Throughout your psychology coursework at NDNU, you'll be assigned to use peer-reviewed articles in research, writing, and presentations. Articles published in peer-reviewed publications are a main method of professional communication for scholars and practitioners of psychology. Researchers present the findings of their studies on a narrow topic and connect those findings to the foundations of the field in structured articles that undergo a rigorous review process before they're published in a scholarly journal. These journals are also called 'periodicals' because they're published periodically (usually around 2–8 times per year). Since they're published so often, articles in journals include some of the most recent research available.
By reading and working with these articles in your own research, you'll become familiar with the professional jargon of psychology, the ways that psychology scholars communicate with each other, and trends in the field.
Through the Gellert Library's databases, you have access to thousands of peer-reviewed articles. Check out these databases for a solid start to your psychology research:
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APA PsycArticlesA full-text database with 100+ journals dating back to 1894. Access APA PsycArticles through EBSCO. |
Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing ArchiveA cross-linked library of 144,000 articles, 100 books, and 100+ videos to support research in psychoanalysis. |
Academic Search CompleteA multidisciplinary database with thousands of full-text journals. Access Academic Search Complete through EBSCO. |
Other great databases include:
Articles from other disciplines such as education and sociology might also be fruitful for your research. Click here to view all the Gellert Library's databases.
The American Psychological Association's flagship scholarly periodical.
A publication of research syntheses including systematic reviews and meta-analyses of existing psychological research.
The leading family psychology research journal, covering couple, parent, and family relationships.
Empirical research on the activities of counseling, including assessment, consultation, supervision, and more.
The Asian American Psychological Association's scholarly publication.
Original psychological research studies on education across developmental and educational levels.
Rigorous quantitative and qualitative studies on aspects of psychology in organizations, workplaces, and cultures.
An international, interdisciplinary journal publishing empirical research that bridges theory and practice.
Once you've chosen a database, it can be overwhelming to decide on the right search terms to give you the results you're looking for. Fortunately, when you're searching in scholarly databases like the ones provided by the Gellert Library, you can rely on built-in tools like the APA Thesaurus and Index Terms to be sure you're using the most effective search strategy.
This video explains what index terms are and how they can make your research faster and easier:
This next video shows how to use the APA Thesaurus and Index Terms in the APA databases you have access to through the Gellert Library:
Check out this PDF from APA for detailed information on using the PsycArticles, PsycInfo, and PsycTests databases with the EBSCO interface.
Peer-reviewed journal articles share the same structure and components. In the sciences (including psychology), those components include:
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Abstract READ FIRST |
A brief summary of the research, including the hypothesis and a summary of the methods and results. This section will also describe any implications of the results. (Always read the abstract first! This will help you decide whether the article is relevant to your own project.) |
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Introduction READ SECOND |
This section of the paper discusses in detail what is being investigated and sets the project in the context of previous work that has been done on the topic. This is often referred to as the "literature review" section of the paper. (This is a great section to refer to closely if you're curious about what other research has been done on this topic.) |
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Methods SKIM |
The method section details how data were gathered for the study. Information includes the study participants, the specific mechanics of the study, measures that were used, and detailed accounts of the procedure used for gathering data. (In your first reading of most articles, you can skim this section. If you decide to use the article for your own project, read the methods section in detail later on.) |
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Results SKIM |
The results section tells the reader what results were found in the study and whether or not the hypothesis was confirmed or disconfirmed. This section includes detailed data and will explain how the data was analyzed. (The results section can sometimes be overwhelming because of the amount of detail, especially if the study uses a method you're not familiar with yet. In your first reading of most articles, you can skim this section. Return back later for a closer reading.) |
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Discussion READ THIRD |
The discussion section describes, in simple language, the implications of the results of the experiment. They interpret the data to explain what the results may mean in a broader context. They may also describe any weaknesses or limitations in their research design. (Always read the discussion section! This is the "so what?" section of empirical research papers.) |
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Conclusion READ FOURTH |
Conclusion sections in empirical articles tend to be quite short. Authors will often outline plans for future work in this section, along with a brief summary. |
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References SKIM |
Every publication that an author refers to in their article will be included in a reference list at the end. (Use the reference list to help guide your own research.) |
| The information in this table is adapted with thanks from Hesburgh Libraries. (2024). Tips for Reading Scholarly Journal Articles in Psychology. University of Notre Dame. https://libguides.library.nd.edu/reading-psych-articles |
Understanding the kind of article you're reading can make it easier to navigate. This table describes the categories of articles you'll find in scholarly journals in psychology and other scientific fields.
| Quantitative Articles | Authors report original research in which the observed outcomes and data that are gathered are numerically represented. The results are analyzed using statistical methods that rely on numerical properties. |
| Qualitative Articles | Authors report original research in which the data and observed outcomes are communicated using natural language. One common type of qualitative research is the case study, in which researchers report on observations made while working closely with an individual, group, community, or other type of organization. |
| Mixed Methods Articles | These types of articles combine both qualitative or quantitative methodologies. |
| Replication Articles | Authors reproduce a study using the same methodology as a previous researcher. This is often done to confirm the results and conclusions made by prior researchers. This type of work is becoming more common, and the proliferation of replication studies highlight the importance of carefully describing how data are gathered and analyzed in the Method section of a study. |
| Meta-Analyses Articles | These articles can be either quantitative or qualitative. Meta-analysis refers to an article in which the author synthesizes findings from a group of related studies to draw a general conclusion. |
| Literature Review Articles | Nearly all scholarly articles in the field of psychology include a literature review in the Introduction section; however, some articles are stand-alone literature reviews. Often the authors of literature reviews are invited by journal editors to write these articles, specifically because they are well-known experts in their field. These articles are extremely useful when you are starting to research a concept. They will summarize research in a given area of interest, and they will identify short-comings, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature . These articles can be very helpful for identifying additional research for your own literature review and for finding new, original ways to investigate a concept. |
| Theoretical Articles | These articles draw from existing research to advance a theory. Authors will often trace the development of a theory in order to expand or refine it. These articles do not follow the typical format of other scholarly articles in the field of psychology. |
| Methodological Articles | These articles focus on examining and refining methodologies that have been used to study phenomena. Authors do not typically collect original data for these articles and instead use existing data to illustrate methodological approaches to research. |
| Other Types of Articles | There are a number of other types of psychology articles that don't fit into one of the categories above. They can include book reviews, brief reports, comments on previously published research, obituaries, or letters to the editor. These articles do not follow the typical format found with empirical research. These pieces are usually not considered peer-reviewed and generally will not be used in your own academic writing. |
| The information in this table is adapted with thanks from Hesburgh Libraries. (2024). Tips for Reading Scholarly Journal Articles in Psychology. University of Notre Dame. https://libguides.library.nd.edu/reading-psych-articles |
Check out this video to learn how to search for journal articles in these categories and more:
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