PSYC 376 (Sia) - Human Sexuality

Welcome! Please feel free to contact a librarian as you are looking for information for your Human Sexuality course. Use the online Ask a Librarian service, email librarian@tlu.edu, or visit the main desk and ask to speak with a librarian (the first people you will see at the desk are student workers, not librarians!). Start your question with "I'm looking for information for my Human Sexuality class." That will prepare the librarians to know that your search terms will be related to human sexuality topics! You can also pull up this guide and walk through it during your meeting.

One of the typical HUM assignments is to find brochures on human sexuality topics from reputable organizations. After printing the brochures, you will use them to teach peers about topics related to human sexuality. Here's an example of the kind of thing you're looking for. Take note of which organization created the brochure - nonprofits, government agencies, and colleges are usually excellent sources.

This is an example of the kind of brochure you're looking for.

Here are some tips for searching for brochures:

• There is not a library database with a large collection of brochures. You will be looking on the open Web. There will be a lot of trial and error involved - be prepared to click on 10 or more search results, not just the first one or two results.
• Do some searches combining your search terms with the word "brochure," and some other searches combining your search terms with the word "pamphlet."
• Sometimes, you may be able to create a PDF that meets Dr. Sia's specifications for page length from a graphically interesting web page, even if it is not currently formatted as a brochure/pamphlet. 
• Look at the Images tab in addition to the main search results tab. Be aware that the first few results on the main search results page might be advertisements.

Notice the small text indicating that this first search result is an ad. 

• Here are some sample searches to conduct on the open Web, using herpes as an example topic:
  • herpes brochure
  • herpes pamphlet
  • herpes brochure filetype:pdf (on Google, this will find PDFs only)
  • herpes site:scarleteen.com (on Google, this will limit the search to a single website, scarleteen.com)
  • herpes site:.edu (on Google, this will limit the search to results with a .edu domain)
  • herpes site:.gov (on Google, this will limit the search to results with a .gov domain)

All the results are from .gov domains, because we used site:.gov in the search query. 

You might be asked to find academic articles in specific journals. Limiting your search to specific journals can be a useful way to avoid being overwhelmed by search results. 

Go to the PsycINFO database (Databases by Subject --> Psychology --> PsycINFO). If you are instructed to find articles from the Journal of Sex Research or International Journal of Sexual Health, you will put those journal titles into one of your search boxes. In another box or two, put ideas related to the topics you are investigating.

The International Journal of Sexual Health was previously called the Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality. If you search for International Journal of Sexual Health in PsycINFO, the older articles from the Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality will automatically be included.

Put your search terms in one or two boxes. In another box, put the journal titles linked by the Boolean operator OR. 

Journal of Sex Research OR International Journal of Sexual Health

Because you are searching a limited number of journals, keep your search terms fairly broad. Some example search terms (which are also recognized subject headings in PsycINFO) are:

• sexual satisfaction
• sexual arousal
• sexual attitudes 
• sexual intercourse 
• sexuality
• sexually transmitted diseases
• stigma
• fertility
• infertility
• female orgasm
• male orgasm
• fetishism
• paraphilias
• sexual aids 
• sexology

Sometimes, you will see the PDF full-text in PsycINFO. If the full text is not available in PsycINFO, you can click on the Interlibrary Loan button and fill out the form to request an Interlibrary Loan. Don't give up on an article and don't pay for an article! Interlibrary Loan has no cost. The article usually comes to your email within a couple of days.