Reason, Passion, and Social Cognition
Dr. Jennifer Lerner
88-120

Research Help

You can also get assistance by going to the the reference desk on the first floor of Hunt Library, calling, emailing, or chatting with a librarian online. The Ask a Librarian page provides contact information.

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Research findings filter down over a period of time, taking as long as 10-12 years to appear in high school textbooks. The effective life of information varies considerably by discipline. A college level computer science textbook is often out-of-date within 18 months while an undergraduate textbook in the humanities may be usable for several years.

• Research
• Article Drafts
• Preprints
• Journal Article
• College Level Books
• College Textbooks
• High School Textbooks

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Choosing a Topic

• Your Interests

• Class Lectures

• Class Readings

• General Reference Works (Hunt Reference Collection - First Floor)
  • The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science (2001)
  • Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (2003)
  • Encyclopedia of Human Emotions (1999)
  • Encyclopedia of Mental Health (1998)
  • Encyclopedia of the Human Brain (2002 - E&S Library)
  • Encyclopedia of Psychology (2000)
  • Handbook of Emotions (2000)
  • International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2001)
  • The New Cognitive Neurosciences (2000)

    These reference books should not be considered as one of your research sources.

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Literature Search Preparations

• Formulate a research question:
  • Are lonely people more likely to use the Internet?

• Separate the individual concepts in the research question:
  • loneliness
  • internet or web
  • usage
    
    
• Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms (Hunt Reference Desk)
  • Emotional Adjustment (73)
    

    SN Personal acceptance, adaptation, and relation to one's inner self and environment.

    • UF Emotional Maladjustment (UF=Used For)
    • B Adjustment (B=Broader)
    • N Emotional Control (N=Narrower)
    • R Codependency (R=Related)

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Evaluating the Literature

• Who is the author?
  • Can the author be considered an authority?

• What is the author's affiliation?
  Members of some organizations tend to adopt similar theoretical or practical approaches to a subject.

• Which journal published the article?
  • Is the journal peer reviewed?

• When was the article published?

• Evaluate the content

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Other Research Questions

• Do you have a bias?

• Does the evidence you gather and cite confirm your bias?

• Are you including both supporting and contradictory evidence?

• Does your paper try to reconcile the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence?

• Are your findings true for all cultures?

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Databases

• PsycINFO (for Carnegie Mellon use only)
  This is the best database for psychology related literature. It covers journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports, as well as citations to dissertations. Indexed materials are international in scope, selected from psychology and related journals published globally in over 25 languages. Most records have an abstract. If the full-text is not available, click on the SFX button to see if the article appears in another database. You can also check CAMEO to determine if Hunt Library has the print edition of the journal or book.
  
  
• PsycARTICLES (for Carnegie Mellon use only)
  The database contains full-text articles in general and specialized psychology from the American Psychological Association. This database is a small subsection of PsycINFO but all the articles are available in full-text.
  
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• Style Guides
  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001)
    REF-1 BF76.7 .P83 2001

  • The Psychologist's Companion (1993)
    REF-1 BF76.8 .S73 1993

  • The Psychology Student Writer's Manual (1999)
    REF-1 BF76.8 .P736 1999

  • Chicago Manual of Style (2003)
    REF-1 PE1408 .C5 15TH 2003

  • Merriam-Webster's Manual for Writers & Editors (1998)
    REF-1 PN147 .M49 1998

  • APA-Style Helper 3.0 (Price: $35-$40)
    The APA-Style Helper is a software program designed for writers in the behavioral and social sciences who need to produce manuscripts and documents written according to APA style. The program helps with formating references, citations, headings, and more. The APA-Style Helper walks you through your paper as you create it, and the online wizard gives you step-by-step instructions on where to insert key sections for each type of paper or report. APA-Style Helper 3.0 conforms to the fifth (2001) edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

• Citation Formats
  • Print
    • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001)
      REF-1 BF76.7 .P83 2001

  • Electronic
    • Citing Digital and Print Resources
      This is part of the Virtual Reference Shelf available through the library home page.

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Afeworki Paulos, Social Sciences Librarian
apaulos2@andrew.cmu.edu
(412) 268-6116

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