This guide was created for students in Dave Lyon's CRIM 2330 class (Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour) in Fall 2024.
Goal:
To learn how to search the PsycINFO database efficiently for relevant primary research articles and cite them in APA format.
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS are often called SCHOLARLY* or ACADEMIC* journals. They are different from popular magazines. Articles in peer-reviewed journals**:
*Notes:
*This is not strictly correct. A small minority of scholarly or academic journals do not use peer-review. Peer-reviewed journals are a large sub-set of academic/scholarly journals.
** Peer-reviewed journals often contain short articles such as letters to the editor, or book reviews which are NOT peer-reviewed. Database filters don't usually weed these out.
Practice Question 1
Click on the link to each of the three items listed below. Each link opens in a new window. Look at all three items before voting.
To vote, click on the radio button for your choice, and click Submit. Please only vote once.
A primary source is the first publication of new research findings.
Secondary sources of information describe, explain, interpret or summarize primary sources.
A primary (original) research article will usually be divided into several labeled sections. The screenshot above is from the video "What is Original (Primary) Research in Criminology?". You can jump to the 3:10 timestamp to watch the "Sections of an original research article" segment of the video.
The names of the parts may vary, but a primary research article will always include a methodology section explaining how the research was conducted (i.e. what type of empirical method was used). Most secondary journal articles do not include a methods section.
Practice Question 2
Click on the link to each of the three items listed below. Each link opens in a new window. Look at all three items before voting.
To vote, click on the radio button for your choice, and click Submit. Please only vote once.
Ideas:
See Searching PsycINFO - Tips on the KPU Library's Psychology research guide.
Technique |
What it does |
Example |
|
Synonyms |
Search for words or phrases that have a same or similar meaning TIP: Type syn ____ into Google to generate synonyms (e.g. syn adolescent) |
youth, teenager, adolescent |
|
Spelling variations |
Search for different spellings of a word |
defence, defense |
|
Truncation |
Search for different endings of a word stem using the asterisk symbol TIP: Check your database; it might use a different truncation symbol |
crim* will search for |
|
Phrase searching |
Search for all terms in the exact order specified within quotation marks |
“racial profiling” |
|
Boolean operators |
AND will narrow a search by returning items only containing both terms |
youth AND crime |
|
OR will broaden a search by returning items with one or both terms. Use this to combine synonyms. Remember that OR = MORE results. |
youth OR adolescent |
|
|
NOT will narrow a search by returning items with the first term but not the second term |
defence NOT hockey |
PsycINFO tags articles based on the research methodology used. You can use these tags to filter your search results.
You can choose the Methodology filter either from the main Advanced Search screen or from the Refine options menu in your search results.
Incorrect
David, J.-D., & Mitchell, M. (2021). Contacts with the Police and the Over-Representation of Indigenous Peoples in The Canadian Criminal Justice System. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 63(2), 23–45. https://doi-org.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2443/10.3138/cjccj.2020-0004
Correct
David, J.-D., & Mitchell, M. (2021). Contacts with the police and the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the Canadian criminal justice system. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 63(2), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2020-0004
Citing your sources properly shows that you have done your research and consulted appropriate sources for your topic. It also acknowledges that all research builds on work that has come before. You are giving credit to sources that have influenced or informed your work. If you do not do this, you are essentially stealing another person's ideas, which is plagiarism.
Whenever you use another person's ideas (even if you put this into your own words), you must give them credit. You do this by CITING the source you used in two places:
Most library research databases include a tool that will automatically create formatted references. However, these often have mistakes and you MUST proofread them.
Here are links to other tools that you can also use to create a rough citation:
Wiesner, M., Yoerger, K., & Capaldi, D. M. (2018). Patterns and correlates of offender versatility and specialization across a 23-year span for at-risk young men. Victims & Offenders, 13(1), 28–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2016.1250691
You will need to take a screenshot of your final search strategy and paste it into the library assignment. Use whatever screen capture tool you prefer. PC computers usually have a built-in Snipping Tool; see instructions below for the Snipping Tool. If you take a photo of your computer, make sure that the text in the image is clear enough to read easily.
If you can't take a screenshot, please see the alternative listed on the library assignment.
The screenshot should show:
Note: you do NOT have to circle this information on your screenshot. I have used the red boxes in the sample below to highlight what I'm looking for.
