference Collections

Ebooks (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference collection (dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies etc.) for all academic disciplines.
Credo Reference provides a complete reference collection from over 50 publishers, powered by a network of cross-references that cut across topics, titles and publishers to provide answers - and new connections - in context. It includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, quotation books, bilingual dictionaries, measurement conversions, and more.
Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Contains over 380 core topics, each with an overview (objective background / description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
Each topic features a Guide to Critical Analysis which helps the reader evaluate the controversy and enhances students’ ability to read critically, develop their own perspective on the issues, and write or debate an effective argument on the topic.

APA Style

Concise Rules of APA Style by American Psychological Association Staff
Call Number: Campbell Library - Ref. Collection - 2nd Floor Ref. BF76.7 .C66 2010
ISBN: 143380560X
Publication Date: 2009-07-15
This text offers writing and formatting standards for students, teachers, researchers, and clinicians working in the field of psychology. It provides complete guidance on the rules of style that are critical for clear communication.
APA Style Simplified by Bernard C. Beins
Call Number: Available Online
ISBN: 9780470671238
Publication Date: 2012-05-15
This is a compact but comprehensive guide to writing clearly and effectively in APA style. Demonstrates how to write objective scientific research papers using interesting prose Incorporates guidelines from the 6th edition of the APA publication manual Explores how to develop ideas, connect them to what others have written, and express them clearly Discusses the differences between written, oral, and poster presentations and offers instructions for applying APA style to each