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SPED 220: Introduction to Special Education, Early Childhood


Kati Tvaruzka, Education Reference Librarian,
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

 

 


Library Basics

For all your research needs: www.uwec.edu/Library

Check out this short presentation on why you should use the library's website instead of jumping to an Internet search engine.

The library's website should be your launching point and will provide you with access to information on library collections, services, hours of operation, loan periods, as well as access to the online catalog, online databases, and research guides to help you.

Here's a guide to help you locate materials by call number.

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The Research Process

There are four basic steps to the research process:

  • Pick a topic
  • Get background information: Start with subject encyclopedias and dictionaries as it's a good idea to get a working knowledge of your topic before you start digging for more detailed information.
  • Get detailed information:  Use books from the library's main stacks or other collections
  • Get current information:  Use library databases to find journal articles

The Research Map will help you find your way through these four steps.  Information is broken down by  discipline.

It's important to develop a search statement and pick out keywords in that statement.  Also think of synonyms for those keywords so that you're armed with good search terms.  Think of ways to link those terms using Boolean operators

For additional guidance, use the variety of guides put together by the reference librarians to help you with your research.   

Check out this short PowerPoint presentation if you are having a hard time distiniguishing primary versus secondary research/sources.

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Education Research

Check out this guide for tips on doing education research, including tips on using the online catalog to find books and reference materials. In addition, the PowerPoint presentation used in our library session can be found here.

Finding Education Articles and Journals

The library provides you with access to several databases specific to the field of education. General databases such as Academic Search Premier may also prove useful. Each database uses its own subject terms so the keywords that create a successful search in one database may not work in another. Be ready with synonyms and use the database thesaurus to check your terms for the most accurate, successful searches. TIPS: For all databases, if you cannot limit to a publication or methodology, throw in words like "results" and/or "methodology."

  • Education Research Complete: We just subscribed to a new EBSCO database that is the world's largest and most complete collection of full-text education journals. The database covers areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration, policy, funding, and related social issues, provides indexing and abstracts for more than 1,730 journals and contains full text for nearly 830 journals.

  • Education Full-Text: Education Full Text brings you comprehensive coverage of an international range of English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. Full text of articles cover to cover, from hundreds of journals, make this a great source for research.

  • PsycInfo: Includes information about the psychological aspects of education.
    TIPS
    : Use the thesaurus to find an exact descriptor. You can limit your search to "Quantitative Study" in the advanced search screen under "Methodology."

  • ERIC (EBSCO): ERIC contains indexes and abstracts from education and education-related journals and from professional papers, reports, and documents. Journal articles have an “EJ number” and documents have an "ED number.”

  • Academic Search Premier: Our new upgrade from Academic Search Elite! A multi-disciplinary database containing full text for more than 4,500 journals, including more than 3,700 peer-reviewed titles. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for all 8,250 journals in the collection.

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Educational Statistics and Reports


Special Education Websites


Evaluating Your Sources

Citation City

Help!

Don't waste your valuable time if you're stuck or if you just need a reminder about a resource or search strategy. We're here to help you! Feel free to email me, or call us toll-free at 877.267.1384. For technical problems and access issues, call the library's Reference Desk at 715.836.3858, email a librarian, or contact the Help Desk.

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Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey about your library instruction and research session. It will better help me help you! Thanks.


Updated: September 17, 2008