Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms^®

• 83 new postable terms
• 12 nonpostable terms changing to postable status
• 266 revised scope notes
• Updated term hierarchies and relationships for more precise search and enhanced information discovery when utilizing APA’s databases

New/updated terms (PDF, 61KB)opens in new window

• Civic Engagement
• De-Escalation
• Immigration Law
• Political Ideology
• Surveillance Technology

• Includes more than 10,100 standard and cross-referenced terms.
• Scope notes define the terms.
• Historical notes provide valuable information on historical usage, text, or status changes, and the application of the term to historical records.
• Term hierarchies show the relationship to other terms.
• Posting notes tell how many times the term has been used in APA database records at the time the Thesaurus was published. Posting notes are a feature specific to APA PsycNet^®.
• The year indicates when the term was added to the Thesaurus.

What are index terms?

Index terms are controlled vocabulary terms used in database records to make searching easier and more successful. By standardizing the words or phrases used to represent concepts, you don't need to try and figure out all the ways different authors could refer to the same concept. Each record in APA's databases contains controlled vocabulary terms from the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.

APA staff index records according to the source document's level of specificity. For example, an experimental population labeled “high school students” will be indexed with the term “High School Students”, not the broader and less specific term “Students”. Therefore, any relevant narrower terms should be included in the list of index terms in your search. Related terms may also closely match a search topic, and should be considered as well.

Why is a controlled vocabulary essential for searching?

With the wide variety of concepts and vocabulary used in the psychological literature, search and retrieval of records about specific concepts is virtually impossible without the controlled vocabulary of a thesaurus. This controlled vocabulary provides a way of structuring the subject matter in a way that is consistent among users (e.g., searching for Dysphoria, Melancholia, and Depression can all be achieved by searching the term “Major Depression”).

Online thesaurus searching

Each database vendor includes an online thesaurus, although index term field labels vary across platforms. Check the search help for the system you are using to see how to search using index terms. If we have a search guide for your system, you'll also find the information there.

Please visit our Field Guide for more details on other fields in APA PsycInfo records.

If you have feedback or want to suggest new terms, please contact Customer Engagementopens in new window.