RESOURCES FOR GRADUATE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

LIBRARY WORKSHOP

FEBRUARY 12, 2007

LIBRARIAN: Ken Frankel

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I. LOCATING BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY:

FAU Library Catalog: click on "Catalog" or "Books". The following types of basic searches are available:

1. Search for Keyword(s): Searches for terms anywhere they appear in the catalog record. Search terms can be truncated with a ? e.g. educat? will search for education, educational, educators etc.
    

2. Browse Organized Lists: Use this search when you already know an author, title or subject heading. Some of the available options include:

   • Author’s Name: last name first, you don’t need to capitalize
   • Title: if a title starts with “The,” “A,” or “An,” omit that and skip to the next word
   • Subject, LC: must be entered in a very specific manner according the LC Subject Headings. You may get a cross-reference to use another term
   • If you're not finding anything with a subject search try a keyword search instead.
      
3. Journals/Serials: This search lets you know if the Library has a certain journal or magazine. However, it does not search for articles in journals. To do this use a database instead (see below). After searching for a journal title, click on the "Location" line to see which dates the Library owns. (Note: not all electronic journals are catalogued in the catalog. There is also a link to a separate list of all electronic journals available at FAU).

The Advanced search screen allows you to combine terms using "and, or, not" as well as limiting a search by location, date, format, or language.

II. SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES IN DATABASES:

To search for articles click on "Indexes/Databases" or "Articles". There are both alphabetical and subject listings of databases. The Library provides access to the two major education databases: ERIC and Education Full Text. It's estimated that there is about 60% overlap between the two, so to be thorough, try using them both. In addition, other useful databases such as ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Theses, WorldCat, Web of Science, and Kraus Curriculum Development Library (KCDL) may be accessed through the Library's home page.

Note: when using these databases from off-campus you must log in through the Off Campus Connect (EZ Proxy) link. You will need to enter the 14-digit number from your Owl Card in order to do this.

1. Education Fulltext
   
   Education Full Text is the online version of the paper Education Index. This database covers periodical (magazine and journal) articles only. Searches may be limited by full text, page image, peer reviewed status, date, document type or physical description. A useful feature is “Expand” which also searches the full text of the articles (when available), not just the citation and abstract.
   
    

2. ERIC (Education Resource Information Center)
   
   Eric is a combination of two databases: Cumulative Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) and Resources in Education (RIE). RIE covers non-journal education documents, such as reports, conference papers, curriculum guides, etc. Several versions of ERIC are listed on the database list. By using the Advanced Search screen, you can limit your search by document type (e.g. guides-teaching), source, format, or date. Many of the more recent ERIC documents can be accessed online by clicking on the full text link. Older ERIC documents are available on microfiche in the Library, and are arranged by the six digit ED number. The ERIC database is available at FAU through two commercial vendors and the government web site. The commercial vendors are recommended because they allow connection to the full text of journal articles using SFX, which the government web site does not (yet).
   
    

3. WorldCat
   
   The world's most comprehensive bibliographic database, includes over 48 million records in over 400 languages worldwide. Includes records for books, documents, audiovisual materials, etc. Does not include citations for journal articles.
   
    

4. ProQuest Dissertation and Theses
   
   Covers every doctoral dissertation completed in the U.S. at accredited institutions for the last 150 years. It includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations. The full-text of most recent (1997 to present) dissertations is available to download.
    

5. Web of Science
   
   Three unique citation databases which allow searching cited references as well as traditional searches independently or in combination: the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts and Humanities Citation Index. Sort search results by "Times Cited" to determine most influential articles.
    

6. Kraus Curriculum Development Library Online
   
   This searchable database of curricula, frameworks, and standards brings together education objectives, content, instructional strategies, and evaluative techniques for all subjects covered in PreK-12 and Adult Basic Education. Searches may be limited by subject, grade level, educational content, etc. Documents with a page icon are available online. The other documents are available on microfiche in the Library (LB 1570 K72). The Library has the microfiche for 1983-1994 and 1997-2000. 
    

7. RefWorks

   With RefWorks, users can create their own personal database by importing references from online databases.  They can use these references in writing their papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds.  For a tutorial to RefWorks, see The Bare Bones Beginner's Guide to RefWorks

    

3. INTERLIBRARY LOAN (AKA ILLiad)

Use this service to order materials the Boca Campus library does NOT own. You may order books, Articles, videos, etc. Use this service to order materials at the Jupiter or Port St. Lucie libraries to have the materials delivered to the Boca campus circulation desk. To set up this free service, create an account for "first time users" here.

4. CITING YOUR REFERENCES:

APA style is the way to format research papers based on the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001). This book is available in the Reference area and on 3 hour reserve (BF 76.7 P83 2001). Many quick reference guides to APA & other styles are available on the Internet. A good example from Purdue University is:

APA Formatting and Style Guide

  V. RESEARCH ASSISTANCE:

Ask A Librarian Email and chat reference help

Reference desk phone number: 561-297-3785

Make an appointment with a librarian: One-on-one reference consultation

For Further assistance contact:

Ken Frankel, M.Ed, MLIS, (frankel@fau.edu), Reference Dept. (561-297-0079)