Select a field

Video link: Select a Field

Begin transcript

Visual:  Advanced Search page in PsycINFO

Narration:  This short video will demonstrate how to use the select a field option to focus your article searches.

To begin, we’ll just type in our search term, Bandura, and click on search.

Visual:  Results page from Bandura search in PsycINFO

Narration:  This will bring up 520 results.  The results list will include articles that are written ABOUT Albert Bandura as well as articles that were written BY Bandura.

If you’d like to focus on articles that are written BY Bandura,

Visual: Drop-down menu from Select a Field displayed in PsycINFO

Narration: you can choose from this drop-down menu to search only the author field and re-run the search.

Visual:  Results list from Bandura in AU-Author field search in PsycINFO

Narration: This will bring up 117 results.  All of the results on the list will have Bandura as one of the authors.

If instead of searching the author you want to search for things that are ABOUT Bandura, you have several different options. 

Visual:  Drop-down menu from Select a Field displayed in PsycINFO

Narration:  One would be to search the title.  When you run the search for Bandura in the title,

Visual: Results list from Bandura in TI-Title field search in PsycINFO

Narration:  you get just 22 results.

You can broaden out from the title to search the entire abstract. 

Visual:  Drop-down menu from Select a Field displayed in PsycINFO

Narration:  Choose abstract from the drop-down and re-run the search

Visual:  Results list from Bandura in AB-Abstract field search in PsycINFO

Narration:  and you’ll get 404 results.  

The broadest search would be to search through all the text.

Visual:  Drop-down menu from Select a Field displayed in PsycINFO

Narration:  This will search for Bandura everywhere in the text and when you re-run the search

Visual:  Results list from Bandura in TX All Text field search in PsycINFO

Narration:  it will bring up 529 results.

You can use any of these methods to find articles about or by authors.  Take a look at the different results lists to get a feel for which approach works best for you as you are running your searches.