How to Perform Educational Research

							Library Research Guides


How to Perform Educational
Research                                                                                U.S. Conn Library

With the multitude of information sources available online, it is hard to know where to begin. Here are
some suggestions for performing your research on educational topics:

       Start with ERIC.
       ERIC, or the Education Resources Information Center, is an internet-based digital library from
       the U.S. Department of Education. You’ll find bibliographic records journal and non-journal
       literature indexed from 1966 to the present. ERIC also has a growing collection of full-text
       materials.
       For secondary materials, try Academic Search Premier or Wilson Omnifile FullText Select.
       Both general databases hold educational materials, much of which is available in full-text.
       For primary materials, try Highwire or Ingenta.
       Both databases provide peer-reviewed scholarly articles, many of which are primary resources.
       Some content is freely-accessible online. However, to make the most out of these databases,
       search for citations and use WSC’s Journal Finder or Interlibrary Loan to obtain copies for free.
       For K-12 materials, try eLibrary.
       eLibrary provides full-text and multimedia reference materials based on K-12 curricula and
       interests. Links to state and national teaching standards and materials relevant to those standards
       are available.
       For items other than articles, try WorldCat in FirstSearch.
       WorldCat catalogs books and materials in libraries worldwide, providing you a larger range of
       materials from which to select.

Databases are available from the homepage of the library. Select Research > Article Databases. If you
are off-campus, you will be required to login with your WSC username and password to access the
content of the databases.


Using the above resources will often lead you to items that are available online in full-text. However,
you will also find citations without full-text or links to items that may cost a fee. You can usually get
copies of these items for FREE by using one of these methods.

       Articles - Check WSC’s Journal Finder (http://ue2wh8kd5c.search.serialssolutions.com/ ) to see
       if Conn Library has an electronic copy in another database or if the library has a print version
       available. To request a photocopy of an article available in print or for the library staff to find a
       copy from another library, use the Document Delivery Form.
       Books & Other Materials – Check WSC’s Library Catalog (http://library.nscs.edu/) for a copy.
       Available items can be sent directly to you through document delivery. Items not available from
       WSC, can also be requested from another library for you. Just complete the Document Delivery
       Form.
       Document Delivery Form - Go to the homepage of the library and select Services > Document
       Delivery or go directly to: http://academic.wsc.edu/conn_library/library_services/outreach/
       docdel5.php.


 U.S. Conn Library   ●    Wayne State College   ●    http://academic.wsc.edu/conn_library/   ●   (402)375-7263