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Community Psychology & School Psychology Masters

Theories & Theorists

This guide has been created to help you find information on psychological theories and theorists

Remember: all Alverno electronic resources are available from off campus. Use your Alverno Network Login to access our resources from off campus.

 

A useful starting point is to find background information in subject specific encyclopedias in Alverno's library. This will give you the vocabulary you need to expand your searching.

When using subject specific encyclopedias in Alverno's library first try looking up the name of your theorist in the index. The specific theory might be listed there as well. Here are some useful titles:

Reearch Using Books

You can find many useful books, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles in electronic format by doing a search in the PsycBOOKS database. A link to it can be found on the library's Databases by Subject - Psychology & Social Work page.

Try searching in this database for "Piaget" AND "theory" or try looking for "Piaget" as an author.

Here is a direct link to PsycBooks.

To find e-books on your theorist or theory available through the library, use the links found on the library Databases webpage or use the search box below to begin your search.

Books can give you a good overview and some history on your topic. Use TOPCAT to find books on your topic. You can jse the search box below. Try some of these searches:

  • First do a subject or keyword search using the name of your theorist as your topic to find books in Alverno's library or the other SWITCH libraries about your theorist.
  • Do an author search to find books written by your theorist.
  • Try a subject search or a keyword search using a specific theory name as your topic.

Finding Journal Articles

Find journal articles on your theorist or theory by doing a search in PsycINFO or PsycARTICLES. Visit the library's Databases page and select Psychology & Social Work  to find links to either database.

If you do an author search in either database using the name of your theorist for your search term, you will find articles written by your theorist.

Here are direct links to PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES.

Useful Websites