Subject Guides: Secondary Education: Home

Learn About Your Topic

Just Beginning? Don't Have a Topic? Need More Depth?

Use these sources to explore, refine and delve into your topic ideas.

Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7. Because each library creates its own eBook collection, the content you see may vary if you use the database at different libraries (your school, your public library, or your office).
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (formerly Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center) draws on the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Thomson Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources, including selections from Bioethics for Students. The result is a dynamic online library of current event topics--the facts, as well as the arguments, of each topic's proponents and detractors. OVIC's unique features include Topic Overviews -- frameworks that allow students to explore each topic's many facets -- and exclusive electronic access to Thomson Gale's Information Plus reference series of statistics, government data, information on legislation and more.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
The CQ Researcher explores a single "hot" issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports. Search or browse by topic and/or issue; 1991-present.
TOPICsearch (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
2,500 diverse sources including international and regional newspapers, EBSCO's unparalleled periodicals collection, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, government information and EBSCO's Current Issues database
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research. By logging into Google Scholar from off-campus, the library holdings will be integrated into your search results allowing you to quickly find the full-text of scholarly materials.

RefWorks

You can easily input (and format) journal articles, books, websites, and other resources for your paper with RefWorks!

RefWorks is a Web-based bibliography and database manager that helps you collect and organize citations and access them from any computer with a Web connection.

RefWorks will even take your list and generate a bibliography of references, using APA, MLA, or any other format you select.

When gathering records from other databases, look for instructions for how to directly export your records to RefWorks.

Useful Education Links

ERIC - The Main Database for Education

Looking for Articles/Research in education START HERE:

ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
1967+ ERIC, the U.S. Department of Education Resource Information Center databases, contains indexing and abstracts from thousands of research and technical reports in the Resources In Education Index (RIE) and from more than 750 education and education-related journals in the Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). In addition, selected full text articles are available for thousands of ERIC digest records. Updated quarterly.

ERIC is the main database to use when you want to find articles, journals or documents in education. We have access to three versions of ERIC. All provide access to the same data only their interfaces are different. ERIC through EBSCO and ProQuest are by subscription, ERIC Home Page links to the freely available version of ERIC at eric.ed.gov. For more information on ERIC and help with searching and citing ERIC Documents see the information tab.

ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
1967+ ERIC, the U.S. Department of Education Resource Information Center databases, contains indexing and abstracts from thousands of research and technical reports in the Resources In Education Index (RIE) and from more than 750 education and education-related journals in the Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). In addition, selected full text articles are available for thousands of ERIC digest records. Updated quarterly.
ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
1967+ ERIC, the U.S. Department of Education Resource Information Center databases, contains indexing and abstracts from thousands of research and technical reports in the Resources In Education Index (RIE) and from more than 750 education and education-related journals in the Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). In addition, selected full text articles are available for thousands of ERIC digest records. Updated quarterly.
ERIC Home Page This link opens in a new window
Listings and connections to many components of the ERIC system including the ERIC database, ERIC Clearinghouses, Support Components, and other services.

Searching ERIC: A Step By Step Guide
The handout gives you a step by step guide on how to search ERIC (Ebsco). The steps outlined show you how to use the ERIC (Ebsco) Thesaurus and the Search History to perform effective searches.

Education Synthesis Tutorial
Learn how to bring your sources together into an amazing paper.
How ERIC Can Help You Write A Research Paper
A video describing how ERIC can help you write a research paper. Focus is on ERIC.ed.gov but principals apply to all versions of ERIC

What Are ERIC Documents?

The ERIC database is the world's largest single source of education information, containing more than 1.1 million records. When you search ERIC you will retrieve citations and abstracts about education-related journal articles. Your search results may also include non-journal materials, which are called ERIC Documents. Each ERIC Document has a unique "ED" number, as in this citation:

A Guide to Voucher Programs. For Parents, about Parents. Walls, Charles A.; ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, New York, NY., 2003 (ED482924)

Types of ERIC Documents include books; conference proceedings and selected presentations; literature reviews and bibliographies; Congressional hearings and reports; reports on federal/state standards, testing, and regulations; research reports; U.S. Department of Education and contractor reports; working papers from established research and policy organizations; and lesson plans.

Approximately 107,000 documents that were added to the ERIC database between January 1993 and July 2004 are available for download, free of charge, by clicking on the link in the online database you are using (Full Text from ERIC, Full Text, or ERIC Document Link, depending on the database). If an item does not have a full-text link, it may be a copyrighted book. In that case, check BYU holdings (search the catalog) to see if the Lee Library has a copy. If you cannot locate it at BYU, then you can request a copy through Interlibrary Loan.

For ERIC Documents added to the database before 1993 the Lee Library has a complete microfiche collection located in the Social Sciences/Education Department on Level 1. Just take the ED number from the citation and locate the microfiche. They are in numerical order. Microfiche readers and copiers are available. If you would like help with the microfiche, please ask at the Social Sciences/Education Reference Desk.

