Education

This is a general research guide for the undergraduate and graduate programs (masters and doctoral) in the OSU School of Education. You'll find suggestions for locating books, articles, topical overviews, research tools, and factual information. If further assistance is needed, please contact Paula McMillen, 737-7272, .

Quicklinks
Academic Search Premier | Professional Development Collection | Education Full Text | ERIC | ILL Forms | Off-Campus Access | E-campus Services

Table of Contents

Finding Books in Online Catalogs

OSU Libraries Catalog: All formats of materials owned by OSU libraries are cataloged in this database, including books, government documents, journals to which the library subscribes*, and videos. You can search the OSU Libraries Catalog from any computer with Internet access.

* Library online catalogs do NOT give you access to the individual articles within the journals to which the library subscribes. See Finding articles...

Summit (Orbis): You may also want to search the collective Summit catalog which combines many academic library catalogs in Oregon and Washington. Materials in Summit are available to OSU students, faculty & staff within 3 working days if they aren't checked out.

Searching: Online catalogs can be searched by author, title, subject, etc. The most effective subject searching utilizes the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The complete list of subject headings is located in the library's reference area; ask if you need help. Notice that each record in the online catalog will indicate the subject headings assigned to that item, and these are usually hot links to other materials on similar topics. Some examples of subject headings for education are:

Education bilingual Curriculum planning Multicultural education
Early childhood education Adult education Teachers, training of

Locating by call number: Like most academic libraries, we use the Library of Congress Classification system to organize and arrange materials in the library. Many education materials fall into the "L" call number range and are located on the 5th floor of The Valley Library. More specific groupings of materials include:

L - Education (General) LD - U.S. Educational Institutions
LA - History of Education LH - College and School Publications
LB - Educational Theory and Practice LJ - Student Fraternities and Societies
LC - Special Aspects LT - Textbooks (General)

Government publications: Education documents produced by the Dept. of Education and other government agencies may be shelved in Government Documents on the 3rd floor. The call number usually begins with an "ED" instead of "L" and the location note in the record will indicate "Valley docs". These records are searchable in the OSU Libraries Catalog just as books are.

WorldCat: If you don't find enough material in local and regional libraries, you can search for books in WorldCat which is a collective catalog from hundreds of libraries, containing over 60 million records. You can submit interlibrary loan requests directly from this database by clicking on the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Request link in the record.

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Finding Articles in Journals

Journal indexes: To find individual articles in journals, you will typically use periodical indexes/databases which can either be in printed form or online (electronic) form. Most such indexes allow you to search by author or title of the article as well as subject or topic. Many online indexes also allow you to search the article citation and abstract with a keyword or free text search.

Locating journals: With the exception of some journals which are full-text online, you will need to locate the actual journal to read the article. You can search Oasis for the Journal Title (name of the journal) to determine if we own the journal.
If not, you can get copies of journal articles through Interlibrary Loan.

Off-campus access:
If you are searching from a computer on campus, you will automatically be recognized as an authorized user of OSU Libraries' resources. Off-campus access to online journals and databases is restricted to OSU faculty, staff, and enrolled students. To access these items from off-campus computers, use an OSU Libraries research tool.
More information about off-campus access.

Basic searching

  • Academic Search Premier
    This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles. searchable cited references are provided for 1,000 titles. Academic Search Premier is updated on a daily basis. This is a good starting place to do a basic search on educational topics. Because of its multidisciplinary nature, it will pick up items about education topics covered in other subject journals such as business, psychology or the popular press. Abstracts, index and selected full-text: 1975 - present
  • Professional Development Collection
    Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of 520 high quality education journals, including nearly 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports.
    Abstracts, index and selected full text: 1965-present

Subject-specific searching (education)

  • Education Research Complete
    Education Research Complete covers all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing. Education Research Complete provides indexing and abstracts for more than 1,500 journals, as well as full text for more than 750 journals, and includes full text for more than 100 books and monographs, and for numerous education-related conference papers.
  • ERIC
    This is the single most extensive education database, combining indexing for both education journals (approximately 1000) and ERIC documents (online and microfiche collection). It covers all areas and levels of education including adult, continuing and vocational, administrative, counseling, elementary/secondary, and teacher education. Includes journal articles, books, theses, curriculi, conference papers, and standards and guidelines. General coverage begins in 1966. Many recent items from the full-text ERIC documents are available online. Older ERIC documents are also available in our microfiche collection on the 3rd floor of the Valley Library. Be sure to note the ED # in the record since these microfiche are arranged numerically.

    If you are unable to locate an ERIC document online or here at the library, look in the 'Availability' field of the record for a possible source agency, organization or publisher. If it's a lengthy document, try searching the title in WorldCat.

