Guides: Psychology: Getting Started

Start with Reference

Reference sources can be a great place to start, especially to learn terminology, find keywords and concepts for your searches, and help you narrow your research focus. Below are links to general online reference sources and several noteworthy psychology reference sources.

General Reference Sources

Gale Virtual Reference Library
A collection of over 3,000 reference works, covering all disciplines.
Credo Reference
An online collection of over 600 full-text reference works, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, and more.
Oxford Reference Online
This online source provides access to subject and language reference works from Oxford University Press. In addition to text, access is provided to maps and illustrations, timelines, web sites, and bibliographies.

Psychology Reference Sources

APA Dictionary of Psychology® by Gary R. VandenBos (Editor)
Call Number: Reference BF31 .A65 2015
Publication Date: 2015
APA's dictionary of the field includes entries for therapies, concepts, tests, institutions, and persons.
A Dictionary of Psychology by Andrew M. Colman
Call Number: Ebook (multi-user)
Publication Date: 2015
A multi-volume work with over 11K definitions covering all branches of psychology. Includes over 100 illustrations. End Matter (Appendixes) cover phobias, abbreviations, symbols, and web links.
Also available in print:
Reference BF31 .C65 2015
Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology by Neil J. Salkind (Editor)
Call Number: Ref LB1050.9 .E63 2008
Publication Date: 2008
A 2 volume print reference book covering various topics in psychology, school psychology, and educational psychology.
Encyclopedia of the Mind by Harold E. Pashler (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook (multi-user)
Publication Date: 2013
Contains entries about action and motor control, attention, consciousness, decision making, disorders and pathology, emotion, genetics, language and communication, memory, the social mind, and more.
Also available in print: Reference BF441 .E53 2013
Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology by Jacqueline L. Long (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook (multi-user)
Publication Date: 2022
Psychological conditions, notable people, theories, terms, case studies and experiments, plus applications of psychology in industry.
The Routledge International Handbook of Race, Culture and Mental Health by Roy Moodley (Editor); Eunjung Lee (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook (multi-user)
Publication Date: 2020
Race and culture in mental health practices. Western psychology. Global mental health. Cultural education in clinical psychology.
The Wiley Encyclopedia of Health Psychology by Lee Cohen (Editor-In-Chief)
Call Number: Ebook (multi-user)
Publication Date: 2020
Organized thematically in 4 volumes. Vol. 1 covers the biological bases of health behavior. Vol. 2 covers theories and data from social psychology including stress, coping, and behavioral interventions. Vol. 3 is on applied aspects in the field of practice by clinicians. Vol. 4 is on special issues in health psychology including historical issues.