Psychology 102: Adolescent Psychology

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Psychology 102 - Adolescent Development

One definition of Psychology would be the study of mental processes, motivations and behavior to gain a greater understanding of human beings. And there are many varied research areas within this field that reflect a wide diversity of opinions and approaches. The sources listed here represent only a sampling of the library's collection; you can begin locating books, magazine, journal and newspaper articles by using some of the resources listed below.

Your Research Topic || Fast Sources || Journal Articles || Books || Writing up your Results

Your Research Topic

Select a topic
Selecting a topic is possibly the most difficult part of doing research. You're going to be researching this topic for quite a while, so try and find one you like or are curious about and that you can reasonably cover in the time and space available.
Read through background information
Taking a few moments to do some quick background reading either in your textbooks or some of the more specialized resources in the library is often a good way to get ideas for topics.
Refine and focus your topic by narrowing or broadening
The next step is to narrow your topic to something manageable. You will probably refine and refocus your topic several times before you finalize it.
Write out your topic as a statement and select the main concepts
Once you have your topic, write it out as a short sentence or question and look at the different components that make up your statement. The research statement "Is memory loss related to aging?" has two main concepts:

(memory loss)

AND

(aging)

Start making a list of keywords related to each concept
Start compiling a list of the key words that you will use as you search for your topic. For example, the topic "Is memory loss related to aging?" might have key words that fall into two general categories:

(memory loss or amnesia or Alzheimer's)

AND

(aging or aged or elderly or seniors)

Fast Sources

Taking a few minutes to read about your topic in a specialized encyclopedia, dictionary or handbook may be one of the most effective and time saving research tips in this guide. These can help you define unfamiliar terms, locate quick biographical information, verify dates and events. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by carefully selected bibliographies or lists of references to other works, useful items to have as you begin looking for additional information. The following are located on the Reference shelves behind the Reference Desk area. If you'd like learn more about research and online resources stop by the Reference Desk, or take a class at the Library.

Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology. REF HA17.V64 1999

International Encyclopedia of Adolescence REF HQ796 .I58 2007

Contemporary Youth Culture : an international encyclopedia REF HQ796 .C8154 2006

Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (4 volumes) REF BF31.E5 1994

Encyclopedia of Human Emotions REF BF531 .E55 1999

Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment REF BF176.E53 2003 (2 vols.)

Encyclopedia of Psychology. (8 volumes) REF BF31.E54 200

Encyclopedia of Sociology. REF HM17.E5

Adolescence in America : an encyclopedia REF HQ796 .A33247 2001

Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science REF HQ767.84 .E52 2005

Find Journal Articles

The PsycINFO Database is the most important database for searching psychological literature on the very latest developments in psychology. It's produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) & includes citations & abstracts for nearly 1,000,000 articles published in over 1300 professional journals, conference proceedings, books, reports, and dissertations in psychology and related disciplines from the mid 1800's to the present. Use the PsycINFO Thesaurus to identify the controlled vocabulary of standardized words and phrases used to represent concepts.

The movies below illustrate many of the concepts and search techniques used in PsycINFO:

What is PsycINFO? 01:18	Boolean searching in PsycINFO 04:28	Using PsycINFO's thesaurus look-up 03:06
Searching PsycINFO - keyword searching 02:18	Wildcard searching in PsycINFO 03:38	Searching PsycINFO - descriptor searching 02:13

Additional databases useful in researching the topic of Psychology:

ERIC - Journal articles and documents used in educational settings.
Sociological Abstracts - Journal articles and documents used in sociology settings.
Anthropology Plus - Journal articles and documents used in psychiatric or health settings

If you're not using an on-campus computer, login here for Off-Campus Access

Not sure if the UCSC Libraries own the journal you need? See our "How to Determine if the UCSC Library owns a specific journal" (library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/jrnl.html)

Find Books

CRUZCAT - UC Santa Cruz's Catalog for books and more...

CRUZCAT (cruzcat.ucsc.edu/) includes materials at the McHenry and the Science Libraries and allows you to locate books, periodicals, government publications, maps, music scores, films and more. CRUZCAT also provides status information, e.g. if the material is checked out. It does not, however, index journal contents or include the full text of articles.

Though using a subject heading search can be useful, when looking for items on a topic or subject, you might want to consider trying a KEYWORD search (cruzcat.ucsc.edu/search/X) instead of a Subject search. Combine multiple terms with the words "and" or "or". Keyword searching is a bit more flexible in the way it searches and may retrieve a wider variety of results as you begin your research.