    Journal article citations in ERIC need to be followed up by locating the journal title in OSU Libraries Catalog or by ordering the article via Interlibrary Loan.
  • Education Index
    In order to search older (pre-1966) education journals, you can use this print index which covers 550 English-language periodicals and yearbooks published in the U.S. and elsewhere. Subjects include administration, teaching methods and curriculum, literacy, government funding, and more. The Education Index in print covers 1929-1991 and is available for recall from Storage. Call no. Z5813.E4

Other subject-specific searching

You may find, based on your topic, that you need to search the journal literature of other disciplines such as Psychology or Sociology. For a subject guide to the online journal databases use the subject menu on the OSU Libraries Research Databases page.

  • Agricola
    Produced by the National Agricultural Library, this database indexes journals, government reports and conferences. May be useful when researching community education topics. Covers: 1970-present
  • PsycInfo
    Index to journal articles, series and books for all areas of psychology including animal, applied, clinical, developmental, educational, general, human experimental, general, physiological, social and sport psychology, and treatment and prevention.
    Abstracts and index: 1887-present
  • Sociological Abstracts
    Index to articles from journals in sociology and related disciplines in the behavioral and social sciences. Index: 1952-present

Comprehensive searching

You may want to search these other databases if you need to do a thorough review of the literature on your topic.

  • Dissertation Abstracts
    This provides abstracts for to the complete range of academic subjects appearing in dissertations accepted at accredited institutions.
    Indexing of dissertations: 1861-
    Abstracting of dissertations: 1980-
    Abstracting of theses: 1988-
  • Article First
    Provides access to the Tables of Contents for over 16,000 journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture. There is only keyword searching of the article citation, no abstracts.
    Covers: 1990-present

Electronic journals

This is a subject-based organization of journals available online.
These must be searched one journal title at a time, so this is not a very efficient way to search. Unless you are interested in searching one specific electronic journal, it is recommended that you use a periodical index/database to do your searching. This list is subject to change.

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Reference Sources

In general, reference sources can provide an overview of topics within a field. This is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the research conversation in your subject.

Dictionaries & thesauri

Dictionaries in specialized areas give definitions of terms and phrases used within the field. Thesauri can provide alternative terms, narrower and broader terms, as well as the controlled subject terms used within the field. These can be very useful in crafting the language of your search before you start using the indexes & databases. You can search "education and dictionaries" as subject keywords in Oasis to find similar items. Some examples in The Valley Library include:

  • Dictionary of multicultural education. Ref LC1099.D53 1997.
  • A glossary of special education. Ref LC3986.G7 G551 1988
  • Greenwood dictionary of education. Ref LB15.G68 2003.
  • The Language of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms. Ref LB15 .M32 1997
    A classic in the field of education; 33,000 entries and cross-references, covering technical and professional terms and concepts from the whole range of education and some related fields.
  • Learning theories A to Z. Ref LB15.L4695 2002.

Encyclopedias

These can range from a single volume to many volumes. They contain short to lengthy articles about the topics within the field or subfield. They often provide bibliographies on the topic for further reading. A suggested search in Oasis is "education* and encyclopedia" as title keywords. Some examples include:

  • Concise encyclopedia of special education. Ref LC4007.E53 2002
  • Deskbook encyclopedia of American school law. Ref KF4114.D46 2002
  • Encyclopedia of cognitive science. 4 vols. Ref BF311.E53 2003
    An excellent overview of this broad field, defining it as "the scientific study of minds and brains, be they real, artificial, human or animal."
  • Encyclopedia of early childhood education. Ref LB1139.25 .E53 1992
    Brings together many perspectives on all aspects of early childhood education, the issues of child advocacy, and reflections on the changes affecting the development of the field. Includes references.
  • Encyclopedia of Education electronic resource
    Lengthy, comprehensive essays, of the institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies inherent in teaching practices. The work duly recognizes the increased importance of technology and economic forces, especially globalization. Be sure to browse and select the appropriate publication title, Encyclopedia of Education, when you get to the search screen.
  • Encyclopedia of educational research. 4 vols. Ref LB15 .E48 1992
    Summarizes relevant research on education theory and practice. This edition contains 257 signed articles with extensive indexes to acronyms, proper names, and specific topics. There is a special appendix titled "Doing Library Research in Education". Older editions provide retrospective coverage of the research literature.
  • The Encyclopedia of higher education. 4 vols. Ref LB15 .E49 1992
    More than 300 well-written, informative articles on current international knowledge about higher education. Comprehensive author & subject indexes provided in the 4th volume.
  • Encyclopedia of mathematics education. Ref QA11.E665 2001
  • World education encyclopedia: A survey of educational systems worldwide. 2nd ed. 3 vols. Ref LB15.W87 2002.

