Background information on key psychology topics...

...is available from the APA Psychology Topics webpage. You can either view the most popular topics (which include: Addictions, Aging, Children, Depression, Eating Disorders and Workplace Issues) or view all the available topics (which include: Autism, Ethics, Personality, Therapy, Trauma and Violence among many others).

Each topic has a very brief description, along with many links to relevant reading and resources, including web pages, journal articles and news stories. It should be said that there is an understandably American bias to many of the resources listed, but as a basic introduction to unfamiliar topic areas it may prove useful.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)...

...is a free-to-use online collection of scholarly journals, covering a huge range of subjects. Currently featuring around 5000 full text journals, it is a useful source of articles for research and assignments. Searches can be made for journal titles or individual articles and there is also the option to browse journal titles by subject area (psychology appears as a subset of 'social sciences').

Open access journals are free-to-use, respected sources of academic information and a great way of expanding your research. Don't forget to consult the library's own journal databases first, though. You will find that most of the best journals are only available through the library, so don't forget about PsycINFO and friends!

Theses from UK universities...

…can now be requested online via the British Library’s EThOS service. It currently features over 250,000 UK theses, with many available to access in full text, free of charge. More information about the service is available on the 'About EThOS' webpage.

If you can’t find the thesis you want, simply complete the EThOS request form, and the British Library will try and track down a copy for you. Assuming they find it, they will then digitise it and add it to their free-to-use online collection.

Please note that due to this new means of accessing theses from other universities, we are no longer able to accept Inter-Library Loan requests for theses. The arrival of EThOS means that this service has now been automated, putting library users in the driving seat!

Psychology and the world of Twitter...

…come together in a number of places on the web. Firstly, if you want to follow some of the ‘top’ psychology tweets, then why not check out the current top twenty-five psychology tweets in the world. For an academic analysis of the psychology behind Twitter, Psychology Today published a rather interesting article back in March 2009. More articles can be found using UEL’s journal databases, with a search across Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES for ‘twitter’ finding over 1200 full-text articles from the last two years. Clearly this is becoming a hot topic in academia!

On a more fun note, you can generate a ‘psychological profile’ of any Twitter account using tweetpsych.com. I have no idea what kind of scientific basis the ‘profiles’ have, but it is nonetheless rather entertaining to see how positive, negative, constructive, anxious, money-obsessed, controlling, social etc. an individual Twitter user is relative to other users.

Internet for Psychology...

…is a free-to-use online tutorial aimed specifically at psychology students in UK universities. It is provided by Intute as part of their ‘Virtual Training Suite’. The psychology tutorial can be accessed here.

The tutorial includes information on:

• journal databases and library catalogues
• internet research skills
• psychology conferences
• blogs, podcasts and discussion lists

...and much more. It also features plenty of links to get you started straight away.

e-book demonstrations...

...will be held at the Stratford and Docklands libraries over the next two weeks (12-22nd April 2010). A promotional flyer is available here. Library staff will be on hand to answer any of your questions about e-books and will be demonstrating how to access them. Why not pop along? The sessions in Stratford library with be held on 20th and 22nd April.

EndnoteWeb account registration...

…is now available through an online request form. Previously you had to be on-campus to register for your free EndnoteWeb account. With the new form, we can set up an account for you, wherever you are based. Once registered, you can then use your EndnoteWeb account from anywhere with Internet access. Of course, self-registration is still available on-campus, if you prefer – simply go to www.myendnoteweb.com and choose to sign up for an account. Please be aware that however you register your account, you must login on-campus at least once in a 12 month period to ensure your login remains active.

If you want to use the full desktop version of Endnote from off-campus, then you can purchase a copy at a discounted price. Simply go to www.adept4education.co.uk and login with your Athens password. You should then automatically receive the discount when you purchase the software.

If you require any help and support regarding Endnote, then simply contact your Subject Librarian (if you are based in the School of Psychology then your Subject Librarian is, of course, me, so do get in touch).

The Psychology Testing Centre...

..is operated by the British Psychological Society (BPS) to provide information on psychological tests. Their website provides, among other things, a directory of psychological tests and a searchable database of reviews of tests. There are also various documents, downloads and contact details available through the site.

Please note that UEL Library does not hold any psychological tests. However, guidance on obtaining tests should be available from either the Psychology Help Desk (AE1.44 in the Arthur Edwards building) or from your tutor.

New books in the library...

...added to stock during the month of March 2010 can be viewed from this link: March 2010 new book list. Please note that it only lists items purchased for stock from the library's 'psychology' book funds.

Notable additions to stock this month include: "Historical and conceptual issues in psychology" by Marc Brysbaert, "Putting psychology in its place (3rd edition)" by Graham Richards and "Psychology of terrorism" by Kruglanski and Victoroff. It is also worth noting that we have just received the brand new 4th edition of "Psychology" by Martin, Carlson and Buskist - a core text on a great many modules. This arrived on the shelves this morning, so just missed making it on the March list.

If you want to borrow any of these titles, then don't forget to check on the library catalogue first to make sure we have copies available. New books are popular and often fly off the shelves straight away! Please let me know if you have questions about any of these new library books.