If you want to do some research, one place to start is the national database maintained by the ERIC, the Education Resources Information Center at http://www.eric.ed.gov. ERIC is digital library of education-related resources and reference materials sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of
Education Sciences. The new ERIC library, which opened to the public on September 1, 2004, consists primarily of bibliographic records of journal articles and other reports on elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education.
Currently, the ERIC database includes references to more
than 1 million education-related journal articles, reports, and other
publications published from 1966 to 2004. Each bibliographic record contains
the name of the author of the article or report, the original source of the
article (such as the name of the journal or magazine in which the article was
originally published), an ERIC identification number that can be used to
retrieve the article from any federal depository library, and an abstract or
short summary of the article. In future years, the ERIC database will contain a
direct link to the full text of selected articles and the collection will
expand to include other electronic resources, such as audio or video materials.
The new ERIC database allows users to conduct both "basic"
searches and "more advanced" searches. A "basic" search allows users to search
for articles or reports on one generic topic using some simple search terms.
Search terms include a keyword (or subject), author, and ERIC identification
number. To do a simple search, users should go to the ERIC search
screen, then in the "Search" field select a Keyword, author, or ERIC identification
number of an article, then in the next field select the particular subject or
article for which you are searching.
For example, if you were looking for articles on "Pell
Grants" you would select "Keywords" in the Search field then in the field next
to it you would type "Pell Grants." Be sure to use quotation marks around the
words Pell Grants so that your search is limited to the subject Pell Grants.
Then select the "Search" button on the bottom of the page to begin your search.
Your screen will then show all of the article available on Pell Grants from
1966 to 2004, with a short summary of each article, the author's name, the
journal or magazine in which the article was published (if applicable), and the
ERIC identification number to use to retrieve the full article. A list of
possible keywords or subjects covered by ERIC is available from the ERIC Thesaurus.
If you would like to conduct a basic search for all articles
from a particular author, you should type the author's last name, first name,
and middle initial if applicable. For example, for articles by John A. Smith,
you would select "Author" in the "Search" field, then type "Smith John A" in
the field next to the Search field (no commas or period are necessary in author
searches). Be sure to include quotes around the author's name.
An advanced search may be used to narrow your search to a
more specific subject or author you seek. Say, for instance you only want
articles on Pell Grants that were published by John A. Smith. In this case, you
would select "Advanced Search" from the ERIC search screen, then in the first
search option you would select Keyword and type in "Pell Grants" and in the
second search option box you would select Author and type in "Smith, John A." The advanced search screen also allows users to narrow the years of their search. If, for instance, you wanted articles from only 2000 to 2004, you would select these years in the "Publication Date" fields.
The Advance Search page also allows for searches using
Boolean logic. Operators AND, OR, and NOT may be used in between each field to
create a more complex Boolean search. These operators may be used for searching articles on "Pell Grants" OR "Student Loans".
Here are a few suggestions for helping with your ERIC
searches:
Suggestion #1: Start your search broadly, worry about the details later.
When you enter keywords into the ERIC search engine, try to think of your
question in general terms. Overly specific searches tend to result in few, if
any, hits. Also, if you define your search too narrowly, you may miss useful
information because it didn't fit within your specific search. For example, if
your question is "What is the Stafford Loan default rate of students in Ohio?"
you may enter "Stafford Loan," "default rate," and "Ohio" as your keywords.
This search, however, would result in very few articles. If you define your
search more broadly, you may only enter "Stafford Loan" and "default rate," which
would result in more hits. Also see the Thesaurus
for help in defining your search.
Suggestion #2: If a search isn't working, think of another way to state
your question.
For example, if you want to know the amount of federal funding provided to
public colleges, you may enter "federal funding" and "public colleges" as your
keywords. While this search will provide you with 25 sources, you may find even
more references if you used synonyms for "public colleges," such as "public
universities" and "public institutions."
Suggestion #3: When in doubt, use the ERIC help features.
The "Help" link on the ERIC
Home page has a more information on many of the database features and provides:
- General search tips.
- Help with basic searches.
- Help with advanced searches.
- Displaying search results.
- Narrowing search results.
- Answers to frequently asked questions.
We hope the ERIC database helps you with your research needs.
By Kenneth Redd,
NASFAA Director of Research and Policy Analysis
Posted October 1, 2004 on www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Copyright 2004.
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to web@nasfaa.org
