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APA PsycInfo Guide

Search modes, expanders, & limiters

As any database, APA PsycInfo provides a plethora of search modes, expanders, and limiters. You may make innumerable combinations of any of the three to reach the most relevant results.

Search modes and expanders are only available in the "Advanced Search". Limiters are also available in the "Advanced Search", but they remain available as a side menu after you run your search. This means that you may apply limiters either prior to running your search or at any point during your research.

To find out more about APA's search modes and filters, check the tabbed menu below.

What is a search mode?

Search modes are different ways of conducting a search, each of which gives you a different search experience.

What search modes are available in APA PsycInfo?

APA PsycInfo supports four different search modes. You may see all of them, along with a description of each one, in the table that follows.

Search mode Description Example
Boolean/Phrase Supports any Boolean searching or exact phrase searching. Ignores stop words when they are part of the phrases being searched.

Selecting this search mode allows you to run any of the two following types of searches:

  • Boolean searching: e.g., Psychoanalysis NOT Freud
  • Exact phrase searching: e.g., "Anorexia nervosa"
Find all of my search terms Automatically adds AND between all the search terms entered. If you search for the terms psychoanalysis Freud having selected this search mode, you are actually searching for Psychoanalysis AND Freud.
Find any of my search terms Automatically adds OR between all the search terms entered. If you search for the terms "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" PTSD having selected this search mode, you are actually searching for "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" OR PTSD.
SmartText Searching Allows you to enter large pieces of text and uses a special technology that summarizes this text to the most relevant key words before running the search. Selecting this mode allows you to search for entire phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or even whole pages.

What is an expander?

Expanders are database features that allow you to broaden the scope of your search.

What expanders are available in APA PsycInfo?

APA PsycInfo provides three different expanders. You may see them, along with a description of each one, in the table that follows.

Expander Description Example
Apply related words Expands results to include true synonyms and plurals of your terms. If you search for the term alcoholism having selected this expander, you will also search for the terms alcohol addiction, alcohol abuse, and any relevant plural forms.
Also search within the full text of the articles Searches for your keywords within the full text, abstract, and citation information of a source. This applies only to words unqualified by a field code.  
Apply equivalent subjects Utilizes mapped vocabulary terms to add precision to unqualified keyword searches. If you search for the term alcoholism having selected this expander, you will also search for alcohol use disorder and alcohol abuse, terms that are mapped to each other in the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.

What is a limiter?

Limiters are filters you may use to refine your search results.

What limiters are available in APA PsycInfo?

APA PsycInfo provides 23 different limiters. You may see them, along with a description of each one, in the table that follows.

Limiter Description Tips & more
Age Groups Limits by the age of human research subjects.

You may use this limiter to find literature that focuses on specific age groups. You may select among:

  • Childhood (birth-12 yrs),
  • Neonatal (birth-1 mo),
  • Infancy (2-23 mo),
  • Preschool Age (2-5 yrs),
  • School Age (6-12 yrs),
  • Adolescence (13-17 yrs),
  • Adulthood (18 yrs & older),
  • Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs),
  • Thirties (30-39 yrs),
  • Middle Age (40-64 yrs),
  • Aged (65 yrs & older),
  • Very Old (85 yrs & older).
Book Type Limits results by type of book.

This limiter applies only to books. You may select among:

  • Classic Book,
  • Conference Proceedings,
  • Handbook/Manual,
  • Reference Book,
  • Textbook/Study guide.
Classification Codes Limits results by classification code. You may select among the nearly 160 APA classification codes
Document Type Limits by document type.

Document Type is a segmentation of Publication Type. This limiter identifies what a document is, as opposed to what it is about. You may select among:

  • Abstract Collection,
  • Bibliography,
  • Chapter,
  • Clarification,
  • Column/Opinion,
  • Comment/Reply,
  • Dissertation,
  • Editorial,
  • Encyclopedia Entry,
  • Erratum/Correction,
  • Interview,
  • Journal Article,
  • Letter,
  • Obituary,
  • Poetry,
  • Publication Information,
  • Reprint,
  • Retraction,
  • Review-Any,
  • Review-Book,
  • Review-Media,
  • Review-Software & Other.
English Limits results to those written in the English language.  
Exclude Dissertations Allows you to exclude dissertations from the list of results.  
Impact Statement Available Limits results to those with an impact statement. An impact statement is a summary that explains the impact of the study to the general public.
Intended Audience Limits results by intended audience.

