Skip to Main Content
Chat now
Sgwrsiwch nawr

Psychology & Counselling: Articles & key resources

Key Resources

If you wish, you can also search citation databases (which contain details of research and articles) and resources directly. For psychology the main resource databases are:

  • PsycARTICLES - provides direct links to the full text for you to download. However, PsycArticles only provides access to journals published by the APA and is therefore limited in the range of topics it covers.
  • EBSCO Business Source Complete - contains access to over 3000 journals.
  • PTSDpubs - a freely available database providing literature on PTSD and other mental health consequences of traumatic events.
  • PubMed comprises more than 26 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. 

  • ScienceDirect - an information source for scientific, technical, and medical research.
  • SCOPUS - a large abstract and citation database
  • Web of Science - summaries (abstracts) of scholarly journal articles and dissertations in psychology and related subjects. You can check for the availability of full text articles by clicking on the '@aber' icon next to search results.

Benefits of searching these databases directly:

  • there may be fewer results, but perhaps they will be more relevant;
  • it is useful to have experience of directly searching sources.

Downsides of searching these databases directly:

  • they are indexed in Primo Central too so their results would appear there anyway;
  • searching them directly means means fewer results than searching Primo Central;
  • results won't always lead to a full text article.

American Psychological Association (APA)
The APA represents psychology in the US and is the largest association of psychologists worldwide.

Annual Reviews
Collections of critical reviews written by leading researchers.

British Psychological Society
Includes PsychSource for BPS members.

The Psychologist
Available in print in the Library and online via their archive.

Scientific American​

Access the the longest continuously published magazine in the US. The magazine has published articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Access goes back to 1845.

Scientific American Mind
Magazine from Scientific American focusing on Psychology.

 

All about psychology
Written and regularly updated by a lecturer in psychology.

Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
An international, multidisciplinary, professional organization that offers certification to qualified professionals who practice sport, exercise, and health psychology.

Association for Psychological Science
An international organisation dedicated to advancing scientific psychology.

BPS Research Digest
The latest psychology research, news and comment.

Experimental Psychology Society
Promotes scientific communication among experimental psychologists and those working in cognate fields.

International Association for Research in Economic Psychology
For those interested in areas where psychology and economics intersect.

Psych Central
A mental health and psychology network. Includes overviews of a range of mental health conditions.

Simply Psychology
A student guide to psychology, mainly aimed at A-Level students.

Journal articles

Journals provide important sources of academic information.  You can search for ​journal articles using the ​Articles search ​in Primo.

What is meant by peer reviewed?

Peer reviewed articles have been reviewed and accepted  by specialists in their field before being published.  This ensures that the journals maintain their reputation and the research quality is upheld.

Use the filter in Primo to narrow by 'Peer Reviewed'.

Open Access resources


You can find and access Open Access academic material via the University’s library catalogue Primo and the Aberystwyth Research Portal. 
Increasing amounts of academic material is also being placed on the internet as Open Access.  This means that it is not hidden behind a paywall and is freely accessible by anyone.  Sometimes these documents are versions that have the same content as a final published version but are called post-prints or Author Accepted Manuscripts.  Sometimes they are final published versions.

Such material isn’t always easy to locate so there are a number of tools and websites available which can help students and researchers find articles, books and journals which have, intentionally and legally, been published Open Access.  These are listed on the following tabs. Some are in-built into the University’s system, others may have to be added as browser extensions.  Not all work on all browsers. 
Aberystwyth University’s research outputs can also be found via these tools and websites.

Primo Search

Search In Primo

Off-Campus access

Our extensive collections of electronic journals, databases and e-books are available to you 24/7 on and off-campus.

Before you start any searching off-campus:

sign in to Primo

You know you have signed in successfully if your name displays at the top right hand of your screen.

You are now authenticated to access AU subscribed electronic resources. If you close your browser, you will need to sign into Primo again to re-authenticate.

For further information on accessing e-resources off-campus see FAQ 163.

Document Supply Service

The Document Supply Service allows registered users to request items which are not available in the University Library. We can support staff and students with research and learning by locating and supplying books, chapters, and articles held by other libraries. Information Services will cover the costs of the allocation for the different user groups in all academic departments, subject to available funds.

Click here for further information and to see how many free requests you can order.