Use the databases listed below to search the behavioral sciences literature.
Search Tip
Scholarly/peer-reviewed journal articles are written by and for experts in the discipline. Students are not the target audience, but it's essential you use them. As a result, they tend to be very narrow in focus (more narrow than typical student paper topics). Translation: You may not find any scholarly articles that neatly summarize your broader topic. This is ok and expected. Instead, you may need to find several articles that cover smaller parts of your topic and stitch that information together into a broader whole.
- OneSearch
Search most library databases at once. SUNY Empire Login Required
- PsycARTICLES
Full-text, scholarly articles in all aspects of psychology. You can narrow your search down by species, age group, gender, research methodology, etc. SUNY Empire Login Required
- DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) LibraryIncludes: DSM-5, Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, Clinical Cases, and more,
- MedlinePlus: Mental Health and BehaviorAuthoritative overviews of symptoms, diagnoses, treatments and more for many mental health disorders and common behavioral issues, from the National Library of Medicine
- Merck Manual: Mental Health DisordersBrief details on mental disorders - symptoms, treatment, etc.
- ProQuest Psychology Database
Abstracts and indexing for more than 650 journals, with over 540 titles available in full text. Includes access to charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, photos, and other graphical elements essential to psychological research. Also includes 4,000 full text dissertations. SUNY Empire Login Required
- AnthroSource
Scholarly articles on anthropology topics. SUNY Empire Login Required
- Social Sciences with Full-text
Full-text scholarly articles about social science concepts and methods. SUNY Empire Login Required
- SocINDEX with Full-text
Scholarly, full-text articles in sociology, social work, and social psychology. Start here for research about the family, the community, or the workplace. SUNY Empire Login Required
- Social Science & Humanities Library Collection
1480+ scholarly Taylor & Francis journals (millions of full-text articles) from 1997 to present. SUNY Empire Login Required
- Criminal Justice Database
Articles and research on crime, its causes and impacts, legal and social implications, as well as litigation and crime trends. Includes U.S. and international scholarly journals, trade publications, dissertations, crime reports, and other material. SUNY Empire Login Required
- Sage Journals
Scholarly articles in all subjects. Particularly good in business, biology/medicine, engineering, and the social sciences.
We do not have access to full-text for all Sage journals. Limit your search to "Only Content I Have Full Access To." You can also access “Open Access” content in Sage. SUNY Empire Login Required
How to Start
To better understand (and write about) a research topic, and to effectively search the literature, you should first determine and define the main concepts involved. Find an encyclopedia or Wikipedia entry on that concept (this is called "background reading". Example Wikipedia article on Human Services). You don't normally use this as a source in your academic writing, but it will give you an historical context (how has the thing, theory, or technology evolved over time?, what people, laws and policies are involved?). This will also help you find the correct terminology for searching the scholarly literature. Once you have a handle on your concept(s), you'll be better equipped to search the journal, book and other literature, using the "Search Tools" section to the left.
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