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Writing 101 (Gautreau): Search Strategies 6-7

Writing for Psychology

6) Thesaurus - Subject Terms

Method A: Look for Subject (thesaurus) terms at the right of a search results page OR at the bottom of a citation.

Method B: Go Directly to the Thesaurus: From the Advanced Search screen in PsycInfo, you can search the Thesaurus (link found above search box).  See screenshots below.

screenshot search in psycinfo thesaurus

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screenshot thesaurus in psycinfo 2

Explode option (expands) - retrieves all sources tagged with the subject PLUS sources tagged with narrower subject terms.

Major option (targets) - retrieves sources with the subject heading as the major point of the article.

7) Proximity Searching in PsycInfo

Sample searches on the ProQuest platform

Specific Order (Proximity)  Think of P for PRE! 

  • perceive* P/2 competition

The first term precedes the second term by two or fewer words.

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Any Order (Near)

  • culture N/3 obesity

The terms are within three words apart, in any order.