Research methods resources
These resources are handy when exploring research methods:
- SAGE Research MethodsLinks over 100,000 pages of SAGE's book, journal, and reference content with advanced search and discovery tools. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings.
- APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology: Volume 1Vol 1: Foundations, planning, measures, and psychometrics. In three volumes, this handbook provides information on tools used in psychology research design, measurement, and analysis. These volumes describe many techniques psychologists and others have developed to help understand why humans, think, feel, and behave the way they do.
- APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology: Volume 2Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological. In three volumes, this handbook provides information on tools used in psychology research design, measurement, and analysis. These volumes describe many techniques psychologists and others have developed to help understand why humans, think, feel, and behave the way they do.
- APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology: Volume 3Vol 3: Data analysis and research publication. In three volumes, this handbook provides information on tools used in psychology research design, measurement, and analysis. These volumes describe many techniques psychologists and others have developed to help understand why humans, think, feel, and behave the way they do.
Find scholarly articles
There are a few specialized databases we recommend for HDFS 3130. Hover over each info icon for more details about a particular database.
- PsycINFO via EBSCOhost PsycINFO is a great database for exploring topics through a psychological lens. Powerful filters like age and population type let you zoom in on studies about the group you're interested in researching.
This link opens in a new window
For tips on how to best use PsycINFO, check out these resources:
Quick how-to video:
- Psychology Database Psychology Database offers abstracts and indexes of more than 640 titles, 540 of them full text. Many titles are indexed in PsycINFO. Coverage covers the topics of social, industrial, experimental, evolutionary, cognitive, clinical, and situational psychology, as well as personality, psychobiology, and psychometrics.
- APA PsycArticles Provides articles from journals of the American Psychological Association.
- Education Source A large, online digital library focused on a broad range of educational topics in scholarly articles, news, magazines and trade journals.
- This link opens in a new window
- ERIC via the US Department of Education A large, online digital library of education research and information, including scholarly journals and education related documents, including reports, policy papers, dissertations, conference papers and others. Some full text is available. Provided with the open access interface (freely available to everyone).
Reading strategies
When doing research in HDFS, you might feel overwhelmed by all the information that's out there. Even within scholarly article databases like PsycINFO and EducationSource, you can find yourself facing thousands of peer-reviewed articles on your topic!
This video gives you a few strategies to skim the articles you find so you can tell if they fit your needs. It also covers some tips for using your search results to help you narrow your research topic.
Qualitative vs. quantitative studies
Need help understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative research? Check out the following video for examples.
Contact your HDFS librarian
Off Campus Access
You can access ibrary databases, e-journals, and e-books from home or anywhere off-campus.
Just start your search from the USU library website, Canvas, or a library research guide and you'll be prompted for your A# and password to authenticate.
What if we don't own it?
Did you find something you need that we don't own? You can request it from another library, whether it's an article scan or a book.
Just login to your inter-library services account with your A# and password to make your request.
