Skip to Main Content

Psychology Research Methods and Statistics

This Research Guide supports PSY 303.

Try It! Step 1

Step 1
Identify the keywords or concepts in your research question or in one of the questions below.
 
Example Question:
Do men and women interpret common gestures differently?
 
Keywords/Concepts:
Do men and women interpret common gestures differently?
 
Research Questions List:
What are the self-reported social and environmental factors associated with drinking behavior among college freshmen?
 
Does knowledge about a company's political and social positions affect college students' buying habits?
 
How do college freshmen respond to academic failure in courses related to their declared majors?
 
Do college students respond differently to sitcom humor when they are by themselves as opposed to being in a group?

Try It! Step 2

Step 2

Identify synonomous words or phrases for each of your keywords or concepts.

Example

       Men/Women       Common Gestures Interpret Differently
Gender Nonverbal communication Understand
Sexes Body language Communicate
Male/Female Hand signs Construe
Girls/Boys Infer
Man/Woman

Try It! Step 3

Step 3

Access the PsycINFO database's Thesaurus.

Search each of your keywords/concepts in the Thesaurus to determine which are Subject Terms. 

       Men/Women       Common Gestures Interpret Differently
Gender (KW) Nonverbal communication (SU) Understand (KW)
Sexes (KW) Body language (SU) Communicate (KW)
Male (KW) / Female (KW) Hand signs (KW) Construe (KW)
Girls (KW) / Boys (KW) Infer (KW)
Man (KW) / Woman (KW)

Examples from each concept:

Keyword Thesaurus Term
male  --> Human Males
gender  -->                   Human Sex Differences
gestures  --> Gestures
body language  --> Body Language
interpret     --> Hermaneutics
understand  --> Comprehend

Try It! Step 4

Step 4

Using the PsyINFO database search each Subject Term or keyword separately and in multiple ways.

MM               Gestures
DE                Gestures
TI OR AB      gestures
KW               gestures
MM               Human sex differences
DE                Human sex differences
TI OR AB      Human sex differences
KW               Human sex differences

Try It! Step 5

Step 5

Now in the PsycINFO database, build a single search that combines the multiple concepts of your research question utilizing your search history. 

Keep editing your search until you get the optimal result list.

Subjects: Psychology