Psychology 57: History of Psychiatry
Spring 2006
Finding Books
Four College Library Catalog and UMass Library Catalog All the books and journals owned by the Five College libraries. Formal SUBJECTs require exact words or phrases chosen by libraries to define your topic. For example, books that focus on the general subject of this course are listed as "psychiatry - history ", but interesting books may appear in the catalog under subjects like "mental illness" or under specific disorders. When formal subjects get confusing, try KEYWORDs. Make a distinction between books about the history of a field or a disorder or a treatment and historical texts that are actually primary documents about them.
WorldCat Database that is like a combined catalog of many libraries in the United States and beyond.
Resources on the History of Psychiatry a bibliography by Emily Martin and Lorna A Rhodes, professors of anthropology, compiled for the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine. If you want to search the catalog of the National Library of Medicine yourself, try its NLM LocatorPlus
Annual Review of Psychology: Search for literature reviews -- recommending both books and articles -- on your topic. Literature surveys can lead you quickly to major sources.
Finding Articles
Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, United States Army, 1880-1955 (Frost/Reference Z 6676 U6) 58 vols.: A record of books and (mostly) journal articles in the library that became the National Library of Medicine. Publications listed here reflect the developments in the field you are studying. A gold mine of historical material. Use old-fashioned terminology to search older volumes.
American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900. Complete texts of articles from early journals. Good for 18th and 19th-century accounts of illnesses, hospitals, treatments, etc.
PubMed : Modern index to vast array of biomedical and health sciences literature, covering journal articles from the mid-1960s on. Do you find this database intimidating? Try the 3-minute online tutorial Searching the MeSH (medical subject headings) Database. Created by the National Library of Medicine.
PsycInfo : References to articles in psychology journals from 1887 on, many with links to complete texts.
Expanded Academic ASAP and Academic Search Premier: Databases with references to articles (mostly published since the 1980s) from a variety of journals.
Journal Locator/Citation Linker, Do you already know what article you need? Connect to electronic copies or look in library catalog for print journals.
Finding Background Information
Harvard Guide to Psychiatry (Science/Reference RC 454 N47 1999): Chapters covering major topics and issues in psychiatry. Remember it was published 17 years ago.
Handbook of Psychology (Science Reference BF 121 H1955 2003): 12 volumes, each devoted to a major aspect of psychology, with substantial articles and recommendations for more research.
The Freud Encyclopedia: Theroy, Therapy, and Culture (Frost/Reference BF 173 F6176 2002): Quiute short articles on Freud and his theories, his followers, and his influence.
OED Online: The best unabridged English dictionary with extensive notes on historical changes in words' meanings and usage. Think about it for this course.
Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary (Science/Reference RC 437 H5 2004): An up-to-date dictionary for short definitions.
Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary or The Royal Society of Medicine Health Encyclopedia: Just for quick look-up of simple terms and definitions.
Getting Help and Other Useful Tips
Ask for help! Come to Reference for Reference and research advice from the experts. Or just Ask Us on email.
Borrowing Books from the AC Library
5 College Direct Borrowing Books from other local libraries
Amherst students who want books from beyond the 5 College area and articles Amherst does not own may order them through Interlibrary Loan .
Suggest the Library to buy a book it doesn't own.
Do you want help citing books and other sources in your research paper? Use Using APA Style, Purdue University's electronic handout for using APA style manual.