Introduction

Welcome to the Research Skills Guide for PSY305 and PSY465 - Psychology of Personality.  To assist you with your research for Assessment item 2 this guide will focus on:

  • advanced database search techniques
  • using the Scopus citation database and SAGE Research Methods
  • evaluating information to critically review literature
  • understanding peer review and journal rankings

If you would like a refresher about other library skills, such as sources of information, using Primo and Google Scholar, evaluating information, and more, head over to the PSY101 Research Skills Guide

Most important of all, use your librarians! If you need help with anything library or research related, get in touch with the library.

Remember that even after you graduate there are still ways of accessing quality information, see our Online Resources for Graduates guide for details.

Wishing you the best for the study ahead.

Kind Regards,

Sarah Rosetta

Charles Sturt University Librarian

Searching Psychology Databases

Let's take a look at your task for PSY305/PSY465 Assessment item 2, a Critical Review on one of the following applied topics:

  1. Can Costa and McCrae's Five Factor Model (FFM) be used to predict academic performance?
  2. Evaluate the clinical utility of the DSM5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD).
  3. Can Costa and McCrae's Five Factor Model (FFM) be used to predict social media use?

With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. This starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.

Keywords Synonyms or related terms
Five factor taxonomic model Five factor model, FFM, Personality traits, Personality disorders, Prototypes, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness...
Academic performance Learning, Scholarship, Academic achievement, Student, Grades...
Social media use Social networking, Marketing, Addiction, Facebook, Instagram...

Assessment item 2 will require you to search the psychology databases for relevant, scholarly resources.  The following recording will demonstrate searching using thesaurus and subject terms in ProQuest Psychology, EBSCOhost Psychology and PsycINFO (Ovid). 

Please note the recording demonstrates searching using a past topic.  You will need to use your current topic, chosen from your Subject Outline, when undertaking your searches.

Accessing your Textbook

Good news!

Your textbook is available online through the library!

However access to your textbook is limited. Follow the best practice in the video below to ensure you have access to what you need without disadvantaging other students in your subject.

 

Help from a librarian