 
This web page includes a number of useful bits of information that can make your searches more fruitful and less frustrating. If you are doing a number of complex searches, your initial screen can become quite confusing. It might be helpful to clear one search before you go on to the next. This is especially true if you have used the Limit features since they will continue to be used until you clear them. First go to Search History. Select those items you want to delete and then click Remove.
To clear the Limits, click the Search Limits are set clear button. Virtually every screen in PsycINFO has the Log out button in the upper right corner. Just click it when you are doing using the database. Suggestions for a Better Search Although it is usually best to begin any search by looking at the Thesaurus, sometimes our initial ideas are so vague, we don't really know where to begin. PsycINFO has a feature that can be useful in this situation, however. If you type in a term and then click Suggest on the main window, you are offered the opportunity to have the program make some suggestions as how to begin your search. Here is an example with the term "creativity."
Note the list of suggested terms. Just click on the one that seems appropriate for your search. PsycINFO has an extensive help function that explains all of the many features of the program. Just click Help (top row, right) and you will be provided with help about a variety of topics. The Database Guide can also provide help on specific features of PsycINFO. As part of a search you may want to look for several variations of the same term. Wild Cards/Trucation permit you to do just that. Truncation (*) involves the substitution of zero or more letters in a term. If you type cat* in the search box, you will get all variations on words that begin with cat, including catatonic, catatonia, etc. On the other hand, wild card (?) involves the substitution of just one letter. If you type dancer? in the search box, you will get just those variations of 1 letter. In this case, dancer or dancers. Back to PsycINFO database main page
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