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PS3373 - Learning - Hill

course guide prepared for Spring 2020 class

What is included here?

This guide links to sources for the behavior modification paper assigned the PS3373A - Learning in Spring 2020 by Dr. Heather Hill.

The Key Resources page provides short descriptions of how to locate articles in the psychology database PsycINFO or in the Blume Library's portal Discover.

This page also includes: 

  1. our master list of journals, the Journals List search 
  2. Interlibrary Loan - Article Form for you to use if we do not have an article you need.

The APA, Citations page shows how to find citations in EBSCO databases (like Discover and PsycINFO),  includes details about APA citation style, various online tools, and a link to the Zotero citation software program guide. I wil only briefly allude to this page in class, but it is here as an ongoing reference for you.

Articles is PsycINFO or Discover

We will search both database sources, listed below, in the PS3373 research class. I have included some tips to locate articles in each database. We will discuss these searches, what they mean, and how to try new things if you do not find the results you want.

PsycINFO is an APA-produced database that focuses on psychology.  I suggest the following keywords to locate articles in PsycINFO. These are based on the ideas of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and/or cognitive studies.

  • Classical conditioning and (betta OR goldfish)
    • another option: (classical conditioning OR pavlov*) and (betta OR goldfish)
  • Operant conditioning and (betta OR goldfish)
  • Reinforcement and (betta OR goldfish)

Limits:

  • I recommend limit by Date If you find too many older articles.
  • Select Journals to see results from this type of publication.
  • You can limit to empirical articles under Methodology

Discover is a portal, and hence, it finds results from many disciplines and levels.  You will need to narrow your focus to find relevant articles from Discover since it does not focus on psychology.

I suggest the following keywords to locate articles in Discover

  • "Classical conditioning" and (betta OR goldfish)
  • "Operant conditioning" and (betta OR goldfish)
  • Reinforcement and (betta OR goldfish)

 

Limits:

  • Limit by Date.
  • Limit to Academic Journals.

Options:

  • You can switch to All Text, for a search term, to broaden your search. 

Evaluate the source to see if it meets your criteria for methodology.

Journals List Search

Looking for a specific journal, magazine, or newspaper?

Use Journals List to search for the title of a journal, magazines, or newspaper and determine if the library offers online access or print access to that publication.

Interlibrary Loan - Request an Article

Double-check with a librarian to verify that we don't have what you're seeking. If our library does not have the article you want, St. Mary's University undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff may order it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Be sure to allow up to two weeks to receive the ordered items.