In this part of SAFARI we are going to cover information resources for psychology. There are many resources for the study of psychology available to Open University students through the Open University Library web pages and links to all of these resources can be found here:
Online Collections by Subject: Psychology
Psychology spans a number of other subject disciplines. For example, you may also want to look at resources for:
Sociology:
Click on the link to: Online Collections by Subject: Sociology
Education:
Click on the link to: Online Collections by Subject: Education
Science, in particular biology:
Click on the link to: Online Collections by Subject: Biological Sciences
Social Sciences General:
Click on the link to: Online Collections by Subject: Social Sciences General
The Open University Library web pages provide access to electronic books as well as links to other library catalogues.
The reference collection details electronic books like dictionaries and encyclopedias, which are useful for finding definitions, facts and figures.
The electronic books page details e-books and e-book collections. Electronic books relating specifically to psychology can be found on the psychology subject page (see above).
To check what books are in collections worldwide, the library catalogues page lists the catalogues of public and academic libraries.
Databases fall into two main types:
Databases are searchable and allow you to look for references on a subject in many different journals or books. There is a list of psychology databases on the Open University Library web pages.
Depending on your area of study, you may wish to look at databases covering other subjects such as:
or at the complete list of Databases available through the Open University Library web pages.
There are many journals available to Open University students through the Open University Library web pages. You can find lists of psychology journals from the psychology index page.
You may also find it useful to look at the lists for other subject areas:
or at the complete list of Electronic journals available through the Open University Library web pages.
For up to date information on what is happening in the world of psychology you may want to consult online News Resources.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the plethora of official publications relating to the field of psychology. You may be able to get access to some of them via the websites of relevant government departments and committees. There are also specialist sites for tracing official documents such as UK Official Publications. Details of relevant sites for UK and EU legislation are also available on the Open University Library web pages.
You may need to obtain statistical data relating to psychology and there are a number of Statistical Sources available on the Open University Library web pages.
There are many sites on the internet where you will find useful information for psychology. A recommended gateway (website that direct you to other sources of information on the web) is INTUTE
This subject is covered in more detail in Section 7.
SAFARI concentrates on resources that are available to Open University students through the Open University Library web pages. However these are not the only resources that may be available to you. Think about investigating what is on offer through libraries in your area.
Does your workplace have a library or information service you can use? Do you belong to a professional organis ation or learned society? Many of these have specialist library and information services for their members and they often offer student membership rates.