In a psychology database, use the psychology thesaurus or subjects to 1) browse and search subject headings related to a term or concept in your research topic, 2) view narrower and related subjects for more targeted results, and 3) see relationship between various topics.

APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

Go to opens new windowAPA PsycArticles or opens new windowAPA PsycInfo to use the thesaurus to browse and search subject headings related to psychology.

  1. Click the APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms link in the top menu bar. (Several subject lists may be available to select from if you are searching multiple databases.)
  2. Under Browsing: APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, key in a broad term or subject and select a display type (Term Begins With, Term Contains, or Relevancy Ranked). Click Browse.
    Note: In the list of subject headings, when you click the text link of a subject heading, the term explodes and may show a description, along with other related, narrower and/or broader terms.
  3. Mark the checkbox(es) in front of the subject heading(s) you want to search. Click Add. Your marked subject headings are added to the top search box.
  4. Click Search.

APA PsychInfo Thesaurus

Add additional keywords or other thesaurus terms to your search, as needed.

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection - Subjects

Go to opens new windowPsychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection.

  1. Click the Subjects link in the top menu.
  2. Under Browsing: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection--Subjects, key in a concept in the text box, and select the type of display (Term Begins With, Term Contains, or Relevancy Ranked). Click Browse.
  3. Click a term to view a description and narrower and/or broader terms. Select a term by marking the checkbox. Click Add to move the subject term to the search box.
  4. Click Search.

Psychology and Beharioral Sciences Collection Subjects

SAGE Premier

Go to opens new windowSAGE Premier. Search your term(s) then use the subject list in the right menu to limit the results to Psychology & Counseling.

Psychology subject limiter