You may select from among:

  • General Public,
  • Juvenile,
  • Psychology: Professionals & Researchers.
Language Allows you to select the language in which results are written from among around thirty (30) languages.

You may select from among:

  • Afrikaans,
  • Arabic,
  • Bulgarian,
  • Catalan; Valencian,
  • Chinese,
  • Czech,
  • Danish,
  • Dutch; Flemish,
  • English,
  • Finnish,
  • French,
  • German,
  • Hebrew,
  • Hindi,
  • Hungarian,
  • Italian,
  • Japanese,
  • Korean,
  • Lithuanian,
  • Norwegian,
  • Polish,
  • Portuguese,
  • Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan,
  • Russian,
  • Slovak,
  • Spanish; Castilian,
  • Swedish,
  • Turkish,
  • Ukrainian.
Linked Full Text Limits results to those that include a link to the full text available in another database. This limiter helps when you only need full articles, but may prevent you from locating useful abstracts, the full text of which you could request through document delivery.
Methodology

Limits by a specific methodology or study design.

You may use this limiter to find literature that has used specific methodologies or designs. You may select from among:

  • Brain Imaging,
  • Clinical Case Study,
  • Clinical Trial,
  • Empirical Study,
    • Experimental Replication,
    • Followup Study,
    • Longitudinal Study,
      • Prospective Study,
      • Retrospective Study,
  • Field Study,
  • Interview,
    • Focus Group,
  • Literature Review,
    • Systematic Review,
  • Mathematical Model,
  • Meta Analysis,
  • Metasynthesis,
  • Nonclinical Case Study,
  • Qualitative Study,
  • Quantitative Study,
  • Scientific Simulation,
  • Treatment Outcome,
  • Twin Study. 

Consult the APA Databases Methodology Field Values for the definition of each methodology.
Open Access Limits results to those that have been published under open access agreement. A flag on the record indicates that the full text is available through open access. Using this limiter will give you access to resources beyond APA PsycInfo or other library resources.
References Available Limits results to those with "Cited References" . Using this limiter will help you if you want to get an idea of relevant literature that preceded a source.
Peer Reviewed Limits search results to articles from peer-reviewed journals. Peer-reviewed journals are those that publish articles after taking them through the peer-review process .
Population Group Limits by group of participants in a research study.

You may select among:

  • Human,
  • Animal,
  • Male,
  • Transgender,
  • Female,
  • Inpatient,
  • Outpatient.
Publication Status Limits results by whether they are first postings or fully published. You may select first postings, if you wish to find Online First Publications .
Publication Type Limits by type of publication.

Publication Type describes what an item is and not what it is about, and is further divided into Document Types. This limiter is particularly useful if you wish to retrieve results from a specific type of source. You may select among:

  • All Journals,
    • Peer-Reviewed Journal,
    • Peer-Reviewed Status-Unknown,
  • All Books,
    • Authored Book,
    • Edited Book,
  • Encyclopedia,
  • Dissertation Abstract,
  • Electronic Collection.
Publication Year Limits results to those published within a specified date range.  You may define the date range of your preference at a year level.
Published Date Limits results to those published within a specified date range. You may define the date range of your preference at a month-year level.
Publisher Limits by publisher. This is particularly useful if you wish to search for material published by a specific publisher.
Source Allows you to search within a specific publication. You may enter the full title of a specific publication or specific keywords. The first will allow you to search a particular publication, while the second will help you retrieve results from various publications that contain the search terms in their title.
Supplemental Materials Limits results to those that include supplemental materials.

You may select to narrow down your list of results to those that include any of the following:

  • 3-D images,
  • Appendices,
  • Audio,
  • Computer Software,
  • Data Sets,
  • DVD/CD,
  • Experimental Materials,
  • Tables and Figures.
Tests & Measures Allows you to search by a specific instrument.

You may enter the full title of an instrument or specific keywords. The first will help you retrieve studies that have used the particular instrument, while the second studies that have used various instruments that contain the search terms in their title.