Psychology: AP Psychology

1. Start with a Clear Research Question

Before searching, students should define exactly what they want to learn. For example, instead of “climate change”, they can ask, “How does climate change affect ocean life?”

2. Identify Key Terms

Break down the question into main keywords and related terms:

• Main keywords: climate change, ocean life
• Synonyms/related terms: global warming, marine ecosystems, sea life impact

Avoid complete sentences in searches. Instead of “How does climate change impact ocean animals?”, they should try “climate change impact on marine life” or “effects of global warming on oceans”.

3. Use Search Operators for better search results

• Quotation marks (“ ”) → Searches for exact phrases (“climate change effects”)
• AND/OR → Expands or narrows results (climate change AND marine life)

4. Try Different Search Phrases

• “climate change effects on sea animals”
• “global warming impact on ocean ecosystems”
• “rising ocean temperatures and marine biodiversity"

​​​​​​​5. Use Credible Sources - Not all browser search results are reliable. Remember: PEER-REVIEWED articles 

6. Evaluate and Refine

If results aren’t helpful, you should:

• Try different keywords
• Continue using the list of database tools like JSTOR and other library databases suggested. 

A peer-reviewed article is a research paper that has been carefully checked by experts in the same field before it is published. 

• These articles are different from regular websites or news sources because they go through a strict review process to ensure their quality and reliability.

• Experts review the article to make sure the information is accurate, well-researched, and valuable to the academic community.

You can find peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals such as: Gale, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and EBSCOhost. 

These type of articles usually include: Author(s), Abstract, Journal title, Academic Background/Institution (of the author), Copyright, Conclusion, graphs, statistics, and References/ Works Cited. 

ALMOST ALWAYS: You will be citing a JOURNAL. HOW? IMPORT into Noodletools OR use the template: Website or Database --> JOURNAL. 

If you keep using the same words while searching, you’ll keep getting the same results.

Use different keywords together and keep track of what works for your topic.

Connecting your keywords with AND will tell the search engine to make sure all of your keywords are included in your results.

• sleep AND academic success AND college students
• rest AND GPA AND college freshmen
• sleep schedule AND graduation rate AND students

Examples for THIS project

• social psychology AND teamwork AND Football
• dance movement AND psychology
• communication skills AND Sports
• Social Psychology AND communication skills AND Dance
• Social Psychology AND creativity AND Fashion Design
• Cognition AND creativity AND Fashion Design
• interior design AND creativity AND cognition