For research in psychology and human development, the following databases may be of especial use. They are listed in rough descending order of usefulness.
PsycINFO
PsycINFO is the premier database for articles and other resources in the psychological sciences; it is the place where most students in psychology will begin their research. Maintained by the American Psychological Association, PsycINFO contains more than 4 million articles from more than 2,500 journals and other resources covering the full breadth of psychological science.
PubMed
PubMed is the first stop for medical research, including in psychology and neuroscience. You will likely want to search it using the Medical Subject Headings.
Psychology Database
Proquest’s database of psychology articles. It has many journals not indexed by PsycINFO.
Oxford Psychology Handbooks
Vanderbilt has access to Oxford Handbooks in Psychology published since 2013—more than 100 handbooks in all. Each handbook has about 20 to 30 articles by experts on a single small or large area of psychology. The database is a good place to browse for research ideas. Note that we also have many other psychology handbooks, listed here.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
A comprehensive index of articles on all areas of linguistics, including applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, developmental linguistics, syntax and morphology, lexicography, sociolinguistics, learning disabilities, and hearing and speech physiology.
Linguistics Database
Proquest's database for linguistics journal articles.
Science Direct, OVID, and Web of Science
Three excellent science- and medicine-focused databases.
Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print and Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI)
Two comprehensive sources of information about psychological tests, going back many decades. See this page for more information on tests and measurements.
ERIC, Education Database, and Education Full-Text
Sociological Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), and Social Services Abstracts (or, to search an array of social science databases at once, try Social Science Premium Collection)
PILOTS: Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress
JSTOR
JSTOR has a wide variety of material, mainly on the humanities, but touching on the behavioral sciences as well.
Psychotherapy.net and Counseling and Therapy in Video
Two video-streaming databases dedicated to psychotherapeutic approaches and techniques.
Psychiatry Online
Psychiatric reference titles, including DSM-5.
Kanopy
Vanderbilt's subscription to Kanopy, a video streaming service, includes many films relevant to the study of human development across the lifespan. See a page dedicated to child health and development here. Search Kanopy for more relevant and interesting titles.
Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global
Proquest Ebook Central
Many of Vanderbilt’s ebooks are on the Ebook Central platform.
Ebsco eBook Collection
Another large, searchable collection of ebooks.
Our book catalog
To search only for books and ebooks, be sure that "VU Collections" is checked and select "Books" from the "Material Type" drop-down menu.
