Research Methods

PsycINFO Search

A search for Adoption results in different numbers of hits, depending on how you structure the search. As of February 13, 2008, such a search produces the following results:

• Anywhere: 18,910 (The word adoption appears somewhere in the record.)
• Keyword: 9,537 (The word adoption may be a widely used word that PsycINFO does not recognize as a technical term.)
• Descriptors: 1,791 (Descriptors are part of the vocabulary of PsycINFO.)

As of February 13, 2008, the first 10 hits for adoption Anywhere are as follows:

• Testing the genetic hypothesis of group mean IQ differences in South
• Repeated transport and isolation during pregnancy in ewes: Differential effects on emotional reactivity and weight of their
  offspring.
• Decision points in child welfare: An action research model to address disproportionality.
• Emotional, behavioral and social problems among Israeli children in residential care: A multi-level analysis.
• Judgements of Solomon: Anxieties and defences of social workers involved in care proceedings.
• Research review: In a rush to permanency: Preventing adoption disruption.
• Attachment handbook for foster care and adoption:" Erratum.
• Volumetric neuroimaging investigations in mood disorders: Bipolar disorder versus major depressive disorder.
• Meta-analysis of patient education interventions to increase physical activity among chronically ill adults.
• The relationship of e-Learner's self-regulatory efficacy and perception of e-Learning environmental quality.

Ways to reduce the number of hits:

• Restrict hits by type of publication (e.g., journals, books)
• Restrict by type of population (e.g., children, infants, nonhuman animals)
• Restrict by year (e.g., only material since 2000)
• Restrict by language (e.g., only English)

Ways to increase the number of hits:

• Check your spelling
• Use the PsycINFO Thesaurus to find appropriate terms
• Use a wild card (e.g., adopt*, which would lead PsycINFO to search for any word beginning with adopt, like adoption or adoptive)
• Search by an author's name if you know somebody who has written on the topic you are searching