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Welcome! This video will provide an over view of the Training and Support materials available for APA’s Databases, with a specific focus on those
materials most useful to librarians and others who are supporting students and researchers.
Before we get started, take a look at the logo at the top right of the video. Anytime you see the ADEPT logo on material you find through APA,
you can be sure that it came through the APA Databases and Electronic Products Training Institute, a customer-focused group of training
specialists within APA, who develop a variety of training materials.
Note that many of the training materials we’ll cover today are available for each of the major vendor platforms that institutions use to access
APA databases: APA PsycNET, EBSCOhost, ProQuest and OvidSP. Please feel free to link or embed our tutorials and training materials as
needed – there’s no need to request permission. You should also feel free to integrate any of the content you find into your own instructional
materials. Everything we’ll cover here can be accessed from our Search Help and Training Center, which is located on our Librarian’s
Resource Center. Just visit www.apa.org/librarians and look for the link in the middle of the page. Note that there is some
other useful information on this webpage, including links to our Exhibit, Conference and Training Schedule, the PsycINFO Listserv, and
resources for APA Style. The first section of the Search Help and Training Center focuses on Database Documentation. Here you’ll find links
to our Classification Codes, field guide, and Record Structures. The Classification Codes are used to categorize articles in APA databases by
their overall topic. The codes are very broad and include terms such as Sensory Perception, Motivation and Emotion, and Religion. For more
information on Classification Codes, take a look at the tutorial linked here!
Reviewing the Record Structures and Field Guide is a great way to quickly enhance your search skills. The information covered in the
Field Guide has been integrated into the Record Structures, so we’ll focus on one of those. Here, we’re looking at an excerpt for the Record
Structure for PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PsycBOOKS and PsycCRITIQUES. This document provides information for each field in
these databases, including an explanation of what it captures, hints and historical notes. Next up, we’ll look at our Search Guides. Here I’m
highlighting the web version of our Quick Reference Guide for PsycINFO on APA PsycNET – but there’s a version available for
each of the major vendor platforms. This handout presents tips on search basics for the database, such as performing an Author Search or using
the Thesaurus. This is also available in a pocket-sized print version, which folds out accordion-style. To place an order for print
copies at no cost to your institution, contact us at psycinfo@apa.org.
Topic Guides are a great way to introduce the concept of searching psychology resources to students studying other fields. One side features
three search scenarios, and the other has a selected list of Index Terms in that field. These are available in two formats – a PDF to
download and print at your library, and a set of slides that enable you to more easily copy and paste the content into an existing handout or
presentation. If you prefer live training, we offer regular webinars for librarians, focusing on PsycINFO and PsycTESTS. We also offer
webinars aimed at students and faculty, and APA members who have individual subscriptions to the databases. Lastly, we offer sessions
designed specifically for institutions trialing a new database, or starting a new subscription. If you’re interested in attending one of these, but
the dates and times don’t work for you, please let us know! We’ll be glad to schedule one of our regular sessions at a better time, or work with
you to customize a session for your staff, a group of faculty, or a class. Contact us at psycinfowebinars@apa.org to get started.
We also offer bite-sized training sessions through our video tutorials, which can be accessed from YouTube or the APA website. We
work to keep these tutorials focused on filling a particular need – how to find a peer-reviewed article, for example, or how to identify an Online
First Publication. These are great for brushing up your own skills, and for sharing with students and faculty. If you’d like to learn more about
PsycBOOKS, PsycEXTRA or PsycCRITIQUES, you might listen to some of our podcasts. Each podcast focuses on a particular topic, and
explores one of these databases to see what types of material are available. These are also fairly short, as we know your time is at a
premium. PsycINFO News is our newsletter, produced several times a year. In each issue, we offer updates and announcements about
training opportunities, new products and publications, and provide a behind-the-scenes view of the APA Databases.
This brings us to the end of our overview of training materials. If you have questions about training opportunities, or suggestions for new
topics, please let us know! Write to us at psycinfo@apa.org or call 800-374-2722.