Research Guides: SFCE 328W: Finding 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

Use these databases to find articles and reports on specific topics. The Search Tutorial tab at left provides video instruction on using databases to find articles.

ERIC, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar are the most generally useful article databases for education topics. For some topics, additional databases may be useful.

Tip: To find historical background try using this ERIC subject in your search: "Educational History"

ERIC This link opens in a new window
Key source for Education articles and reports
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, dissertations, ERIC documents
Brief how to video: ERIC Basics
Look up Subject terms: Thesaurus on ERIC.gov
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
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 This link opens in a new window
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
ProQuest PowerSearch This link opens in a new window
Search over 20 academic databases at the same time.
Subjects: Covers many subjects
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles, news articles, dissertations and theses
Brief How-To Video: ProQuest Basics
America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
May be useful for finding the historical background of your topic.
Subjects: American History
Info type: scholarly articles, magazine articles, book & video info, dissertation info
Opposing ViewPoints This link opens in a new window
Easy way to start research on controversial or hot topics, such as alternative schools, autism, bilingual education, bullying, charter schools, childhood obesity, creationism, high school dropouts, home schooling, online education, school reform, school uniforms, school violence, sex education. student loans, student rights, teacher pay, teacher unions, testing, Title IX, zero tolerance policies, etc.
EBSCO PowerSearch This link opens in a new window
Cross-search 25 academic/traditional databases.
Subjects: Covers many subjects.
Info type: Scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles.

Very Short Video on Using ERIC

Tough Topics

Comparison of educational systems, Finland v. U.S.
Try this search in ERIC:
finland AND "united states" AND su("comparative analysis")

Technology helping or hurting?
Try this search in ERIC:
SUBJECT.exact("Educational Technology") AND SUBJECT.exact("Instructional Effectiveness")

Why male secondary school teachers are paid more
Surprisingly difficult to search for. Try "chasing" the citations to this article:
Lee, V. E., & Smith, J. B. (1990). Gender equity in teachers' salaries: A multilevel approach. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 12(1), 57-81.