ERIC Slide Show

A Virtual Tour of the Educational Resources Information Center

What Is ERIC?

• ERIC is the Educational Resources Information Center— a federally funded, nationwide information network designed to provide you with ready access to education literature.

• ERIC is a program of the U.S. Department of Education and is administered by the National Library of Education.

National Library of Education

The ERIC System

Adult, career, and vocational education

Assessment and evaluation

Community colleges

Counseling and student services

Disabilities and gifted education

Educational management

Elementary and early childhood education

Higher education

ERIC consists of a network of 16 subject-specific clearinghouses, plus adjunct clearinghouses, and support components. The clearinghouses cover these areas:

Information & technology

Languages and linguistics

Reading, English, and communication

Rural education and small schools

Science, mathematics, and environmental education

Social studies/social science education

Teaching and teacher education

Urban education

U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement

National Library of Education

What Can You Get From ERIC?

• The ERIC Database– Abstracts of more than 1 million journal articles, research reports, books,

teaching guides, and other types of education literature. ERIC can also provide you with copies of many documents abstracted in the database.

• ERIC Digests– Two-page summaries of more than 2,000 education topics.

• AskERIC– An e-mail question-answering service with response in two business days.

• National Parent Information Network– A Web site with thousands of resources for parents and caregivers.

What Else Can You Get From ERIC?

• Help from subject experts– Information Specialists in 16 subject-specific clearinghouses are

available via toll-free phone, e-mail, mail, or fax.

• ERIC-produced publications– More than 1,400 books, monographs, journals, and other publications.

• Content-rich Web sites– Clearinghouse Web sites linked together by the main ERIC site.

• Plus: – Lesson plans, Parent Brochures, listservs, a conference calendar, and

much more.

• The ERIC Database– What’s in the ERIC Database?– Where Can You Search the ERIC Database?– Tips on Searching ERIC– How To Get Copies of ERIC Database Materials– How To Contribute Your Work to ERIC

• ERIC Products and Services– ERIC Digests– AskERIC– National Parent Information Network– Help From Subject Experts– ERIC-Produced Publications– Content-Rich Web Sites

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What Would You Like To Know About ERIC?

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The ERIC Database

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What’s in the ERIC Database?

• Journal Articles– 600,000+ abstracts of

articles from more than 900 journals (EJs)

• ERIC Documents – 400,000+ abstracts of

research papers, books, conference presentations, curriculum guides, and much more (EDs)

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Here’s a sample journal article abstract from the ERIC database:

ERIC NO: EJ556860

TITLE: Small Schools: A Reform That Works.

AUTHOR: Raywid, Mary Anne

JOURNAL CITATION: Educational Leadership; v55 n4 p34-39 Dec-Jan 97-98

DESCRIPTORS: *Academic Achievement; *Change Strategies; *Educational Benefits; *Educational Improvement; Elementary Secondary Education; *High Risk Students; School Effectiveness; *Small Schools

IDENTIFIERS: Alaska; New Jersey; *Philadelphia School District PA

ABSTRACT: Recent research shows that students at all grade levels, especially at-risk youngsters, learn more in small schools; small schools are more violence-free; and bonds created in small schools are likely…

(Note: This is a partial abstract.)

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Here’s a sample ERIC document abstract:ERIC NO: ED399990

TITLE: Opportunities and Challenges: Bridging the Two-Year Four-Year College Gap.

AUTHOR: Susskind, Tamar Y.

DESCRIPTORS: *Articulation (Education); *College Transfer Students; Community Colleges; *Educational Cooperation; *Transfer Policy; *Transfer Programs

ABSTRACT: Community colleges have been criticized with respect to both the low numbers of students who transfer to four-year institutions and the inadequate preparation of the students who do transfer…

PUBLICATION DATE: 1996

(Note: This is a partial abstract.)

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Where Can You Search the ERIC Database?

• On any computer with an Internet connection– Go to http://www.accesseric.org and click on “Search ERIC Database.”

• At many university and public libraries – Call 1–800–LET–ERIC for the location nearest you.– Search the Directory of ERIC Resource Collections

http://www.ed.gov/BASISDB/EROD/eric/SF

You can also subscribe to the database on CD-ROM and have your own copy.

