1	Database Searching “There’s magic, but if you don’t know the spells, it’s no use to you.” Jakob Nielson Software Designer/Usability Expert
2	Our Objectives To focus on researching the education literature To consider the structure of databases To demonstrate search strategies for achieving optimal results
3	Education …Consider the sources Academic Search Premier Expanded Academic ASAP Education Index (Print) Education Index Full Text (Online) ERIC U.S. Dept of Education EBSCO interface Professional Development Collection PsycINFO
4	ERIC...That was then 1966-- 16 Clearinghouses plus adjunct and affiliated clearinghouses National Library of Education U. S. Department of Education
5	ERIC…This is now September 1, 2004-- Institute of Education Sciences Computer Sciences Corporation Contract Content Experts Research Triangle Institute Nstein Technologies for search engine Educator’s Reference Desk (www.eduref.org) ERIC Digests no longer produced ERIC Database 1966-- Online Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors Peer reviewed field added Sort feature available
6	ERIC (Not who, but what…) CIJE Index to approximately 600* periodical titles EJ###### *ERIC Web site June, 2007 RIE Documents Conference papers Symposia proceedings Curriculum guides Research reports Dissertations Directories Literature reviews ERIC Digests ED###### JSC holdings 1994--2004
7	Database Structure Files Records Fields Terms Fields Author Title Publication Notes Abstract Descriptor Descriptor
8	Field vs. Keyword Searching Field Controlled Vocabulary Specific fields are searched Author Title Subject or Descriptor Keyword Any indexed field in a record may be searched Natural language terms may be found in an abstract
9	Field vs. Keyword Searching Descriptor Field Reader text relationship Reading interests Critical reading Reader response Content area reading Educational environment Keyword Responses to reading Reading in the content areas School climate
10	Field vs. Keyword Searching Descriptor Field Action research Teacher researchers Reflective teaching Keyword Reflective practitioner Teacher lore Teacher narrative
11	Keyword Search Conventions Boolean search logic Combining sets using AND Broadening concepts using OR Truncation and wildcards to pick up variant forms of search terms Use of synonyms and creative thinking
12	Combining Terms Using AND
13	Combining Terms Using OR
14	Combining Concepts
15	Interlibrary Loan Reciprocal trade agreements between libraries...
16	Periodical article retrieval Email option available for some indexes Reformat and print from the browser The full text The abstract Interlibrary Loan form available within some database search results Check JSC Journals Find Journals tab on JSC Library Home Page Combined print (microfilm, fiche, paper) and full text electronic journals holdings
17	Literature Searching Review Define your research question. Translate your terms into the language of the system. Understand the structure of a database. Use Boolean search logic to combine terms and concepts.