Describes a macroconceptual approach to psychological literature that offers distinct advantages over manual search procedures. An online computer search permits component parts of a literature to be located, indicates changes over time in frequency and content of citations, and is able to characterize and organize an entire body of literature. The present article describes the PsycINFO database and other databases, provides a bibliography of 40 references on online searching, indicates the utility of cross-database searching, and suggests the feasibility of online document retrieval. The size, scope, and frequency of updates of relevant databases are examined, and the number of references retrieved in a sample search on anorexia nervosa is compared across sources. (9 ref)