• Understand what PsycINFO is and when to use it
• Learn some advanced search techniques to improve your searching (citation tracking, limiters, using APA's thesaurus)
• Use PsycINFO in order to successfully track down 3 empirical studies on your topic.

Tip: Use PsycINFO to track down peer-reviewed articles on your topic.  If you are not sure which keywords to use in your searches or are having trouble navigating this *huge* database, ask a librarian!

Tip: If the article you want is not available in PsycINFO, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan. These requests can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to arrive, depending on where the lending library is located and how the items are sent.  Plan ahead!

Tip: Look at the bibliography or "cited references" in relevant articles that you find and follow that trail to locate more information!  In PyscINFO, notice "cited references" and also find important works by looking at "times cited in database."

Tip: An exhaustive literature search should eventually bring you to the point where you are seeing the same key articles cited over and over again.

Tip:  Keep track of the sources you find and where you find them. Email articles to yourself.  Set-up an EBSCO account so you can save folders and your searches.  Start a google doc and list article citations (with persistent links).