– Call 1–800–799–ERIC for price and ordering information.

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Tips on Searching the ERIC Database

• The ERIC database has more than 1 million abstracts on education, so there’s probably information in ERIC on your topic.

• You’ll find the abstracts most relevant to your topic if you learn and use these tips on searching ERIC. . .

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TIP 1: Find and use ERIC descriptors.

TIP 2: Use several search terms.

TIP 3: Use the descriptors from the most relevantabstracts to find more abstracts.

TIP 4: Use AND and OR search commands.

To get the best search results:

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TIP 1: Find and use ERIC descriptorsEvery abstract in ERIC is indexed with subject terms called descriptors.

Title: Profiles of Native Language Education Programs. A Source Book for Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Descriptors: *American Indian Education; *American Indian Languages; Community Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; *Language Maintenance; *Native Language Instruction; Preschool Education; Profiles; Program Descriptions; *Second Language Instruction; Teacher Education; Tribes

(Notice that the title refers to native language education programs. The ERIC descriptor for this concept is native language instruction. ERIC descriptors under discussion are shown in red in this slide show).

Examples of ERIC Descriptors

• For the concept “social skills,” the ERIC descriptor is interpersonal competence.

• For the concept “ungraded classes,” the ERIC descriptor is nongraded instructional grouping.

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How do you find ERIC descriptors?

ERIC descriptors are listed in The Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors.

– Use the Thesaurus at libraries that offer ERIC.

– Use search engines that include the Thesaurus.

– Call an ERIC Clearinghouse toll-free for descriptors and help with your search strategy.

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TIP 2: Use several search terms

• For example, to find material about “college transfer,” use all three of these ERIC descriptors:

college transfer students

transfer policy

transfer programs

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TIP 3: Use the descriptors from the most relevant abstracts to find additional abstracts.

• Example: You could search for abstracts on retaining young children in the same grade using the term “retention” and find:

Title: Retention and Its Effect on Low Level Readers.

Descriptors: *Grade Repetition; * Low Achievement; Primary Education; Program Effectiveness; * Reading Achievement; Reading Research; * Student Promotion; Urban Education

• Now use the descriptor grade repetition to run another search.

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Searching the descriptor grade repetition, will find additional related abstracts, such as these titles:

Title: Differences in Social Adjustment and Classroom Behavior between Children Retained in Kindergarten and Groups of Age and Grade Matched Peers.

Descriptors:* Grade Repetition; * Kindergarten Children; * Social Adjustment; * Student Adjustment; * Student Behavior;. . .

Title: Does an Extra Year (Junior First Grade) Enhance Academic Ability and Self-Concept of Academic Ability?

Descriptors: Academic Ability; *Academic Achievement; Age Differences; *Elementary School Students; *Grade Repetition; Grade 1; Kindergarten; *Self Concept;. . .

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TIP 4: Use AND and OR search commands

• The AND command narrows your search, finding abstracts that contain all of your search terms.

For example, searching learning disabilities AND higher education finds:

Title: Accommodating College Students with Learning Disabilities: How Much Is Enough?

Descriptors: College Administration; College Faculty; * College Instruction; * College Students; * Ethics; Federal Regulation; Higher Education; * Learning Disabilities; * Public Policy; Student Rights; * Teacher Role

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Here’s an example of an effective use of the AND command:

• Search topic: – Prevention of adolescent suicide

• Search strategy:– prevention AND adolescents AND suicide

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• The OR command broadens your search, finding abstracts that contain at least one of your search terms.

For example, searching learning disabilities OR higher education finds:

Title: Word Boxes Help Children with Learning Disabilities Identify and Spell Words.

Descriptors: *Beginning Reading; Elementary Education; *Learning Disabilities; ...

Title: American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Social, Political and Economic Challenges.

Descriptors: *College Role; *Educational Policy; *Educational Trends: *Futures (of Society); *Higher Education;…

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Here’s an example of an effective use of the OR command:

• Search topic: – Ungraded classes

• Search strategy:– nongraded instructional grouping OR mixed age

grouping OR multigraded classes