LibGuides: Psychology (PSYC): PSYC 235 Developmental Child &amp; Adolescent Psychopathology

Search Strategies

Search Keywords

Choosing the right search words or keywords or combination of keywords can help you find the most useful sources for your topic quickly.

SpartaCat, the library's catalog, searches in the title, summary, publication details, and table of content information for your search keywords. It does not search the text or content of the items themselves. Thus, searching for something too specific may not give you a lot of results. Searching for major concepts and broad ideas like OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER will lead you to books that you can then use the table of contents and indexes of to find more specific information about your topic.

In the library databases, the more specific you can be with your search, the better. Keyword searches here look for any instance of that word in the title, summary, publication information, or full-text of articles and information sources. Being precise and exact with your search keywords makes a difference. Searching for something general like OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER is likely to give you too many results.

Ask yourself, what do you want to know about your topic? Is there a certain group of people or even a location that you can concentrate on? A better search strategy would be something like: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER and FAMILY THERAPY and CHILDREN

Search Filters

In library databases, be sure to always choose the Full-Text option, so that you can access and read the full article immediately. You may also choose to check the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) option, if your instructor requires you to find scholarly articles. Other search filters, like Publication Date or Source Type, might also help.

Remember that the APA PsycARTICLES database allows you to choose an Age Group in addition, which is especially helpful for this class. For more about this database, see the Articles in Library Databases page of this guide.

Highlighted Resources from the Library Collections

Need some inspiration to help you decide on a specific topic to research? See some highlighted resources below.

Interested in borrowing one or more of these items? Our physical collections are not accessible to the public this semester, but you can request items using our Library to Go and Library to Go PLUS service. Entries and chapters of titles in the reference collections will need to be digitally scanned. Work with a librarian if you have questions or need help.