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Introduction to Library Research
Carol Wright, Education Librarian
502 Paterno Library
814-865-0666 ~ caw4@psu.edu


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 IN EDUCATION / HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOLOGY / BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Education Abstracts Full Text (Wilson)
Covers almost 500 periodicals in primary, secondary, and higher education and behavioral sciences since 1983, with full text for 133 periodicals since 1994.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#ERLEDUCABS

See http://www.lias.psu.edu/gensubjlist.html 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 Not peer-reviewed].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
A collection of over 515 full text journals, including nearly 350 peer-reviewed titles.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#PROFDEV

PsycINFO
Published by the APA, this is the comprehensive international database for psychology: journals, book chapters, literature reviews, etc. Many full text.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/entry/psycinfo.html

PubMed
The National Library of Medicine's (NLM) premier bibliographic database. It includes the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#MEDLINE4

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B. INDEXES ABSTRACTS OF RELATED INTEREST

Academic Universe /Lexis Nexis
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#ACUNIVERSE

CQ Researcher (contemporary issues)
Weekly "magazine" that explores in-depth a single "hot issue" currently being discussed in the news. Topics include social issues, politics, economics, the environment, education, science, and more. Each issue includes an essay outlining the issue, a pro-con feature, a chronology, and a bibliography. http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#CQRESEARCHER

Ethnic NewsWatch
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#ETHNICNEWS

GenderWatch
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#GENDERWATCH

Proquest Direct [combination of Periodical Abstracts, Newspaper Abstracts and ABI business]
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#PROQUEST

Sociological Abstracts sociology, social work, and other social sciences.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#SOCABS

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.
http://www.lias.psu.edu/dball.html#OVRC

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C. STATISTICAL SOURCES

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

Education Statistics
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/ebsl/howdoi/statistics.htm

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D. SELECTED BACKGROUND/ OVERVIEW RESOURCES

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

Encyclopedia of Education 8 vols.
5th Floor Paterno Ref LB15.E47 2003

Encyclopedia of Psychology 8 vols.
5th Floor Paterno Ref BF31.E523 2000

Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development
Life Sciences 4th Floor Paterno QP84.C26 1998

Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood & Adolescence
Soc Sci Ref HQ772.G27 1998

International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family 2nd ed.
2nd floor Paterno Ref HQ9.E52 2003

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E. 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

A Writer's Reference, Diane Hacker, 5th Edition
http://www.dianahacker.com/writersref/resdoc.html

 

F. Government Documents

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

The Social Sciences Library [2 nd 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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