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Guides and other tips on finding the best information in the education disciplines, see our Help Guides

 

Finding articles in the Education Discipline

Locating articles in a database

To locate articles, you will need to use an index or a database, which will allow you to search for a topic and will provide you with references to specific journals that contain articles on that topic.

An index or electronic database consists of entries or database records that index hundreds of journals all in one place. The database or index search generates a list of citations. A citation consists of information needed to locate a specific article in a specific journal. Each citation provides the journal name, author name, article title, date, volume and issues numbers, and page numbers where the article is located.

Sample citation to journal article; shows article name, author name, journal name (source), volume and issue numbers, page numbers, and date.

Image of a citation containing article title, author, volume number, etc.

Using the database

One collection of electronic databases to periodical articles is the FirstSearch system, which offers over 70 different databases covering many subject areas. (The best databases for education are ERIC and Education Abstracts).

When retrieving records from a database keywords are used to describe a topic. By using logic to tell the computer what to retrieve you can create a specific search strategy.

Searching at its most basic can involve a search for a single word or a combination of words linked by AND.

Search retrieval logic uses two main different types of logic. (Logical operators are AND, OR, & NOT). NOT logic exclude search concepts, and is rarely used.

  • AND logic tells the system that word 1 and word 2 must be present anyplace in the same database record to retrieve that record. Searching example: preschool and programs
  • OR logic tells the system that word 1 or word 2 must be present anyplace in the same record. OR is used to search terms that are alike in meaning. Searching example: woman or girl or female

For additional information on how to acquire materials found in the search at WMU see: Locating Periodical Articles in the Libraries

Research steps

  1. Select your topic (help on topics).
  2. Write out a topic statement in a couple sentences.
  3. Select the most appropriate database by subject. (databases by subject)
  4. Plan the search using keywords from your topic statement and the logical operators described above.
  5. Execute the search in the database you selected.
  6. Review the results and rerun with alternate terms if the results is not satisfactory.
  7. Check the search results against WMU Libraries online cataglog to determine the journal titles available in the WMU collections.

Suggested Databases Providing Abstracts (summaries) and/or Citations

Education Abstracts. Covers English-language periodicals and yearbooks published in the U.S. and elsewhere. Subjects include education administration, teaching methods and curriculum, literacy, government funding, and more. Updated Monthly. 1983-present.

ERIC The ERIC database is often the best place to begin research in the education discipline. The database includes citations and abstracts for both articles in education journals and for documents in the ERIC document collection. Over 700 education journals are indexed monthly in ERIC. The document collection (publications that are not journals) consists of over 400,000 full text documents written by education professionals and reproduced on microfiche.

Recently ERIC stopped reproducing documents on microfiche; documents in many cases are now available free of charge online. They are stored as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files and may be saved on your computer. To read an ERIC document saved as a PDF you must have an Adobe PDF file viewer, freely available on the Web.

PsycInfo 1887. Indexes journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and reports on counseling, psychotherapy, psychology and related fields. Coverage from 1887 to date.

Digital Dissertations. Indexes (1861-present) and abstracts (1980-present) doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Full text from 1997.

Suggested databases providing full text of documents or articles online

Wilson Select Plus. Contains indexed and abstracted articles from over 800 periodicals, including many major education journals, all with ASCII full text online. The database is comprised of records from the following databases: Readers' Guide Abstracts (popular magazines), Social Sciences Abstracts (psychology, economics, history), Humanities Abstracts (literature, the arts), General Science Abstracts (astronomy, life sciences, medicine, general science) and Wilson Business Abstracts (management, finance, accounting, business). Coverage is from 1994 to date.

Lexis/Nexis. A full text database service strong in law, business, and news. Dates of coverage vary.

ERIC Database Available Free of Charge to General Public

Alternative ERIC Database Access via the WWW. Lists ERIC database search sites available to the general public at no cost on the World Wide Web.

Databases & Indexes. Links to University Libraries Web page that lists databases available to library users.

Print Resources

CIJE: Current Index To Journals In Education Reference Z 5813 .C8x (ERC) 1969-2002 Ceased publication in 2002: Monthly indexes and abstracts articles from over 700 journals in education and related areas (child development, teacher education, literacy, adult education, among others). Also available in an electronic database format known as the ERIC database. 1969-present.

RIE: Resources In Education Current issues ERIC Index Table Z 5813 .R4. (ERC) 1966-2002 Ceased publication in 2002: Indexes and abstracts all documents in the ERIC microfiche collection (items designated with ED numbers) in the Education Library. Also available in an electronic database format known as the ERIC database (see above). 1979-present.

Psychological Abstracts Waldo Library, Reference, Latest edition in Reference, BF 1 .P65 (Main) Indexes and abstracts the literature of psychology and mental disorders; indexes books, periodical and professional journal articles, dissertations, and book chapters. 1927-present. Psychological Abstracts is also available in an electronic database format as PsycINFO 1887.