PSYC 200: Rendon, L. (Winter 2025): Find documentaries and streaming videos
This library guide provides resources and tips for students in Liza Rendon's PSYC& 200 class and final assignment
Why use video/multimedia in your research?
Why Use Audio or Video Sources?
They can help provide the following:
- They can be valid sources for research
- They can give you a visual and emotional understanding of your topic
- They can allow you to hear important talks or lectures at your own convenience
- They can provide authentic, first-hand accounts of events from participants or witnesses in the film
- They are great for presentations you must give in front of a class - keep your audience interested and engaged!
- They need to be evaluated to determine if they are of good quality
Documentaries and streaming videos - Starting points and search tips
Streaming video databases:
These video databases from the TCC Library include interviews, documentaries, and more! Video databases also have citation help to help you cite these multimedia sources.
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Over 20,000 streaming videos appropriate for academic research. Videos can be watched in their entirety, or as individual segments. - Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Over 67,000 videos covering a wide variety of subject areas. Programs include documentaries, interviews, performances, news, raw footage, and archival materials. Also includes The PBS Video Collection of over 600 titles.
Online video sites:
- Browse TED Talks"TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages."
- YouTubeYouTube can be a great source for educational primary source videos, such as interviews and documentaries.
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowOver 20,000 streaming videos appropriate for academic research. Videos can be watched in their entirety, or as individual segments.
Sample search in Films on Demand:
- Type your keywords into the top search box -- keep it simple!
- You can narrow down the results by subject
- You can also narrow down your results to specific types of films, publication date, and more.
- Click on the title of the full video/segment to watch the film
Tools for watching and citing a video from Films on Demand:
Once you click on a title to watch the video, you have some tools and viewing options, including:
- View the transcript to be able to follow along -- and copy-and-paste any direct quotes into your paper or assignment!
- Click on related segments in the video
- Cite the video, which provides sample citations for MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles!
- Professor Erik Erikson: Part 1 - Films on DemandIn this video, psychologist Erik Erikson discusses psychoanalysis and how he got involved in the field. He also discusses his Eight Stages of Development theory. Tip: If a log-in screen appears, log in using the same credentials you use for the portal.
- Transient Childhood - Films on DemandSegment in a documentary about Excessive & Compulsive Collectors and the psychology behind obsession.Tip: If a log-in screen appears, log in using the same credentials you use for the portal.
- Epigenetics: Decoding Life - Films on DemandThis documentary uncovers the latest findings in the field of epigenetics. Speaking with top experts, we learn how the latest research can be used to treat some of society’s most dire health crises. Tip: If a log-in screen appears, log in using the same credentials you use for the portal.
- The biology of gender, from DNA to the brain - TED TalkKarissa Sanbonmatsu • TEDWomen 2018. "How exactly does gender work? It's not just about our chromosomes, says biologist Karissa Sanbonmatsu. In a visionary talk, she shares new discoveries from epigenetics, the emerging study of how DNA activity can permanently change based on social factors like trauma or diet."
- The science behind how parents affect child development - TED TalkYuko Munakata • TEDxCU. "Of course, parenting plays an important role in shaping who children become, but psychologist Yuko Munakata offers an alternative, research-backed reality that highlights how it's just one of many factors that influence the chaotic complexity of childhood development."
- How I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's - TED TalkAlanna Shaikh • TEDGlobal 2012. "When faced with a parent suffering from Alzheimer's, most of us respond with denial ("It won't happen to me") or extreme efforts at prevention. But global health expert and TED Fellow Alanna Shaikh sees it differently. She's taking three concrete steps to prepare for the moment -- should it arrive -- when she herself gets Alzheimer's disease."
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