Some examples of subject headings:

Examples of CruzCat records:

Adams, G. R. (2000). Adolescent development : the essential readings. Oxford ; Malden, Mass., Blackwell Publishers.
McH Stacks BF724 .A275 2000
Adams, G. R., R. Montemayor, et al. (1996). Psychosocial development during adolescence. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications.
McH Stacks BF724 .P795 1996
Chavira, G. (2005). Latino adolescents' academic achievement and identity formation : the roles of family involvement and students' goals: x, 134 leaves.
GRAD PSYCH 2005 C47 (Available online via Digital Dissertations)
Cotterell, J. and J. Cotterell (2007). Social networks in youth and adolescence. London ; New York, Routledge.
McH Stacks HQ796 .C8218 2007
Engels, R. C. M. E., M. Kerr, et al. (2007). Friends, lovers and groups : key relationships in adolescence. Chichester, England ; Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons.
McH Stacks BF724.3.I58 F75 2007
Galambos, N. L. and J. J. Arnett (2003). Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
McH Stacks HQ768 .N4 no.100
Pressley, M. and C. McCormick (2007). Child and adolescent development for educators. New York, Guilford Press.
McH Stacks BF723.C5 P74 2007
Kipke, M. D. (1999). Adolescent development and the biology of puberty summary of a workshop on new research. Washington, D.C., National Academy Press.
(electronic resource)
Konstam, V. (2007). Emerging and young adulthood : multiple perspectives, diverse narratives. New York, NY, Springer: xi, 175.
McH Stacks HQ799.7 .K66 2007
Nakkula, M. J. and E. Toshalis (2006). Understanding youth : adolescent development for educators. Cambridge, MA, Harvard Education Press.
McH Stacks HQ796 .N244 2006
Nangle, D. W. and C. A. Erdley (2001). The role of friendship in psychological adjustment. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
McH Stacks HQ768 .N4 no.91
(1998). New directions for child and adolescent development. San Francisco, Jossey Bass Publishers.
McH Stacks HQ768 .N4
Reiss, D., J. M. Neiderhiser, et al. (2000). The relationship code : deciphering genetic and social influences on adolescent development. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press.
McH Stacks BF724 .R39 2000
Wiseman, R. (2002). Queen bees & wannabes : helping your daughter survive cliques, gossip, boyfriends, and other realities of adolescence. New York, Three Rivers Press.
McH Stacks HQ798 .W544 2002

Write up your Results

When you write a research paper, it's important that you credit the scholars and critics who have contributed to your ideas, whatever the format their publications may take (print, sound, film, WWW). There are guides specific to certain fields of study, or your professor or instructor may request a specific bibliographic and citation style. Also, see the Library's "How to choose a Research Topic" (library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/choose_topic.html).

Bibliographies and specific style guides are:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (Official publication manual of the APA) REF BF76.7. P83 2001

Brief UCSC online APA Style Guide ( http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/apa_citations.html )

Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the APA (http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html)

APA Style Resources (http://www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm)

How to conduct and write up the results of a research project:

American Popular Psychology : An Interdisciplinary Research Guide REF BF108.F75 1994

A Students Guide to Studying Psychology REF BF77 .H45 2000

Writing With Style Apa Style Made Easy REF BF76.8 .S93 1998

Library Use: a Handbook for Psychology. 3rd ed. (The APA's official handbook for students of psychology.) REF BF76.8.R43 2003

Pocket Guide to APA Style REF BF76.7 .P426 2004

The Psychologist's Companion : A Guide to Scientific Writing for Students and Researchers REF BF76.8 .S73 2003

Writing Papers in Psychology REF BF76.7.R67 2001

Updated October 19, 2007 || Contact Deborah Murphy (damurphy@cats.ucsc.edu) ||

UCSC Home

American Popular Psychology : An Interdisciplinary Research Guide	REF BF108.F75 1994
A Students Guide to Studying Psychology	REF BF77 .H45 2000
Writing With Style Apa Style Made Easy	REF BF76.8 .S93 1998
Library Use: a Handbook for Psychology. 3rd ed. (The APA's official handbook for students of psychology.)	REF BF76.8.R43 2003
Pocket Guide to APA Style	REF BF76.7 .P426 2004
The Psychologist's Companion : A Guide to Scientific Writing for Students and Researchers	REF BF76.8 .S73 2003
Writing Papers in Psychology	REF BF76.7.R67 2001