How do I find an empirical article in PsychINFO?

Answer

  1. Start by going to the Library homepage and choosing Research by Topic.  Helmke Library Homepage with the button for Research by Topic circled in red
  2. Next, select Psychology from the subject list. List of links: music resources, nursing resources, organizational leadership resources, philosphy resources, physics resources, political science, psychology resources circled in red, public administration resources, sociology resources
  3. PsycINFO is the featured resource on the psychology guide and is also available under Journal Articles on the left.  image of psychology subject guide with Journal Articles link circled in red and the link to pscyinfo circled in red. page has a list of links on the left and a banner for psychology at the top
  4. Once in PsycINFO, before you put search terms into the boxes, scroll down and select Peer Reviewed from the "Limit your results".  Scroll down more and in the Methodology box, select EMPIRICAL STUDY. List of limiters in PsycINFO with Methodology and Emperical study selected and circled in red
  5. Once you have limited to peer reviewed and Empirical below, scroll back up and you can run a keyword search for a specific topic.  You can use OR's to widen your search when there's more than one term for the concept you are looking for.  Drop down to the second box to narrow your focus with a second concept.  For example: Search boxes in PsycInfo filled in with (depression or depressive disorder or depressive symptoms or major depressive disorder) AND (college students or university students or undergraduates)
  6. Use the Check for Full-text Availability button to find the full text of an article.
  7. If you are looking for more than a half hour and haven't found what you need there may be something we can do adjust your terms and help you find the articles you are looking for. Contact us on chat, email, phone, or stop in and we're happy to help! 
  • Last Updated Jun 10, 2025
  • Views 11
  • Answered By Shannon

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