Citing ERIC Doucments

The basic format of citing ERIC documents in APA is this:

Author Last Name, Initials. (Date). Title. (Report No. if available). Publisher City, Publisher State: Publisher/Sponsoring Entity. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED--------). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.

Please note that:

You need use a Report Number only if found on the document resume sheet included at the beginning report. It will be labeled Report No., immediately followed by a series of letters and numbers, e.g. Report No. MHEC-2001-RES-15; If this number is not there then you need not include it.

The “No. ED--------“ Is the Eric Document Number, it is found in the AN field.

The information: “Retrieved Month Day, Year, from EBSCOHost ERIC database” is only necessary if the document was retrieved online, if you viewed the document in paper or microfiche format then this line is not necessary.

Here are some generic examples:

Author, A. A. (1996). Title of ERIC document (Report No. AB-12). City, ST: Sponsoring Entity. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 123 456). Retrieved Jan. 1, 2000, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.

Institutional Author. (1996). Title of ERIC document (Report No. AB-12). City, Country: Sponsoring Entity. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 123 456). Retrieved Jan. 1, 2000, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.

Here is a specific example:

Michigan State Dept. of Education. (1970). Feasibility Studies for Extending the Regular School Year. Lansing, MI: Michigan State Dept. of Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED005 634). Retrieved Jan. 1, 2000, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.

Other Recommended Education Databases

Need more than you found in ERIC, TRY THESE:

Education Full Text, Teacher Reference Center and Professional Development Collection offer access to other articles and journals that ERIC may not have. They are useful to use if you have already searched ERIC and wish to go deeper or extend your research.

Education Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
1983+ Indexes and abstracts a core group of 430 international periodicals, yearbooks, and selected books in education. Abstracting coverage begins with January 1994. Full-text coverage begins in January 1996.
Teacher Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Teacher Reference Center indexes over 260 titles from the most popular teacher and administrator trade journals, periodicals, and books. This database provides coverage on key education topics such as Assessment, Continuing Education, Current Pedagogical Research, Curriculum Development, Instructional Media, Language Arts, Literacy Standards, Science & Mathematics, and more for K-12 Teachers & Librarians.
Professional Development Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Indexes nearly 250 full text journals designed for professional educators.

Education Index Retrospective offers access to older articles and journals in education. It is especially useful if you are doing historical research.

Education Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Education Index Retrospective is a bibliographic database of more than half a century of indexing from an international range of English-language periodicals.

Additional Education Databases

Does your topic extend into other disciplines beyond education like Psychology or Sociology? Then TRY THESE databases:

APA PsycInfo (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts over one million journal, book chapters, books, dissertations, and technical reports in 2,000 journals from over 50 countries in the field of psychology and the psychological aspects of related disciplines, such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business, and law. PsychInfo is provided by the American Psychological Association.
Social Science Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Social Science Collection is a collection of journals covering a wide range of social science topics including communications, criminal justice, education, linguistics and language behavior, physical education, political science, psychology, social services and sociology.

What a more general view of education topics or access to items in magazines for the popular press? Then TRY THESE databases:

Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 10,000 journals, including over 9,000 peer-reviewed titles. Academic Search Ultimate offers access to resources cited in key subject indexes. The combination of academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos meets the needs of scholars in virtually every discipline ranging from astronomy, anthropology, biomedicine, engineering, health, law and literacy to mathematics, pharmacology, womens studies, zoology and more.
Scopus (Elsevier) This link opens in a new window
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Delivering a comprehensive overview of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities, Scopus features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research.

Specialized Databases

The National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects, analyzes and makes available data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.

Learning and Technology Library (LearnTechLib) This link opens in a new window
LearnTechLib is a source for peer-reviewed research on the latest developments and applications in Learning and Technology. Formerly EdITLib from AACE
SAGE Research Methods (SRM) This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. SRM Cases are stories of how real research projects were conducted. The collection provides more than 1100 case studies, showing the challenges and successes of doing research, written by the researchers themselves. SRM Datasets is a collection of teaching datasets and instructional guides that give students a chance to learn data analysis by practicing themselves. SRM Video contains more than 125 hours of video, including tutorials, case study videos, expert interviews, and more, covering the entire research methods and statistics curriculum.
Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
PQDT Global connects scholarship from 4,100 universities in over 60 countries, diverse voices, ideas, and perspectives can be viewed within a singular global context. : Each full text dissertation and thesis in PQDT is fully searchable providing an unparalleled resource for text and data mining analysis making connections that generate new insights.

International Education Resources

International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ) This link opens in a new window
Alternate title: International Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur (IBZ). 1989+ Indexes international periodicals in all scholarly disciplines. Updated twice a year.

Database of Research on International Education Web-based database on international education, export education, transnational education and international students. The Database of Research on International Education contains details of over 3300 books, articles, conference papers and reports on various aspects of international education from publishers in Australia and overseas.

Learning and Technology Library (LearnTechLib) This link opens in a new window
LearnTechLib is a source for peer-reviewed research on the latest developments and applications in Learning and Technology. Formerly EdITLib from AACE

United Nations Homepage
Gives information about the United Nations, its activities, organizations, and publications (including resolutions), and provides links to member sites.