Getting the Most from PsycLIT: Recommendations for Searching

Abstract

PsycLIT, the optical disc counterpart of Psychological Abstracts, has greatly enhanced access to the world's psychological literature. Because researchers often do not fully understand indexing techniques and system protocols, however, retrieval via PsycLIT can be inconsistent. This article makes suggestions for improving search outcomes. Recommendations include knowing the scope of the data base, distinguishing between keyword and controlled vocabulary searches, using indexing principles to improve retrieval, and constructing reliable search strategies.

A Systematic Approach to Conducting Educational Literature Searches

“…unlv.edu/faculty/kkemtes,.jCHE). Note that for some databases, such as PsyciNFO, helpful search guides have been published (e.g., Gosling, Knight, & McKenney, 1990;Joswick, 1994) .…”

“…They also fo und that students misperceived the efficacy of their search, often believing that they had conducted a thorough review when the outcome demonstrated otherwise. This misperception may be attributable to a lack of understand ing of databases and poor development of search strategies (Joswick, 1994) .…”