Research Psychology

Hello MS in Research Psychology students!

This guide is intended to introduce you to the resources and services the library has to offer as you progress through your program.

1. Start with the checklist and reach out to Kristen Hoffman, your librarian, when you have questions.
2. Then review the BEAM Method of using sources. This is a way of thinking about how you might use a source in your papers/projects and will frame the way you'll be searching the library resources for what you need. 
3. Next, navigate through the other tabs on the left, referring back as needed.

Let Kristen know if you have any feedback about this guide and reach out to her when you have research questions!

New Student Checklist

• Library Hours: spu.edu/library/about-the-library/library-hours.aspx
• Reserve a Study Room: http://spu.edu/library
• Study in the Graduate/Faculty Study Room on the 3rd floor. Locker keys available for check-out at the Front Desk.

• Summit allows you to borrow from nearly 40 other college & university libraries in the Pacific Northwest. We share our materials!
• You will get an email message when your item arrives -- usually 3-5 business days after requesting
• Request through the SPU Primo catalog:  spu.edu/library
• You must be signed in to the SPU Primo catalog in order to request items!!
• You may also visit those libraries in person!

• The SPU Library provides access to millions of full-text articles through the databases
• spu.edu/library/article-and-research-databases

• Background: using a source to provide general information to explain the topic. For example, the use of the APA Handbook of Community Psychology to explain the core concepts of how diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion relate to community psychology .
• Exhibit: using a source as evidence or examples to interpret or analyze. For a literature paper, this would be a poem you are analyzing. For a history paper, a historical document you are analyzing. For a psychology paper, it might be the data from a study.
• Argument: using a source as evidence to agree, disagree, or build upon. For example, you might use an editorial from the New York Times on the value of higher education to refute in your own paper.
• Method: using a source’s way of analyzing an issue to apply to your own issue. For example, you might use a study’s methods, definitions, or conclusions on gentrification in Chicago to apply to your own neighborhood in Seattle.

Excerpt revised from "How to Use a Source: The BEAM Method" by Wendy Hayden and Stephanie Margolin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Set up your Ebsco account to save articles in folders across all Ebsco databases (e.g. Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete).

1. Open an Ebsco database, such as Academic Search Complete or APA PsycInfo (list of all SPU databases)
2. Choose Sign In at the top of the screen. 
3. Click on Create a new Account to set up your personalized Ebsco account (not your SPU username and password).
4. Fill out the short form to create a new account. 
5. Remember to always sign in when adding articles to folders or they will not be saved! 

Set up your ProQuest account to save articles in folders across all ProQuest databases (e.g. Research Library Complete, ProQuest Psychology Journals). 

1. Open a ProQuest database, such as Research Library Complete (list of all SPU databases).
2. At the top, mouse over the icon of a person to go to My Research and choose Sign in to My Research. 
3. Click on Create a My Research account to set up your personalized account (not connected to your SPU credentials). 
4. Fill out the short form to create a new account or use an existing RefWorks account if you have one.
5. Remember to always sign in when adding selected items to your account or they will not be saved! 
6. Choose Add to Selected Items from within an article's record. 
7. Click on the folder icon at the top to see all selected items, and choose Save to My Research to save them for later.