Research Guides: Special Education: Find Articles

Library Handouts for Education Students

What Can the Library Do for You?
A "cheat sheet" on library services for COE students.
Finding Full Text Articles: The Persistent Method
Sometimes electronic full text of an article may be just a few clicks away. If one way doesn’t work, there are other ways to try.

PsycINFO Classification Codes
These codes are sometimes useful when searching the PsycINFO database.
APA Databases Methodology Field Values
You can search by methodology in PsycINFO. This handout defines the methodology terms used.

Article Databases

ERIC, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar are the most generally useful article databases for special education topics. For some topics, health related databases may be useful (linked further down on this page).

The Search Tutorial section of this guide provides quick instruction on using databases to find articles. Tips for Finding Full Text will help you get to the full article.

If you haven't used these databases before or you have a topic that is difficult to search it might be a good idea to make a Zoom appointment with a librarian. See Schedule Appointment button on this page.

PsycINFO
Subjects: Psychology, Education, Business, Communication, Linguistics, Social Work
Info type: scholarly articles, book info, conference papers, dissertations
How To: ProQuest Basics
Locating Quantitative and Qualitative Articles in PsycINFO
PsycINFO Quick Reference Guide
Google Scholar with EMU Full Text
Search for scholarly materials on any topic
Info type: scholarly articles, books, research reports, theses, working papers, cited sources
Access Tips: Use link above to get access to EMU subscriptions with Findtext+ links.
If this link does not work and you receive an error message from Google then use this alternate link to Google Scholar and also set your Google Scholar preferences to show EMU library access links.
Search Instruction: Google Scholar Video
ERIC
Key source for Education articles and reports. To update results use Supplemental Education Index.
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, dissertations, ERIC documents
Brief how to video: ERIC Basics
Look up Subject terms: Thesaurus on ERIC.gov
Supplemental Education Index

Use this database to update results after using ERIC in order to get more articles from 2025 and later. You won’t be able to search by grade level.
Social Services Abstracts
Subjects: Social Work, Social Problems, Poverty, Disabilities, Gerontology
Info type: scholarly articles, book reviews, dissertations
Brief How-To Video: ProQuest Basics

REHABDATA - National Rehabilitation Information Center
Search for research on disability and rehabilitation. Offers abstracts and some full text. For those where full text is not in this database, try the Tips for Finding Full Text.

ERIC Basics

Medical & Health Related Article Databases

CINAHL

Indexes journal articles in the fields of nursing, occupational therapy, orthotics and prosthetics, health administration, speech pathology, nutrition, laboratory sciences, and other allied health professions.
Search Tips: Using CINAHL/PubMed Tutorials from EMU
PubMed
Subjects: Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Medicine, Health Admin, Public Health, Nursing
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles
Search Tips:

Semantic Scholar
A free experimental search engine that can be good for finding medical articles. This database isn't set up for FindText+--for those articles that aren't full text in Semantic Scholar, using the methods on the 2nd page of the Finding Full Text Articles handout will help you find many in EMU subscriptions.

Health Source: Consumer Edition
Consumer health information.
Access Tips: Also available via mel.org
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Provides researchers, allied health professionals, nurses, and medical educators access to scholarly journals on many medical disciplines.
Access Tips: Also available via mel.org

Systematic or Comprehensive Reviews

Systematic reviews summarize the best available primary research on a specific question.

Best Evidence Encyclopedia - BEE
Offers meta-analyses or other quantitative syntheses that provide "summaries of evidence on the effectiveness of programs or practices used with children in grades K-12, focusing on achievement outcomes." From the the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education.

Cochrane Library

This library is composed of six databases containing Cochrane reviews, systematic reviews, clinical trials, and methods, assessments, and economic studies in health care.
Search Instruction: Searching the Cochrane Library pdf

EPPI Centre Knowledge Library
Systematic reviews from a center at the University College London include education topics.
What Works Clearinghouse
The " WWC identifies studies that provide credible and reliable evidence of the effectiveness of a given practice, program, or policy (referred to as “interventions”), and disseminates summary information and free reports."