Subject Guides: PSYCH 307: Writing within Psychology (For Instructors): Writing Processes

Finding Articles

The following worksheet should be completed before your students come to their in-class library instruction session.

The following tutorials can be used by students who miss the in-class library instruction or who need a refresher on certain topics.

Library Research Tutorial 1: Introduction to Psychology Databases
Dr. Emily Darowski, a psychology librarian, helps students understand the skills involved in library research and how to use library databases for psychology. (Length: 2:39)
Library Research Tutorial 2: Exporting Articles to RefWorks
Dr. Emily Darowski demonstrates how to use an advanced search for scholarly articles and export them to RefWorks. Students can follow along and try these skills to create and store useful items to their folder and create an APA reference page. (Length: 13.38)
Library Research Tutorial 3: Finding High Impact Sources
Dr. Emily Darowski discusses ways to check the quality of research articles and the number of times it has been cited. She discusses ways to find highly cited articles and high-impact journals and ways to find articles that are tightly clustered on a topic. (Length 12.07) This video is not publicly available, but may be accessed if you contact the instructor over the online version of Psych 307.
Library Research Tutorial 4: Finding Articles and Their Relevance
Dr. Emily Darowski works with a student and demonstrates ways to start with a few references and do additional searches to create cohesive list of references using several research tips. (Length: 6.19)

Library Research Tutorial 5: Developing and Narrowing a Topic
Dr. Emily Darowski demonstrates with a student how to take a sample topic, narrow a topic, find relevant articles, and develop a strong research emphasis with a helpful set of references. (Length: 7.37) This video is not publicly available, but may be accessed if you contact the instructor over the online version of Psych 307.
Selecting a Topic
Professor Julie Haupt uses the analogy of a gourmet cupcake to discuss ways to narrow a general topic to a more specific topic for the purposes of a well-focused literature review. This animated video shows how adding various elements can lead to a powerful thesis statement. (Length: 6:10)

Creating a Thesis Statement
Professor Dawn-Marie Wood discusses the development of a thesis statement by writing a three-part thesis statement using the Qualification + Stance + Rationale construction and an organizing statement for a literature review. (Length: 10:39)

Synthesis Video
Julie Haupt, Emily Darowski, and Dawn-Marie Wood form a panel for a discussion of the way that writing in psychology can be synthesized. This video is not publicly available, but may be accessed if you contact the instructor over the online version of Psych 307.