APA PsycInfo® Frequently Asked Questions
These are the top questions asked most by our visitors. If you have a question that's not on this list, please email usopens in new window. We'll send you a personal response within the week.
You may have access to APA PsycInfo through your library or institution. Please ask your librarian or check your institution’s web site.
Individuals can purchase access to APA databases through annual subscriptions or on-demand access. Read more on our APA Member and Individual Access page.
Go to the My APA web page and enter your user name and password.
- Your User Name is your 8-digit APA member number.
- Your Password (second box) is your last name, all in lower case.
After clicking on “GO,” you will get a page with the databases listed under “My Subscriptions.”
If you have trouble logging in, click on “Forgot your password?” and fill out the online form.
You may change your password to something you prefer so long as it is five digits or more and is not your user name.
The APA PsycInfo database is a finding and linking database that contains abstracts, bibliographic citations, references, and other descriptive information. It is not a full-text database. Look for a DOI field in the full record. You may be able to link directly to the article if it is in electronic form and you have access. You may be able to get a print copy for free from a library or through interlibrary loan or for a fee from a document delivery service. Our Full Text Document Delivery Sources page has all the details.
If the journal article you want was published by APA, the APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association, or Hogrefe Publishing Group, it will appear in APA PsycArticles, APA’s full-text database of journal articles. If your institution has access to APA PsycArticles, you can view a PDF or HTML version of the journal article. Or you can buy single articles with APA PsycArticles Direct. Visit the Day Pass or By-the-Item Access page for more information.
Most search systems provide context-sensitive online help, so that’s the best place to start. There's probably a HELP button somewhere on the screen. If you’re searching APA PsycInfo through your institution’s library, a reference librarian may be able to sit down with you and guide you through the search.
Visit our Search Help and Training Center. It has search guides and other useful information specific to each vendor system that provides APA PsycInfo.
For help with a specific search strategy, contact us. We can give you suggestions about what terms to search and help you if what you've searched for already isn't giving you the information you want.
We're always happy to consider new publications for coverage in APA PsycInfo. Go to the APA PsycInfo Publisher Relations section for details for submitting books or journals.
The price of APA PsycInfo varies depending on whether you are an individual searching from your home or office or an institution providing access to the database to many people.
Individual Access
You can get unlimited access by subscribing to a database package or get daily access from a nominal fee.
Institutional Access
APA makes its databases available for site licenses through several distribution vendors.
Start by searching APA PsycInfo to find the names of tests that have been used in research and written about in the literature. Test name would appear in both the Abstract field and the Tests & Measures field.
In some cases, the items from the instrument may be included in the full-text of the article. If this is the case, the test name is marked “Appended” in the Tests & Measures field.
A more direct option would be to access the APA PsycTests® database which is specifically designed to provide descriptive information about unpublished tests and measures. Additionally, a high percentage of the records in the database contain the test items and other test-specific information. The majority of these have links to the peer-reviewed journal articles that provide more detail about the development of the measure.
APA's Science Directorate is a good source for general information about psychological tests and test publishers. Visit their Testing and Assessment page, which includes a link to frequently asked questions about tests.
Another good source for test information is the Buros Institute Test Reviews Onlineopens in new window.
Please send an email message to APA PsycInfoopens in new window describing the error. Include the APA PsycInfo record number (probably labeled “accession number”), what the error is, and how it should be corrected. We will research the error, and the correction will appear in a future APA PsycInfo update.
No. Some technical reports appeared in Psychological Abstracts, but are not in APA PsycInfo. These technical reports are now included in APA PsycExtra. All records covering books and peer-reviewed journals that appeared in Psychological Abstracts are in APA PsycInfo.
We can't do the search for you, but you can search APA PsycInfo to get abstracts of psychological literature. If you’re affiliated with a college, university, or other academic or research institution, check with your librarian to see if your library subscribes to APA PsycInfo. Individuals can purchase access to APA databases through annual subscriptions or on-demand access. Read more on our APA Member and Individual Access page.
If you want to know what terms to search for your topic, contact us, and we'll be happy to help.
Yes. COUNTER is a standard for reporting online usage statistics. APA is fully compliant with COUNTER Release 5, and reports via SUSHI are also available. For more information about accessing COUNTER reports or configuring SUSHI, please visit the Usage Statisticsopens in new window page in the Librarian’s Resource Center or visit the APA Learning Commonsopens in new window.
