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Educational Theory & Policy
History of Education
Carol Wright, Education Librarian
caw4@psu.edu ~ 814-865-0666 502 Paterno Library


Common Search Tips for using Electronic Databases

Vocabulary
Use the appropriate search terms used by each database. Terms may vary, and will significantly affect the results of your search.
Note the difference between keywords and subject headings.
Subject headings are 'official' terms used to categorize titles under a common topic.
Keywords, conversely, are terms which may appear in any part of a record.
Use of each of these commands will yield significantly different results.
Combining terms

and [so that both terms are retrieved] ....
    ex: heredity and longevity

or   [so that either term is retrieved] .......
    ex: television or radio

not [so that one term is eliminated] ........
    ex: media not advertising

Truncation
The LIAS symbol to truncate for variant endings is $ .
For example, the search: k chil$ retrieves: childhood, Chilcott, etc.
This symbol varies among databases. Internet search engines often use *
Limit
Limit by date, language, etc. See CAT ‘help’ for more information.

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A. Indexes /Abstracts

Historical sources

Scholarly Articles

America: History and Life (U.S. and Canadian History)

Historical Abstracts(World history, except the U.S. and Canada)

Periodicals Contents Index Full Text

News and Magazine Articles

Accessible Archives (Full-text of 18th and 19th century newspapers)

American Periodicals Series, 1741-1900

New York Times Historical , 1851-2001

See http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/subject/masterlistresgd.htm to find lists of databases for specific topics.The most commonly used ones for your topic are listed here, and are on the E-Resource List [A-Z], at http://www.lias.psu.edu:80/alall.html

ERIC -- Educational Resources Information Center
ERIC, (Education Resources Information Center), is a premier database of journal and non-journal education literature, with more than 1.1 million citations since 1966. Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Dept. of Education.
ERIC covers two types of literature:
Journals [over 1000 scholarly, professional and practitioner journals]
ERIC Documents [non-journal literature, such as conference papers, standards reports, etc. Not peer-reviewed].
The recommended ERIC search interface for PSU users is Cambridge Scientific Abstracts.

What Works Clearinghouse
Created in 2002, the goal of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is to identify findings of scientific evidence. The WWC collects, screens, and identifies studies of the effectiveness of educational interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies); reviews studies that have the strongest design; and reports on the strengths and weaknesses of those studies against the WWC Evidence Standards. Study reports [ratings of individual studies and designs for reliability]; intervention reports [findings that meet WWC Evidence Standards for a particular intervention]; topic reports [description of topic and each intervention that the WWC reviewed]
http://www.w-w-c.org/

Professional Development Collection
Over 515 full text journals, including nearly 350 peer-reviewed titles, with some full text as far back as 1965;  full text for selected education pamphlets, and a searchable images database.

Education Abstracts Full Text [Wilson]
Over 625 periodicals, with indexing from 1983; full text for many since 1994.

Higher Education Abstracts
Z5814.S88C601 Education Library Reference

Multicultural Education Abstracts
LC3701.M847 Education Library Reference

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
Provides research and background information on social issues, including essays, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

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B. Books and E-Books

Evans Digital Edition, 1640-1800

Early English Books Online (EEBO), 1475-1700

Eighteenth Century Collection Online
Full texts and images of nearly 150,000 titles and editions printed in the British Isles and the Americas between 1701 and 1800, including materials in foreign languages as well as in English.

History E-Book Project
Provides online full-text for over 800 works in history, selected for their importance to historical studies. Approximately 250 books each year will be added including some completely new electronic titles.

Netlibrary
Provides access to a shared collection of electronic books, including many history titles.

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C.    Primary Sources

Primary sources are created at the time of an event, or by someone who witnessed the event. Examples include newspapers, letters, diaries, etc. Some examples of major collections are:

Primary Sources in US History

American Memory
Digital library of materials from the Library of Congress, including books, photographs, pamphlets. For example, see: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates.

