PSY - Psychology (WO)

Or search all three simultaneously!  Click any of the links above, then [Choose Databases].

Many scholarly journals use a process called peer review.

• Before an article can be published, scholars in the author's field (the author's peers) must critically evaluate it.
• Peer review is a kind of quality control.
• Most databases have a checkbox to limit to only peer reviewed articles.
• Peer-reviewed articles are not always better than non peer-reviewed ones.  It depends on your topic and assignment.

◊ Keep your search simple.  Use only 2 or 3 keywords.

◊ Look at your number of results. 
Too Many: Add keywords or be more specific.
Too Few: Change keywords or make them more broad.

◊ Ask for help!  Librarians are happy to help!

1. If you get very few articles, your keywords might be too specific.   

    Instead of:  elementary school children who eat Doritos
    Try:            children AND junk food

2. If you get too many articles covering different aspects of the topic, your keywords might be too general.

    Instead of:     plants 
    Try:               invasive plants

3. Article authors may have used slightly different words. 

    For example, instead of junk food, they may have used ultra-processed foods.