Research Tips for Education Majors

REFERENCE BOOKS
Subject specific encyclopedias, handbooks, statistical and other background information are available in the reference area of Roesch Library on the 1st floor. Here are a few reference sources that may be useful:

Almanac of American Education
Roesch Reference - LB2846 .A45

Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia
Roesch Reference - LC189.95 .E38 2002

Education and Technology: an Encyclopedia
Roesch Reference - LB1028.3 .E17 2004

Educators Resource Directory
Roesch Reference - L901 .E443

Encyclopedia of American Education
Roesch Reference - LB17 .U54 2001

Encyclopedia of Education
Roesch Reference - LB15 .E47 2003

Encyclopedia of Educational Research
Roesch Reference - LB15 .E48 1992

Encyclopedia of Multicultural Education
Roesch Reference - LC1099.3 .M58 1999

Encyclopedia of Special Education
Roesch Reference - LC4007 .E53 2000

Standards and Schooling in the U. S.
Roesch Reference - LB2822.82 .S82 2001

World Education Encyclopedia
Roesch Reference - LB15 .W87 2001

LOCATING JOURNAL ARTICLES BY TOPIC
From the library homepage - http://library.udayton.edu/ - click on Research >> Find an Article. Article Databases are listed by title and subject. Below are a few recommended databases with search tips and instructions on accessing full-text articles.

Education Abstracts
1983-present. Indexes core international periodicals, books, and yearbooks in education. Some records in this database are linked to the full text of the article.

Search Tips:

Auto Search for Plurals


You may search for plurals automatically using the AUTO SEARCH FOR PLURALS check box - - at the bottom of the search form. If this is checked, your search will find the word(s) in both singular and plural forms, including complex forms.

Examples: child: finds child, child's, children, or children's
woman college: finds woman, woman's, women, or women's, and college or colleges

Truncation


When searching for keywords, if you are unsure of a word ending, or want to retrieve all possible word endings, you can use the wildcard character $.

Examples: teach$: finds teach, teacher, teachers, or teaching.
child$: finds child, child's, children, children's, childhood, childish, childrearing, etc.

Limit Your Search


From the search screen you can set limits for LANGUAGE, YEAR, ARTICLE or PUBLICATION TYPE, and LATEST UPDATE.

Use "ARTICLE TYPE: Feature Article" to limit your search. This will exclude bibliographies, legal cases, symposium papers and reviews on books, media, products, and videos.

Full Text:
On the search results screen, you will see:

• Attached Full Text — opens the full text in a new window

• Find a Copy — searches for full text in other services AND searches the UD and OhioLINK Catalogs to see who owns the journal in print.

ERIC
1966-present. ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) is supported by the National Library of Education, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. This database is the world's largest source of education information covering education research and practice.

ED vs EJ
ERIC contains two kinds of entries, designated by an ERIC number that is found at the beginning of the citation:
ED — Documents from the Resources in Education (RIE) index, which announces documents, including reports, papers, guides, and books. Some ED records are Digests, short reports on topics of prime current interest in education.

EJ — Journal Articles from the Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE).

Search Tips:

Auto Search for Plurals


See explanation under Education Abstracts

Truncation


See explanation under Education Abstracts

Limit Your Search


After you have conducted a search, you can LIMIT SEARCH RESULTS. This gives you additional limiters for PUBLICATION TYPE, AUDIENCE, EDUCATION LEVEL, and ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE. You can choose multiple entries on each list by holding down the CTRL key (Windows) or the SHIFT Key (Macintosh) when selecting. PUBLICATION TYPES to note are: Numerical/Quantitative Data, Reports - Research, and Tests/Questionnaires.

Check Thesaurus


To search the controlled vocabulary to find subject headings, leave the check in the CHECK KEYWORDS IN THE THESAURUS box - . Enter your search on the KEYWORD OR PHRASE line. If your term is in the Thesaurus, you can SEARCH for the subject, or VIEW THESAURUS to see related terms. If your term is not in the Thesaurus, GET SUGGESTED TERMS FROM THE THESAURUS.


Don’t Check Thesaurus


To search directly for a keyword or phrase anywhere in the database, including author names, article or document titles, journal titles, subjects, and abstracts, uncheck the CHECK KEYWORDS IN THESAURUS box.

Full Text:
On the search results screen, you will see "Find a Copy."


• For EJs (journal articles) — searches for full text in other databases AND searches the UD Catalog to see if we own the journal in print.

• For EDs (documents) — goes to one of three places: ERIC web site if after 1996, the OhioLINK catalog if published as a book, or the "How to Get ERIC Documents in the Roesch Library" help page if before 1996. EDs before 1996 are available in microfiche on the 2nd floor, and are arranged by the ED#.

Academic Search Premier
1984-present. Provides full text journal coverage of popular and scholarly articles for numerous academic areas of study.

Search Tips:
Under Limit your Results, you can check the box next to Peer Reviewed to limit your search to Scholarly Journals. See "What is a Scholarly Article" below for more information.

Full Text:
On the search results screen, you will see:

• PDF Full Text — an Adobe PDF document

• Full Text — a text document

• Find a Copy — searches the UD and OhioLINK Catalogs to see who owns the journal in print AND searches for full text in other databases

ACCESSING DATABASES OFF-CAMPUS
Follow these steps to access databases:

1. Go to http://library.udayton.edu/faqs/howto/connect_remotely.php
2. Click on Authenticate Now.
3. Enter your LDAP (Novell) username and password and press the login button.

You will be taken to a partial list of Databases and given a link for a complete listing.

If you get an Authentication Failed Error, come to the Circulation desk on the 1st floor of Roesch Library, or call (937) 229-4234, to make sure you are in the library system.

WHAT IS A SCHOLARLY ARTICLE?
A scholarly article is one that generally contributes additional knowledge to or demonstrates original research within a particular field. These articles do not report about events, but instead analyze and comment about events.

Authors of scholarly articles are writing for their peers. The language used in such articles presumes that the reader has a background knowledge of the topic.

Indicators of a scholarly article

Evidence of research, which can include either footnotes or a bibliography.
Evidence of expertise, as indicated in the author's credentials.
Explanation of research methodology.

Indicators of a scholarly journal

Usually published by academic publishers or by professional societies/organizations.
Fairly plain journal format. Fewer photographs or illustrations, mostly charts or graphs. Fewer advertisements as well.

Examples of scholarly journals:

American Educational Research Journal, American Journal of Education, Educational Leadership, Harvard Educational Review, Reading Research and Instruction, and Reading Teacher.

Verifying scholarly journals

Use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, Reference Desk Z6941.U45. Volume 4 includes a Title Index which indicates a Scholarly, or Refereed, journal with an arrow symbol ()

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Still not sure where to begin? Ask a Librarian!
Reference Desk, 1st floor Roesch Library
Phone - 229-4270
Email (or Chat when available) - http://library.udayton.edu/chat.php
Roesch Library home page - library.udayton.edu