Making of America
 Online collection of books and periodicals, mostly from the years 1850-1877

Library of American Civilization (12,000 titles on all aspects of American life up to WWII)
Micro 3 LAC, Microforms & Newspapers, Ground Floor, West Pattee

American Culture Series, 1493-1875 (over 5,700 books and pamphlets)
FILM D50, Micro.& Newspapers, Ground Floor, W Pattee. Search for individual titles in the CAT

Dictionary of Historic Documents
D9.K63 1991Arts & Humanities Library, Pattee,Stacks Level 2

Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of History
D101.P4, Pattee - Stacks Level BA

Special Focus Collections

American Colonization Society Records, 1792-1964
FILM A66, Microforms & Newspapers, Ground Floor, West Pattee
To identify topics consult the printed guide,
E448.A44

Book Collection on Microfilm Relating to the North American Indian
D287, Microforms & Newspapers, Ground Floor, West Pattee
Search for individual titles in the CAT

Hampton University Peabody Newspaper Clipping File
MICRO 4 HAMP, Microforms & Newspapers, Ground Floor, West Pattee
For articles on specific topics consult the printed guide
CD3569.H364H36

History of Women (over 10,000 books as well as periodicals and photographs)
FILM D285, Microforms & Newspapers Library, Ground Floor, West Pattee
For individual titles search the CAT

Women's Rights in the United States: A Documentary History
HQ1236.5.U6W68 1994, Social Sciences Reference, 2nd Floor Paterno

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D. Government Documents

Some historical government documents do not appear in the Some historical government documents do not appear in the CAT and can only be identified using specialized indexes, and can only be identified using specialized indexes, such as Congressional Universe. An online index to documents created by the US Congress including committee hearings and reports, with current as well as historical material. Other indexes to government publications can be accessed in the Social Sciences Library.

Cumulative Title Index to United States Public Documents, 1789-1976.
J83.C72

Congressional and Legislative Resources
Link from E-Resource List [A-Z], http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html

The Social Sciences Library [2nd floor Paterno] is the prime location for government  publications.  That library’s web site http://www.libraries.psu.edu/socialsciences/ has many important links, including guides to research.

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E. Citation indexes [Cited Reference Searching]

On E-Resource List [A-Z], select Web of Science, or Social Science Citation Index / Science Citation Index / Arts and Humanities Citation Index

Cited Reference Searching is useful to determine what newer works have cited an older work in their bibliographies.   If you know that Smith’s 1991 work is seminal in the field, you are likely interested in who else has cited that 1991 work in more recent articles. Cited Reference Searching lets your searching move forward in time, rather than the typical retrospective search. See http://scientific.thomson.com/tutorials/citedreference/crsmenu.htm for a demonstration.

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F.  Statistical Sources

Historical Statistics

120 years of American Education: a statistical portrait

International Historical Statistics, the Americas, 1750-1993
HA1755.M55 1998, Social Sciences Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Paterno

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
HA202.B87 1976 pt.1 & pt.2, Social Sciences Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Paterno and Business Reference Collection, 3rd Floor Paterno

Condition of Education

Digest of Educational Statistics

CAT subject search
Combine the subdivision '-statistics' with major subject headings

Statistics Resources on the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library http://www.libraries.psu.edu/ebsl/howdoi/statistics.htm

National Center for Education Statistics
www.nces.ed.gov

Includes the Encyclopedia of ED Stats  http://www.nces.ed.gov/edstats/ Digest of Education
Statistics,  Condition of Education Statistics, Projections of Education Statistics to 2008, Education Indicators: An International Perspective, and Youth Indicators 1996

Statistical Universe
Index to statistical data in federal agency government publications; many full text.

 

Statistical Abstracts of the US
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
The National Data Book, it contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the US ; selected international data. 

  

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G.   Selected Background / Overview resources

International Encyclopedia of Education 2nd Ed , c1994. 12 vols.
EBSL Ref LB15.I569 1994

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
on on the A-Z List http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html

Dictionary of Historical Terms
D9.C67 1983, Arts and Humanities Library, Reference Collection, Pattee Level 2

Timetables of History: a Horizontal Linkage of People and Events
D11.G78, Arts and Humanities Library, Reference Collection, Pattee Level

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H. Citing Your Sources

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  [APA Style Manual]  5th ed, 
2001. BF76.7.A46 at all reference desks in Paterno Library [2nd, 3rd, 4th floors]

The APA [American Psychological Association] Electronic Reference Formats
recommended by the American Psychological Association   Includes email communications web sites,  articles and abstracts from electronic databases, and weB citations in text.  
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
Also, see sample citations provided at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/mod8/mod8main.htm

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I.  Materials in Other Libraries

Virtual Electronic Library (CIC)
The CIC Virtual Electronic Library (VEL) allows students and faculty of the CIC-Big 10 to access and use any information resources owned or licensed by the CIC Universities.

WorldCAT
A database of over 24 million volumes. At each record screen, click the button "Libraries with this item."

LIBDEX
http://www.libdex.com/

PSU Interlibrary Loan
(http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/ill/)
Request materials not owned by PSU Libraries.

Please send comments or suggestions to Carol Wright, Education & Behavioral Sciences Library, Penn State University.