Handbooks & directories

Typically handbooks provide an overview and suggest strategies and resources for doing research or finding information in the field. Directories usually provide lists of contact information. You can search "education and handbooks" or "education and directories" as subject keywords in Oasis to find these. Some examples include:

  • American community colleges: a guide. Ref L901.A53 1995
  • American School Directory
    Provides information about 108,000 K-12 schools, including administrators & enrollment (by subscription)
  • Associations on the Net
    Associations in this category represent those involved in the organization, development and dissemination of educational practices
  • Cabell's directory of publishing opportunities in educational curriculum and methods. Ref Z286.E3 C332
  • Directory of distance learning opportunities: K-12. Ref LC5805.D515 2003
  • Early childhood curriculum resource handbook: a practical guide for teaching early childhood (pre-K-3). LB1139.4 .E175 1993
  • Education for action: undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on social change. Ref H62 .E328 2001
  • Education Resource Organizations Directory (EROD)
    "The Directory is intended to help you identify and contact organizations that provide information and assistance on a broad range of education-related topics"
  • Educator's desk reference: a sourcebook of educational information and research. Ref LB1028.27.U6 F74 2002
  • Educators resource directory. L901 .E443
    Quick guide to education-related contacts including associations, publishers of educational materials and media, grants and financial aid opportunities, conferences and trade shows. An electronic version is available through the catalog although not as usable as the print version.
  • A guide to journals in psychology and education. BF76.8.L65 1990
  • Handbook of educational psychology. LB1051 .H2354 1996
  • Handbook of gifted education. LC3993.9 .H35 1997
  • Handbook of research on the education of young children. LB1119 .H25 1993
  • Handbook of research on multicultural education. LC1099.3 .H35 1995
  • The handbook of school psychology. LB1051 .H2356 1999
  • Handbook of the sociology of education. LC191 .H254 2000
  • Higher education service-learning sourcebook. Ref LC220.5 .C73 2002
  • International handbook of mathematics education. Ref QA11.I67 2 pts. 1996
  • National Public School Locator
    Provides enrollment figures by grade, racial & ethnic populations, student-teacher ratio, etc for each U.S. school or district.
  • Oregon school directory. LB2803.O7 A2
    Oregon Dept. of Education Gives current information about school districts in Oregon, institutions of higher education, educational organizations, etc. Latest edition in Reference. Latest edition and changes to it are also found at the Oregon DOE's web site: http://www.ode.state.or.us (listed under Publications).
  • Patterson's American education. L901 .P3
    A guide to secondary and post-secondary schools (including private religious schools) in the U.S. and territories. Latest edition in Reference.
  • Research-doctorate programs in the United States : continuity and change. Ref Q180 .N334 1995.
    Reports the results of an extensive study of 3,634 programs at 274 institutions in 41 disciplines within subject areas. This book updates and expands upon the widely used An Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, published in 1982
  • Teacher education programs in the United States: a guide . LB1715.T424 2004
  • The teacher educator's handbook : building a knowledge base for the preparation of teachers. LB1737.5.U5 T43 1996

Biographical information

  • Biographical dictionary of American educators. 3 vols. (1978) Ref LA2311 .B54
    Biographical data on 1,665 U.S. educators from colonial times to 1976 (had to have retired or died by 1975 to be included). Efforts have been made to include women and minority educators. Useful appendices include important dates in U.S. education
  • Directory of American scholars. 5 vols. (1999) Ref LA2311 .C15
    With a focus on scholarship, this set profiles thousands ofU.S. & Canadian scholars who were active in teaching, research & publishing
  • The National faculty directory. 3 vols. (2004) L901 .N34
    Provides an alphabetical list of more than 615,000 members of teaching faculty at about 3,600 U.S. colleges & universities and about 240 Canadian institutions using English-language instructional materials. Latest edition in Reference.
  • Who's who in American education. (1997) LA2311 .W47
    Includes basic biographical data as well as writings and creative works, awards & fellowships, professional and association memberships, and addresses. Indexes by specialty. Latest edition in reference.

Yearbooks and literature reviews

These works typically review the research literature and topical developments for a year's time. These can be a good starting point for finding a research topic. Some examples include:

  • Review of research in education. LB1028 .R43 Covers 1990-1999
    Attempts to synthesize current research on selected topics. Its main purpose is to help improve theoretical work in education by examining what has been done and what still needs to be done. Articles on learning and instruction predominate.
  • Review of educational research. L11 .R4 Covers 1931-present. Journal devoted to critical state-of-the-art essays; each issue contains 4-5 articles, some reporting original research but most presenting analyses of current educational research literature. Broad scope.
  • Educational media and technology yearbook. LB1028.3 .E37 Covers 1985-2001
    Covers previous year's trends and issues in the field of educational media and technology. Also serves as reporter for the seven major professional associations in N. America in the field. Reference section lists more than 200 professional organizations and associations in N. America and graduate programs in educational computing. Latest edition in Refence. 2000 edition available online.
  • The Yearbook of education law. LB2514 .Y4 Covers 1988-2006
    Provides bias-free summaries of state appellate court cases and federal trial and appellate court cases affecting the operation, management, and governance of elementary and secondary schools as well as post-secondary institutions. A subject index and table of cases end each volume.

