Because of its broad scope, psychological research can take a student into almost every library on the Cornell campus. This guide lists major reference works in psychology, emphasizing reference materials available in Uris and Olin Libraries and online resources. For further information or to locate titles not listed here, consult a reference librarian.
(Olin Ref BF 31 .C64x 2001, also available online)
"The aim of this dictionary is to provide sensible and normative definitions of the most important and difficult words that a reader is likely to encounter in books and articles on psychology." (Preface) Includes terms from neurology, psychopharmacology, statistics, and psychoanalysis.
The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. 3rd ed. 4 vols. New York: Wiley, 2001. [title of earlier editions: Encyclopedia of Psychology]
A comprehensive encyclopedia that includes both brief descriptive and biographical entries and longer analytical essays. Entries are individually authored, and often include cross-references and bibliographies. Volume 4 consists of name and subject indexes.
The Encyclopedia of Human Emotions. Eds., David Levinson, James J. Ponzetti, Jr., Peter F. Jorgensen. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan Reference, 1999.
(Uris Ref BF 531 .E55x 1999; also Mann Ref)
Contains 146 alphabetical entries, written by academic researchers who study emotions or treat emotional disorders. Entries include bibliographies for further research.
The Encyclopedia of Psychology. Ed. Alan E. Kazdin. 8 vols. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.
(Olin Ref BF 31 .E52x 2000; also Uris Ref)
Replaces Corsini as the primary encyclopedia of psychology. Rightfully regards itself as "unmatched in… scope, scholarship, and expertise." (Preface) Includes biographical entries.
Revised and updated edition of the 17-volume International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences that appeared in 1968. A standard and reliable resource.
Provides signed definitions by numerous authorities on various aspects of the mind, including
psychology, biology, and philosophy. Longer articles include references for further reading. There are selected biographies and useful illustrations and diagrams.
Roeckelein, Jon E. Dictionary of Theories, Laws, and Concepts in Psychology. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.
(Olin Ref BF 31 .R625x 1998)
Explains the major organizing concepts and ideas in the field of psychology. Lengthy articles give the historical development of the concept and its current meaning. Useful bibliographies with each article trace the history of the idea.
You can find materials owned by the Cornell University Library in the Cornell Library Catalog. This includes books, journals, magazines, newspapers, videotapes, audiotapes, music CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, manuscripts, microfilm, microfiche--in short,
anything the library owns.
You can search by author, title, subject heading, call number, or journal title. You can also search by keyword--any combination of words in the author, title, subject, contents, and notes fields. Words are combined using the Boolean operators AND, OR, or NOT. You will have an opportunity to practice this searching in class.
This Web-based catalog also allows you to recall or put a hold on items that are currently checked out by other library users. Clicking on the Patron Info button and logging in allows you to see what you have checked out; you can also renew your books from this page.
For more information about using the catalog, click on the Help button on the catalog home page.
The online catalog lists the holdings of all twenty Cornell libraries.
You cannot find journal articles in the catalog. Only the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers are listed along with the years and volumes that we own. See the next section for more information about finding periodical articles.
Indexes and abstracts a large number of periodicals, covering general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. Also included are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. The full text of many articles is provided.
PsycARTICLES. Washington: American Psychological Association. 1988- .
A searchable database of full-text articles from journals published by APA and allied organizations since 1988. Covers general psychology and specialized basic, applied, clinical, and theoretical research in psychology. For a broader search use PsycINFO (below).
PsycINFO. Washington: American Psychological Association. 1887- .
Provides access to the international literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, and linguistics. Includes applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, educational psychology, experimental human and animal psychology, personality, physical and psychological disorders, physiological psychology and intervention, professional personnel and issues, psychometrics, social processes and issues, sports psychology and leisure, and treatment and prevention.
EVALUATING SOURCES
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of library research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.
How to Critically Analyze Information Sources lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
The Internet is a democratic tool: anyone can write or say virtually anything they wish on it. As you would do with books and journal articles, look to see who is responsible for producing the web page or site that you are accessing. Does the individual or institution have a particular bias or concern or agenda in presenting their information. How objective is the information? How accurate or truthful? How authoritative? See Five Criteria for Evaluating Web pages.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington: APA, 2001.
(Olin Ref BF 76.7 .P83x 2001; also Uris Ref)
The authoritative style manual for anyone writing in the field of psychology. Its chapters discuss the content and organization of a manuscript, writing style, the American Psychological Association style, and typing, mailing and proofreading. Online APA citation help is available in the Library Gateway at http://campusgw.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/apa.html.
Managing Citations using RefWorks
RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and organize bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly with Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly formatted according to the style of your choice. For more information and to sign up for an account: http://www.refworks.cornell.edu
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca
NY 14853
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu
