Psychology 242; Research in Psychology
Dr. David J. McKirnan

Two ways to search for Psychology articles.

PsychInfo (the major Psychology search service) is carried by “CSA Illumina” at UIC.

1. Go to “Library” from the UIC home page.
2. Point to “Resources,” then scroll down and click on “Electronic Resources – Alphabetical list”
3. Click on “P” in the alpha list, then click “PsychInfo”. The direct link is: http://www-ca6.csa.com/ids70/advanced_search.php?SID=349ed542548f08593441418834bd7473

The search service I prefer is “ISI Web of Knowledge”.

1. Click on “W” in the alpha Electronic Resources list (above).
2. Click "Web of knowledge." This will take you to: http://portal.isiknowledge.com/.
3. On the opening page click on "go" for "Web of science" and you will be in a search engine that covers the Social Sciences Index, which includes Psychology.
4. Click “General Search” for options to make your search more focused; practice using these - once you get good at it you can be very efficient with this search service. The direct path to the web of science is: http://portal.isiknowledge.com/?DestApp=WOS&Func=Frame

How to read a journal article.

In a good article most of the elements of the "research flow" will be briefly noted in the abstract; use the abstract as your overall "map" of the article.

Look at the first paragraph; it should describe the phenomenon or overall question being asked, and why it is important.

The body of the introduction provides a review of previous studies, and introduces whatever theory is being tested.  This text may be a little difficult to follow, or may assume more experience with the topic than you have.  Look for summary statements.

The main summary is usually the last paragraph of the introduction, just before “Methods”.  Typically this will concisely outline the main theoretical base, the hypotheses, and the overall study approach.

The first paragraph (or two) of the methods section typically outlines how the study was conducted, which are the independent / dependent variables, whether key variables were manipulated or measured, etc. 

The Procedures section should give you a step-by-step description of how the study was actually conducted.  This will include any experimental manipulations, constituting the operational definition of the Independent Variable(s). 

The Measures (or “Instruments”) section will provide a description of each basic instrument. 

The Results section typically proceeds hypothesis – by – hypothesis; look for summary statements at the end of each block of results.

The first few paragraphs of the Discussion will review the results, and begin tying them into the theory & hypotheses.  

The journal article below has instructions for how to read each section.  Roll your cursor over the marked sections.