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PSYC 217 / BIOL 217: Behavioral Neuroscience (HC) Fall 2022

Psychology / Biology 217: Behavioral Neuroscience (Massa)

Find Journal Articles

Use these databases to find scholarly articles.


​Find Primary Research Articles

There's no perfect way to find primary research articles.

Most primary research articles will describe a study that has been done, so you're best bet is to use the word "study" as one of your search words.

Some databases (e.g. PsycInfo, PubMed) have a special limit for different types of articles.​

Also look at the bibliographies of review articles; the authors likely used one or more primary research articles to write the review.

Find Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Use these databases to find newspaper and magazine articles.

Hint: use search language the general public would understand.

Find Web Sources

Use these tips to maximize your Google search.

1. Use double quotes to search for exact phrases:
Enclose exact phrases in double quotes "like this" to ensure that Google finds those exact words right next to each other.

2. Create your own search engine within Google by adding "site:" to your search:

  • "childhood trauma" site:.edu (for results from U.S. institutions of higher education)
  • "childhood traumasite:.gov (for results from U.S. government agencies)
  • "childhood traumasite:nimh.nih.gov (for results from a specific website, in this case NIMH)
  • "childhood traumasite:.br (for results originating from a specific country, in this case Brazil)
  • Find other country codes here.

3. Eliminate commonly associated search terms:
You can exclude search results that include certain words. For example:

cashew -America

4. Emphasize certain search terms:
Use the + sign to bring search results containing certain terms towards the top of your Google results. For example:

cashew +Japan

5. Use Google's "Search Tools" to narrow your results by date added.

   - Enter your search term(s) > click Search.

   - At the top of the search results page, click "Tools" > change the drop down to your desired date range.

   - You can then change the drop down menu from "Any Time" to the past year, a custom date range, etc.

6. Find Videos, News, or Podcasts
    - On your results screen, click 'Videos' or 'News'
    - Add "podcast" to your search
        - e.g. "childhood trauma" podcast site:.edu