1

EDUCATION JOURNAL RESEARCH TUTORIAL

This tutorial includes information on accessing education resources through Brenner Library. For further assistance, contact

Nancy Crow

Associate Librarian

Brenner Library

crowna@quincy.edu

217-228-5348

Fall, 2007

2

EDUCATION DATABASES Best databases for education in bold

Academic Search Premier – citations and abstracts for publications in many subjects including many full text articles 

 ERIC – citations and abstracts for publications in education; some full text         

Health and Psychosocial Instruments – information on measurement instruments used in the health fields, psychosocial sciences, and organizational behavior          MAS Ultra – full text of publications appropriate for research at the high school level

Mental Measurements Yearbook – information about and reviews of various standardized tests in the fields of psychology and education    

Periodical Abstracts - citations and abstracts from publications in many subject; some full text

Primary Search – full text of publications appropriate for research at the elementary school level

Professional Development Collection – citations and abstracts for publications in education; some full text .

Wilson Select Plus –full text articles in many subjects                                                                                        

3

DATABASES •Access through library web page at http://www.quincy.edu/Library/index.php

•Click on Alphabetical List under “Find an article”

•Select desired database

When accessing a database from off campus, this authentication screen will appear. Type in your Library Borrower ID in the box and click on Begin. Your Library Borrower ID is the number on the back of your current QU ID. It will be NEITHER a 9 NOR a 14 digit number as the screen states.

On campus authentication is through IP address; this screen will not appear.

4

Type in keywords which represent the same concepts separated by or.

If you are using a phrase for a keyword, place quotation marks around the phrase.

Use an * for truncation (disciplin* will retrieve results with discipline, disciplinary, etc.)

5

Refine search or set limits

• Full Text• Peer reviewed• Journal title• Dates• Type of document –

Journal or ERIC document

6

Click on the title of a relevant looking article to check ERIC descriptors, or

Click on subject from box on left.

Write down relevant descriptors (note: there may be more than one descriptor for a single concept)

7

Use drop down menu to select SU(bject) Descriptors if you are searching by descriptor.

If you have found a descriptor for each concept, type one in each row. (If you do not have a descriptor for a concept, you may want to represent that concept with a keyword or phrase.)

Click on the article title to view the abstract (if available)

If the full text of a journal is available from any of the EBSCO databases, a “PDF Full Text” or “HTML Full Text” message will appear. Click on the words to get the full text of the article.

SFX Article Linker will link you to full text in another vendor’s database, if available. Alternately it will link to the Brenner Library online catalog to check library periodical holding. It will also link to an online Interlibrary Loan form.

8

SFX Article Linker sample menus

If the article is available in another vendor’s database, the SFX menu will link to it.

No available full text online message

Link to QU online catalog for periodicals collection listing.

Interlibrary Loan request form.

Citation information for Works Cited page.

9

ERIC Documents – ERIC documents are separately published essays and research articles. Some ERIC documents, especially newer ones, are available free online at www.eric.edu.gov A few are available in microfiche at Brenner Library – a list is available at the library. A few of the longer ERIC documents have actually been published in book form – search the library catalog. In some cases, ERIC documents may contain valuable information. To search for ERIC documents, click on Documents in the Refine Search are of the ERIC Search page.

Eric Document #

Link to government ERIC site

10

Academic Search Premier and Professional Development Collection Databases

Access through library web page at http://www.quincy.edu/Library/index.php

Type in keywords which represent the same concepts separated by or.

Use an * for truncation (disciplin* will retrieve results with discipline or disciplinary).

Since Academic Search Premier covers subjects other than education, you must somehow indicate the concept of education. This is not necessary in the Professional Development Collection or in ERIC.

If you are using a phrase for a key word, place quotation marks around the phrase.

Check Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals

11

Click on the article title to view the abstract (if available)

If the full text of a journal is available from any of the EBSCO databases, a “PDF Full Text” or “HTML Full Text” message will appear. Click on the words to get the full text of the article.

SFX Article Linker will link you to full text in another vendor’s database, if available. Alternately it will link to the Brenner Library online catalog to check library periodical holding.

It will also link to an online Interlibrary Loan form. See page 8 for more information.

Subject searching is not as critical in Academic Search Premier or the Professional Development Collection as it is in ERIC,

12

Electronic Reference Books

• Check out and view online books

• Find information in online reference books

• Download audio books

Click on Electronic Reference Books under “Other References..” on the library web page.