RED 6351: Graduate Research in Developmental Reading
 

I. Locating books, government documents and other materials in the Library

1. WebLUIS (the Library’s catalog): click on “Catalog” or “Books”.
The following types of basic searches are available:

A. Keywords: This search looks for a word anywhere in the record. Keywords can be truncated with a ? Example: research? will search for researchers, researching etc. Also, you can search for 2 keywords next to each other this way: research adj methods (adj stands for adjacent)
B. Author’s Name: last name first, you don’t need to capitalize
C. Title: if a title starts with “The,” “A,” or “An,” omit that and skip to the next word.
D. Subject: This search looks for items classified by a subject heading and organizes the results into sub-topics. Subjects must be entered in a specific manner. You may get a cross-reference to the preferred subject heading.

*If you’re not finding anything with a subject search try a keyword search instead, then
look at the results to see what subject headings are used.*

E. Journal/Magazine Title: be sure to check the “Library Has” link to see which dates the Library owns. (Note: not all electronic journals we have are cataloged in WebLUIS. There is also a link to a list of all electronic journals available at FAU.)

Note the location box, which can be used to limit your search to sections of the library such as the Reference, Children’s Literature, Curriculum, or Government Documents Collections, or to a particular campus library.

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 a 60% overlap between the two, so to be thorough, try using them both. In addition, the ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Kraus Curriculum Development Library (KCDL) databases may be accessed through the Library’s home page. Note: when using these databases from off-campus you must log in through the EZ-Proxy link. You will need to enter the number from your Owl Card in order to do this. The new SFX system allows you to link to external sources such as other databases holding the full text of the article, the Library’s catalog, the list of FAU’s electronic journals, ILLiad requesting, etc.

1. ERIC (Education Resources 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. The FirstSearch version of ERIC is easiest to use. 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 (RIE) can be accessed online by clicking on the “Electronic Resource” link. Older ERIC documents are available on microfiche in the Library, and are arranged by the six digit ED number. Note: new materials are not being added to ERIC between January and November 2004!

2. Education Full Text:

Education Full Text is the online version of the paper Education Index. This database covers periodical (magazine and journal) articles only. Articles that have the “View HTML Full Text” link may be read online. If it says “Florida Atlantic University” next to an article that indicates that the Library owns at least some years of that journal. There is a link to search the FAU Library catalog to see if we have the exact year needed. Note: the database covers 1983-present,
the paper index goes back to 1929 (REF Z 5813 E23).

4. 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.

3. ProQuest Digital Dissertations:

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

4. Kraus Curriculum Development Library (KCDL Online):

This searchable database of curricula, frameworks, and standards brings together educational 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 1997-2001.

III. Microform Collections:

The William S. Gray Research Collection in Reading covers the years 1884-1989, and consists of microfiche of over 10,000 items on reading research, taken from journals, books, research reports and monographs. It should be of value in researching the history of reading instruction.

IV. 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. An example from Purdue University is:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

References may be managed using the following product available through the FAU Libraries web site:

1. 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. The Libraries offer separate workshops on the use of RefWorks.

For further assistance, contact:

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