Guide to the Fields in APA Database Records
APA Databases records are divided into fields, which makes searching the databases easier. What goes into each field varies depending on the type of literature we're documenting.
This guide lists all the fields, plus an explanation of what each field does.
The * indicates a field that is display only (not searchable) in the APA PsycNET® vendor system.
Check the online help for your search system or the search guide in our Help and Training Center to find out how to use these fields and their values when searching the database.
We also have a printer-friendly version of this field guide in PDF format (24K), which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have a copy of the Reader, you can download it for free from Adobe's web site.
Updated May 2010
Field Guide
| FIELD NAME | CONTENT OF FIELD or POSSIBLE VALUES |
|---|---|
| Unique Identifier | PsycINFO unique record identifier |
| Author | Name of Author(s) |
| Author E-mail | Author's e-mail address |
| Author Correspondence Address | Address for corresponding author |
| Affiliation | Institutional affiliation of authors |
| Title | Title of material, including translated titles for non-English language material |
| Source | Full citation for journals, book chapters, dissertations, and electronic collections; publisher, year, and pagination only for books; contains the sub-field, ARTICLE ID*, which uniquely identifies an article-by-article published record |
| Page Count* | Total number of pages for a journal article; generally used when pagination is not available |
| Publication Status* | Captures the publication status of an article in journals; currently, there are two values: First Posting and CrossMark |
| Publication Date | Document's date of publication; includes year of publication and may include day, month, or season |
| Publication History* | Appears only in journal records and may show the dates of First Posting, Accepted Date, Revised Date, and First Submitted date for an article |
| Publisher | Publisher of the source material |
| Other Publishers | Notes variations of the publisher name; may occur in any publication type, but is most common in journal records |
| Other Serial Titles | Notes variations of serial title name; may appear in records where the Publication Type is Journal or Electronic Collection |
| Country of Publication* | Publisher's location |
| ISSN / ISBN | ISSN (journals) or ISBN (books) |
| Language | Document language |
| Reviewed Item (Journal and Electronic Collection records only) | For book, software, etc. reviews, the full citation of the material being reviewed |
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) | Publisher-supplied data for linking to full-text |
| Abstract | Summary of document's content |
| Keywords | Key concepts and / or brief phrases describing document's content |
| Index Terms (sometimes called Descriptors, Thesaurus Terms) | Controlled vocabulary from Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms |
| Classification Code | Broad content classification (view codes) |
| Publication Type | Book Authored Book Edited Book Journal Peer-Reviewed Journal Non-Peer-Reviewed (Display Only) Journal Peer-Reviewed Status-Unknown (Display Only) Electronic Collection Encyclopedia |
| Book Type | Conference Proceedings Handbook / Manual Reference Book Textbook / Study Guide |
| Document Type | Abstract Collection Bibliography Chapter Column / Opinion Comment / Reply Dissertation Editorial Encyclopedia Entry Erratum / Correction Journal Article Letter Obituary Publication Information Reprint Review-Book Review-Media Review-Other |
| Population | Human Animal Male Female Inpatient Outpatient |
| Age Group | Childhood (birth-12 years)
Neonatal (birth-1 month) Infancy (2-23 months) Preschool Age (2-5 years) School Age (6-12 years) Adolescence (13-17 years) Adulthood (18 years & older) Young Adulthood (18-29 years) Thirties (30-39 years) Middle Age (40-64 years) Aged (65 years & older) Very Old (85 years & older) |
| Location | Country where study was done |
| Methodology (view definitions of values) | Brain Imaging Clinical Case Study Empirical Study Experimental Replication Follow-up Study Longitudinal Study Prospective Study Retrospective Study Field Study Interview Focus Group Literature Review Systematic Review Mathematical Modeling Meta Analysis Nonclinical Case Study Qualitative Study Quantitative Study Treatment Outcome / Randomized Clinical Trial Twin Study |
| Supplemental Material (Appended, Internet Available, or Appended/Internet Available) | 3-D modeling images Appendixes Audio Computer Software Data Sets DVD / CD Experimental Materials Tables and Figures Text Video Web sites Workbook / Study Guide Other |
| Tests & Measures | Names of tests and measurements referred to or used in the source material study |
| Audience Type (book and chapter records only) | Written for the General Public
Juvenile Written for Professionals (Psychology: Professional & Research) |
| Grant / Sponsorship | Identifies the source(s) of grants, sponsorship, and funding for the research or study |
| Copyright Data | Displays copyright information when an article or chapter record is first published; may contain copyright statement, copyright holder, and year |
| Table of Contents* (book records only) | Book table of contents |
| Cited References | Reference list published with article, book, chapter, dissertation, or electronic collection (Searchable via PsycNET Cited References search screen) |
| Release Date (sometimes called Update code) | Date a record was released into a database and the product name to which it was released; format is YYYYMMDD followed by the product name, e.g., 20090511 (PsycINFO). Note: If the record was released into another database, e.g., PsycARTICLES, record will contain two release dates: 20090601 (PsycARTICLES); 20090601 (PsycINFO). |
| Correction Update Record* | Date a record was corrected if a record is corrected; if corrected, record will always have at least one correction date for PsycINFO; format is YYYYMMDD and the name of the product in which it was corrected, e.g., 20090701 (PsycINFO). Note: If the record was corrected in additional products, e.g., PsycCRITIQUES, record will contain two corrections dates: 20080908 (PsycCRITIQUES); 20080908 (PsycINFO). |
