Databases and Journals
When researching for an assessment, there are several ways you can find and access peer-reviewed journal articles. We recommend searching within key health databases and relevant Child Play Therapy journals to find the most relevant scholarly information.
Search planner
A search planner is a useful tool to help you plan and document your search strategy.
Download the search planner and follow along with the steps in the Planning your database search page to build an effective search.
Recommended Databases
- CINAHL CompleteCINAHL Complete is a comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 1,300 journals indexed in CINAHL.
- Medline CompleteMEDLINE Complete is the largest full-text companion to the MEDLINE index, containing full text for journals.
- APA PsycInfoPsycINFO, from the American Psychological Association (APA), covers all psychology and related disciplines and contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations,dating as far back as the 1800s.
- ERIC (Ebsco)ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) contains abstracts and indexes of education literature and resources.
- Education SourceCoverage in Education Source spans all levels of education from early childhood to higher education and also includes educational specialties such as multilingual education, health education and testing.
Databases on other platforms:
- EmbaseThe Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE) on the Elsevier platform, is a biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing international journals in the health fields. EMBASE is considered an essential database for inclusion in systematic reviews.
For Australian material:
- Health Collection (Informit)The INFORMIT Health Collection is a useful resource for Australian content, it includes research articles, reports and case studies of practical support. Subject areas included ageing and age care, child health and breastfeeding, indigenous health issues, mental health and rehabilitation.
Citation index databases:
- ScopusScopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources, covering Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences. This database allows the researcher to "snowball search" for linked citations.
- Web of ScienceThe Web of Science interface includes Web of Science Core Collections including the Arts & humanities citation index, Conference Proceedings Citation Indexes, Current Chemical Reactions and Book Citation Indexes. This database allows the researcher to "snowball search" for linked citations.
Tip
Some databases, like Medline Complete, exclusively search peer-reviewed journals, while others offer a filter to refine your search results to peer-reviewed articles only. Look for the 'peer reviewed' or 'academic journals' filter after conducting your search.
Licensing information: Please read what you can and can't do with each resource in the A-Z Databases under 'License Information'. Queries can be sent to the Publisher Licensing Consultant.
Recommended journals
The following journals publish research on topics relevant to Child Play Therapy:
- British Journal of Play TherapyThe British Journal of Play Therapy is published annually by the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT).
- International Journal of PlayThe International Journal of Play is an inter-disciplinary publication focusing on all facets of play. It aims to provide an international forum for mono- and multi-disciplinary papers and scholarly debate on all aspects of play theory, policy and practice from across the globe and across the lifespan.
- International Journal of Play TherapyThe International Journal of Play Therapy is dedicated to publishing and disseminating reports of original research, theoretical articles, and substantive reviews of topics germane to play therapy on behalf of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, school counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other mental health professionals.
- The Arts in PsychotherapyThe Arts in Psychotherapy is a dynamic, contemporary journal publishing evidence-based research, expert opinion, theoretical positions, and case material on a wide range of topics intersecting the fields of mental health and creative arts therapies. It is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing 5 issues annually.
So, when is it okay to use Google Scholar?
Google Scholar is a good place to start exploring what literature is available on your topic. It can also be helpful for finding peer-reviewed articles, but keep in mind that Google Scholar results also include non-academic and non-peer reviewed material.
We've developed some tips to help you conduct effective Google Scholar searches in our Grey literature and Google page.
See our page on Finding Peer Review Resources for more information on how to confirm if an article found via Google Scholar is peer reviewed.