Statistics

  • Digest of education statistics. L112 .A45 (annual)
    Contains information on a variety of subjects within the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, enrollments, teachers, graduates, educational attainment, finances, Federal funds for education, libraries, international education, and research and development.
  • The condition of education. L112 .N377 (annual)
    Drawing on the same sources as the Digest, this work focuses on indicators measuring the status of education, monitoring important developments, and showing trends in major aspects of education.
  • National Center for Education Statistics
    NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other nations. Look under QuickLinks for the Nation's Report Card, public schools locations and other frequently used tools.
  • The atlas of American higher education. G1201.E68 F6 1993 (maps reference area)
    Unlike the traditional portrayal of data in the form of statistics, tables, and charts this visual approach provides the reader with a clear, concise understanding of higher education in this country and furnishes an overview of current trends. Clearly showing the influence of the fifty separate and distinct systems that make up American higher education, the Atlas presents dozens of maps on such topics as enrollment; students and faculty; cultural diversity; specialized institutions; two-year colleges; outcomes of higher education; student costs and student aid; and financing of higher education, as well as general background and summary chapters. It includes both public and private, two- and four-year institutions.
  • Childstats
    Key national indicators of well-being including education, health and economic security
  • Child Trends Databank
    Provides information on the latest national trends and research on over 70 key indicators of child and youth well-being, with new indicators added each month. You can sign up for e-mail updates. Covers health, social and emotional development, education and skills, demographics, family and community, income, assets, and work.

Current Awareness

  • Education Week Online:
    Regular features include national and state reports of activities, federal legislation, upcoming events, and job advertisements
  • You can also set up alerting services in the Ingenta database: receive the tables of contents for selected journals or the results of a repeated search . Other databases, just as Professional Development Collection, will allow you to save searches and receive the results of weekly updates once you have set up a personal account in the database. See helpful tips and tutorials on our Keeping Current with Research webpage.

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  • OSU College of Education
  • OSU Dept of Science and Mathematics Education
  • Oregon Department of Education
  • Oregon Network for Education (ONE)
  • NWREL
    Northwest Regional Education Laboratory's "Library in the Sky" provides links to over 10,000 links to education resources for teachers, students, parents and community members.
  • U.S.Dept. of Education: topics from A to Z
    Alphabetical index of topics from "accreditation" to "Y2K assistance" or use the search line to enter a specific query. Comprehensive and up to date.
  • Educator's Reference Desk
    Thousands of lesson plans and pointers to education information & organizations. Includes a question archive and the resources formerly collected at the AskERIC site.
  • Education world: where educators go to learn
    This gateway site is easily navigated and provides searchable access to thousands of links. Of interest to educators at all levels with particular usefulness for K-12 instructors. Quality of web sites linked is variable. Lists are not necessarily exhaustive.
  • Education Virtual Library:
    Links to education sites around the world are accessible alphabetically, by education level, by type of resource, and by country. Includes commercial sites so use with caution.
  • ERIC Clearinghouses:
    Historically, the ERIC Clearinghouses collected, abstracted, and indexed educational materials for the ERIC databases; responded to requests for information in their subject specific areas; and produced special publications (many full-text online) on current research, programs, and practices.

    Funding for the ERIC Clearinghouses was eliminated by the current administration, effective Dec. 19, 2003. Alternative locations for information created by the clearinghouses are described here.
  • State Education Departments
    A collection of links to all 50 states' education department web sites.
  • Teacher Certification Requirement for 50 States
    Maintained by the University of Kentucky, College of Education.
  • FinAid
    A comprehensive guide to student financial aid is sponsored by the National Assoc. of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
  • National Education Association
    Comprehensive information about the organization as well as useful links for parents, teachers and students.
  • College and University Rankings
    Annotated links to many undergraduate and graduate rankings using various criteria. Includes the most commonly sought out rankings such as U.S. News & World Report. It is strongly recommended that you read the Caution and Controversy page first.
  • College Opportunities Online Locator (COOL):
    Profiles of over 7,000 U.S. colleges and universities that can be searched and compared. From the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS data.
  • Praxis Series
    From Educational Testing Service. Offers, along with information about test sites and study materials, descriptions and sample test items for the various sections.
  • SPIDO:
    State Policy Inventory Database Online is designed to provide "an inventory of state-level policies and resources in key policy domains related to student achievement, access and success in higher education."
  • Online TeacherEd:
    Directory of higher education distance learning programs in teacher education-- bachelor's through doctoral degrees and certificate programs.

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Other Useful Subject Research Guides

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Return to the Alphabetical or Subject index of the Subject Research Guides.