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APA PsycInfo Guide

Important search fields

The information included in each bibliographic record is neatly organized in nearly forty (40) different fields, such as author, title, source, etc. You may see the full list of fields used in APA databases in the Guide to the fields in APA Database records . Some of these fields may be used to highlight significant information that may otherwise be unnoticed.

To find out more about each one of the four most significant APA PsycInfo search fields, check the tabbed menu below.

What is the "Author Affiliation" field?

The "Author Affiliation" field presents the institutional affiliation of the author(s) at the time of publication of a particular source. Its subfields include the name of the institution (e.g., university, company, etc.) and its address.

Why is the "Author Affiliation" field useful?

The "Author Affiliation" field is helpful both to students and researchers for different reasons. You may use it to retrieve the contact information of an article's authors, in case you need to contact them with questions regarding their work. You may also use it to find out what type of research is conducted in a particular institution and where experts on a topic are located. As a student, you may find it useful if you wish to discover potential graduate schools or advisors that specialize in a particular scientific area. As a researcher, you may also find it helpful if you want to find out who is doing research where and seek potential collaborators to work with.

Who provides the information available in "Author Affiliation"?

The information included in the "Author Affiliation" field is provided by the author(s) of the article. As a result, it is not standardized, which means that the same institutional affiliation may appear in multiple variations (e.g., full name, acronym, etc.) in different articles.

How can I use the "Author Affiliation" field?

You may use the "Author Affiliation" field in multiple ways depending on what you wish to find each time.

1. To search where research on a particular topic is conducted, follow these steps:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Search for the key terms you are interested in.
  • Locate a relevant article and click on the title.
  • Scroll down to the "Authors" section to see each author's institutional affiliation.
  • Scroll down to the "Address" section to see the mailing address of the lead author.

2. To search what type of research is taking place at a specific institution, follow these steps:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Search for the name of the institution or any of its variations.
  • Select the "AF Author Affiliation" field from the drop-down menu.
  • Click "Search".

What is the "Grant/Sponsorship" field?

The "Grant/Sponsorship" field includes the source(s) of grants, sponsorships, and funding of a published research or study. Its subfields include sponsor organization, grant/contract/award number, funding amount, country of sponsor organization, funding dates, other details, and recipients.

Why is the "Grant/Sponsorship" field useful?

The "Grant/Sponsorship" field is great if you are searching who is funding what types of research. It may also help you find potential sponsors for your own research, even less known sponsors, which would otherwise be difficult to locate.

Who provides the information available in "Grant/Sponsorship"?

The information included in the "Grant/Sponsorship" field is provided by the author(s) of the article. As a result, it is not standardized, which means that the same organization may appear in multiple variations (e.g., full name, acronym, etc.) in different articles.

How can I use the "Grant/Sponsorship" field?

You may use the "Grant/Sponsorship" field in multiple ways depending on what you wish to find each time.

1. To search who is funding research on a particular topic, follow these steps:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Search for the key terms you are interested in.
  • Enter the word fellowship OR grant OR fund in the second search box
  • Select "GR Grant/Sponsorship" from the drop down menu.
  • Locate a relevant article and click on the title.
  • Scroll down to the "Grant/Sponsorship" section to see what organizations, agencies, or institutions have sponsored this study.

2. To search by organization to see what types of research it sponsors, follow these steps:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Enter the name of the organization/agency/institution in the search box.
  • Select "GR Grant/Sponsorship" from the drop down menu.
  • Click "Search".

3. To search by grant number or sponsorship title to see additional research funded by the same program.

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Enter the grant number/sponsorship title in the search box.
  • Select "GR Grant/Sponsorship" from the drop down menu.
  • Click "Search".

What is the "Methodology" field?

The "Methodology" field includes the methods or study designs used in a particular research or study.

Why is the "Methodology" field useful?

The "Methodology" field is great if you are searching for articles in which a specific methodology or study design has been used. This way you may see how others have applied it and discover possible advantages and disadvantages.

How can I use the "Methodology" field?

You may use the "Methodology" field to search for articles in which researchers have used a particular methodology. To do so you may follow these steps:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Enter the key terms you are interested in in the first search box.
  • Enter the methodology you are interested in (e.g., focus group) in the second search box.
  • Select "MR Methodology" from the drop down menu.
  • Click "Search".

What is the "Tests & Measures" field?

The "Tests & Measures" field includes the tests, measures, or other instruments used or referred to in a research study. Apart from officially published tests and measures, it also includes non-standardized and/or unpublished ones.

Why is the "Tests & Measures" field useful?

The "Tests & Measures" field is useful because it allows you to find instrument descriptions or, in certain cases, even the instruments themselves. Some of the instruments listed in the "Tests & Measures" field have a DOI next to their title. Following it will lead you to the citation and description of the test in APA PsycTests database. Even though our library does not subscribe to this resource, getting hold of a test's description may be very useful for your research. Additionally, some of the instruments have the indication [Appended] next to them. This means that the full instrument is included in the article usually in the appendix, tables, figures or methodology section of the article.

How can I use the "Tests & Measures" field?

You may use the "Tests & Measures" field in multiple ways depending on what you wish to find each time.

1. To identify how specific research instruments have been used in literature, follow the steps below:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Type the exact name of the research instrument in the search box, placing it in quotation marks to search for it as a phrase.
  • Select the "TM Tests & Measures" field from the drop-down menu next to the box
  • Click "Search".
  • Locate relevant results and check their methods section.

2. To identify an appropriate research instrument to use, follow the steps below:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Type one or more search terms in the search box(es).
  • Go through the list of results and locate those relevant.
  • Click on the title of the article(s) to see the full bibliographic record.
  • Scroll down until you find the "Tests & Measures" section to see the list of instruments used in this particular study.

3. To identify full instruments, follow the steps below:

  • Go to the "Advanced Search".
  • Type the word "Appended" in the first search box.
  • Select "TM Tests & Measures" from the drop-down menu next to the search box.
  • Type a keyword or the name of the test you are looking for in the second search box.
  • Click "Search".