Citation Resources
The most often used citation style for Psychology is:
Organize your sources using Zotero.
DOIs and URLs
Follow these instructions from the American Psychological Association to correctly include DOIs and URLs in your list of references.
Finding Sources
Also known as "Scholarly Articles,", "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:
- Written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic.
- "Review" means the article is approved by other experts before publication
- Usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
- Intended for an academic audience
Why You Should Use Them:
- Information is based on research and expertise
- Information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
- The peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
- They add to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas
Find Psychology Articles:
- PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new windowCurrent full-text journal articles written by esteemed researchers from across psychology and the behavioral and social sciences.1988-present.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowIndex to journals in psychology and related disciplines, 1887-present.
- Psychology Database This link opens in a new windowClinical and social psychology articles on topics such as genetics, psychology of business and economics, communication, criminology, addiction, neurology, social welfare, and more.
Additional Psychology Databases
Use PsycTESTS to find psychological tests and measures.
Why You Should Use It:
- Produced by the American Psychological Association
- Serves as a authoritative source of test instruments and test items
- Many of the tests and measures are downloadable for use in teaching and research
- Focus is on contemporary tests, but coverage goes back to 1910
Find Tests, Surveys, and Measurements:
- PsycTESTS This link opens in a new windowProduced by the American Psychological Association (APA), serves as a repository for a growing selection of psychological tests and measures, including thousands of actual test instruments and test items that are available for immediate download and use in research and teaching. International in scope.
Books written by scholars are a good source of information for many topics.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Written on a broad subject
- Easier to read than journal articles, and written for a broad audience
- Often undergo a peer-review process
- May contain a collection of chapters written by different authors
- Contain less recent information, due to the lengthy publication process
Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!
Find Books:
Search Belk Library's online system to find both library materials and articles in our databases. Use the search box below to do a basic search on library materials and databases.
Interlibrary Loan:
- Interlibrary LoanIf we don't have the book, chapter or article you need, you can request it here!
Use these internet resources as a starting point to find relevant content online.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Use to locate reports, statistics, and data
- Use content produced by government agencies and reputable organizations
- Resources may link to additional websites and resources.
Find Internet Resources:
- AllPsychLarge listing of links to to other psychology websites.
- American Psychological Association (APA)Website of the American Psychological Association, one of the leading professional psychological organizations.
- Association for Psychological Science"The Association for Psychological Science (previously the American Psychological Society) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology and its representation at the national and international level."
- Classics in the History of PsychologyFull texts of historically significant public domain documents from the scholarly literature of psychology and allied disciplines.
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)"The mission of NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure."
- Psych CentralIndependent mental health social network.
- Social Psychology Network"The mission of Social Psychology Network is to promote peace, social justice, and sustainable living through public education, research, and the advancement of psychology."
- Test Link"The Test Collection at ETS is a database of more than 25,000 tests and other measurement devices, most of which were created by authors outside ETS."
Documentaries, videos, and photographs are great resources for research in the social sciences. They are available through several online streaming platforms in the library's database collection.
Why You Should Use Them:
- They preserve important events or moments in time
- They educate us and raise awareness
- Focus is on real-life events and people
Find Videos & Images:
- Academic Video Online (AVON) This link opens in a new windowOver 68,000 titles spanning a wide range of subjects: anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. AVON includes a variety of video material with curricular relevance: documentaries, interviews, feature films, performances, news programs and newsreels, demonstrations, and raw footage.
- Films on Demand Video Collection This link opens in a new windowThousands of high quality videos on business & economics, health & medicine, humanities & social sciences, and science & mathematics, as well as travel and fitness programming, home and how-to videos, indie films, and popular music performances. Includes Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries, interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels.
- Kanopy Streaming Video This link opens in a new windowFor off campus access, please sign in with your Elon username and password.
Large collection of video documentaries and movies from many producers covering many subjects; pop culture, nursing, public health, lgbt issues, social sciences, sciences, political science and events, the arts, global studies, education, etc. NOTE: Kanopy has changed to mediated access and films will only be available by faculty/staff request. Click here to order Kanopy Streaming Videos that we don't have access to already. - Artstor This link opens in a new windowMore than 2.5 million images related to art, art history, architecture, painting, photography, and visual and material culture.
General Databases:
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowScholarly full-text journals and peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of subjects. 1975 to present.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Coverage includes history, economics, political science, demography, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. Some current issues are available now.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowIs a leading provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. Includes books and journals.
- Research Library (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowGeneral reference database from business and political science to literature and psychology scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and daily news content, accessible to readers and researchers at every level.
Access All Databases: