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PubPsych is a multilingual, open-access retrieval system for psychological resources, coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) in Germany with a group of European and US partner institutions. It searched several psychology databases at once, so one query could return journal literature, tests and research data from different countries.
Current status: ZPID’s former PubPsych product page now forwards to the institute’s home page, which lists PsychPorta, PSYNDEX Lit, PSYNDEX Tests and PsychArchives as its search products and does not list PubPsych. Check ZPID’s site for what is available today before you plan a search around PubPsych.
What PubPsych Is
PubPsych is described as a vertical open-access information retrieval system: a search layer built for one discipline rather than for all of science. Because it is built around psychology, it suits readers who already know what psychology is as a field and want literature indexed by psychological topics, not by a general-purpose engine. Its search interface was offered in English, Spanish, French and German, and where available it linked records to full texts through link resolving.
Who Runs It and What It Covers
ZPID, the Leibniz Institute for Psychology in Trier, coordinates PubPsych. It is described as a joint project with these partners:
- INIST-CNRS (France)
- CSIC (Spain)
- NARCIS (Netherlands)
- National Library of Norway
- U.S. National Library of Medicine
- ERIC (United States)
The index held over 800,000 records. Four databases were indexed in full: PSYNDEX, PsychOpen, PsychData and ISOC-Psicología. The psychology-relevant segments of five more were included: PASCAL, NARCIS, NORART, MEDLINE and ERIC. ZPID’s open repository for research objects is covered in our guide to PsychArchives.
How to Search for the Same Material Today
ZPID’s current search portal, PsychPorta, presents psychology resources from ZPID’s collections and lets you filter by four sources: publication metadata from German-speaking psychology (PSYNDEX), research objects from international psychology (PsychArchives), test references (PSYNDEX Tests) and author profiles. Its search portal and metadata are released under a CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication, and other licenses may apply to third-party data such as abstracts.
For commercial-database search technique, see our guide to PsycINFO search strategy.
Strengths and Limits
- Strength, one query across sources: PubPsych combined literature databases from several countries, including European ones that general indexes cover less thoroughly.
- Strength, open access: It was positioned as an open-access system, with full-text links where a full text was available.
- Limit, partial segments: For MEDLINE, ERIC and similar sources only the psychology-relevant segments were included, so it was not a substitute for searching those databases directly.
- Limit, availability: The official PubPsych page no longer exists under its old address, so confirm the current service before relying on it.
Alternatives
| Resource | What it offers | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| PsychPorta | Search portal across ZPID collections: PSYNDEX literature, PsychArchives research objects, tests, author profiles | Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) |
| PsychArchives | Open repository for research objects | Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) |
| PSYNDEX Tests | Test references from German-speaking psychology | Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) |
| PsycINFO | Subscription psychology database | American Psychological Association |
For psychology preprints, see our entry on PsyArXiv. When you turn what you find into a manuscript, our guide on how to write a research paper covers the next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PubPsych?
An open-access retrieval system for psychological resources coordinated by ZPID, searching several psychology databases together.
Who runs PubPsych?
ZPID, the Leibniz Institute for Psychology in Germany, as a joint project with INIST-CNRS, CSIC, NARCIS, the National Library of Norway, the U.S. National Library of Medicine and ERIC.
Which databases did PubPsych include?
PSYNDEX, PsychOpen, PsychData and ISOC-Psicología in full, plus psychology-relevant segments of PASCAL, NARCIS, NORART, MEDLINE and ERIC.
Which languages did the interface support?
English, Spanish, French and German.
Is PubPsych still available?
ZPID’s old PubPsych page now forwards to the institute’s home page, which lists PsychPorta, PSYNDEX Lit, PSYNDEX Tests and PsychArchives. Check ZPID’s site for the current status.
Sources
- Wikipedia. PubPsych. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubPsych (checked November 7, 2026).
- Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID). Home page and product list. https://leibniz-psychology.org/ (checked November 7, 2026).
- Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID). PsychPorta. https://psychporta.org/ (checked November 7, 2026).
