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PSY 241

Developmental Psychology is a study of human growth and physical, cognitive and psychosocial development with emphasis on major theories and perspectives.
  • URL: https://libguides.cfcc.edu/PSY-241
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    • Best Psychology Databases

    • Keep your initial search simple—set the limit for “Full Text” right away, but save other limits (such as date ranges, scholarly, peer-reviewed, English-language only, etc.) until you see the results list.

    • Look for common database tools (suggested subject headings, abstracts, citation help, emailing and save options) on the edges of the page, often in a color bar above the search boxes or in a separate frame on the right or left of your results list.

    Questions about how to use ProQuest?  Take a look at these Helpful Videos.

    PubMed Central

    PMC is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM)

     

    PubMed Central offers very sophisticated searching options, but these can be intimidating to new users.  Read PubMed Help first.

    Magazines vs Trade Journals vs Scholarly Journals

    Here's what to look for:

    CRITERIA POPULAR MAGAZINE TRADE JOURNAL SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
     

     

    		  

     
    Content Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication.
    Author Author is frequently a journalist paid to write articles, may or may not have subject expertise. Author is usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise. Author's credentials are provided; usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise.
    Audience General public; the interested non-specialist. Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. Scholars, researchers, and students.
    Language Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area.
    Graphics Graphs, charts and tables; lots of glossy advertisements and photographs. Photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. Graphs, charts, and tables; very few advertisements and photographs.
    Layout & Organization Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or a conclusion. Informal; articles organized like a journal or a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience or common knowledge. Structured; includes the article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results (evidence), discussion, conclusion, and bibliography.
    Accountability Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers* or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style.
    References Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given. Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required. Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable.
    Paging Each issue begins with page 1. Each issue generally begins with page 1. Page numbers are generally consecutive throughout the volume.

     

    Reading a Scholarly Article - WHY

    Group photo 1909 in front of Clark University. Front row: Sigmund Freud,G. Stanley Hall, Carl Jung; back row:Abraham Brill, Ernest Jones, Sándor Ferenczi. (Wikipedia; public domain)

    SCHOLARLY ARTICLES ARE WRITTEN TO :

    • report results, experimental or observational
    • relate these results to previous knowledge in the field
    • facilitate communications among researchers

    SCHOLARLY ARTICLES ARE READ TO :

    • keep readers current with the latest research in field (Articles are published more quickly so are more up-to-date than books)
    • model how a similar study might be done
    • improve readers’ writing skills (Lab papers are usually organized the same way as journal articles. The more scholarly writing is read, the better the reader’s own writing skills become.)
    • enable critical thinking (Raw data accompanies conclusions, so readers can decide for themselves.)
    • find more useful resources for further research (The reference list can be used to find related books and articles.)
    • develop a skill expected by employers

     

    Your Step-by-Step Guide

    Six-page PDF steps the reader through the common parts of any scientific study with follow-up questions to guide understanding.

    Scholarly Articles vs. Popular Magazine Articles

    Periodical publications such as magazines, newspapers and journals vary in quality and depth of coverage. Instructors will frequently want you to select articles from scholarly journals (sometimes called "refereed" or "peer-reviewed" journals, though the terms don't mean exactly the same thing).

    Click the image below to watch a short (3min) video on how to tell the difference between scholarly articles and popular magazine articles.

    For more detail, try our guide:

    Subjects: Psychology