ERIC User Guide
What is ERIC?:
The ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) index contains citations and abstracts to over 900 journals and the ERIC Document collection. The ERIC Document collection consists of educational reports, curriculum guides, papers, government documents, education statistics, etc.
By searching ERIC, you will locate citations (author, title, journal, date of publication) and abstracts (summaries) to articles and documents on your topic. Citations to journal articles - designated with EJ plus a 6-digit number - indicate the title of the journal, year of publication, volume, and issue number. Citations to the ERIC Document collection are designated with ED plus a 6-digit number. Be sure to read the descriptors (subjects) and the abstract to determine whether or not you want to view the actual journal article or ERIC document.
Please note that ERIC does not index journal issues cover to cover. Many articles, book reviews, and letters to the editor are not included in ERIC even though they may index the journal. Education Full-text, on the other hand, tends to index journals cover to cover.
Searching ERIC:
- Click to open ERIC
- To search, type your search terms into the 'Find' boxes. Searches are narrowed when two or more boxes are combined with 'and' on the drop-down menu (default). To broaden a search, choose 'or' from the drop-down menu.
Ex: "problem solving" and "elementary education"
Ex: "group work" or "cooperative learning"
You will notice a number in parentheses at the end of each citation on the results page. If the number starts with EJ, the citation is for a journal article. If the number starts with ED, the citation is for an ERIC Document. The CIMC has nearly the entire ERIC Document collection on microfiche. Microfiche can be printed, emailed, or saved using the microfiche scanner in the CIMC Computer Lab.
"Linked Full Text" will bring you to a page where you can access an HTML or PDF version.
"Check MadCat for electronic or print copies" will search MadCat for a) the journal title, or b) the ED number. Unfortunately, searching MadCat for ERIC documents is not entirely effective, because not all CIMC microfiche have been cataloged.
A few tips on searching ERIC:
#1: Adding records to your "Folder" is a convenient method of selecting those you may want to e-mail, save, or print. To add a record to your folder, click the "Add" icon to the right of each record. When in doubt, add the record. It's easier to remove an added record than it is to try and remember where you came across a citation that you now want to print out. Don't wait long before printing/e-mailing/saving your added records.
#2: Use the "Thesaurus" button at the top of the screen to find official subjects (descriptors) and to generate related terms. For example, a search on "adult education" may prove too broad, but you're not sure what other terms to use. The Thesaurus gives terms such as "adult basic education", "continuing education", and "public school adult education". You can click on the terms you are interested in to find out more about them. Once you've found a subject descriptor you like, click on the Explode button. While nothing actually explodes, the Explode button performs a search for your desired term. You can then display the records or add another search term before displaying the results.
#3: The "Indexes" button at the top of the screen is an effective tool for browsing for Authors and other fields. In the Index, enter the author's last name first.
#4: Combine search terms with the educational level you're interested in (elementary education, secondary education or higher education). For example, conflict resolution 'and' secondary education.
#5: Use the "Search History/Alerts" tab, between the "Refine Search" and "Results" tabs. ERIC keeps track of all the searches you have performed, which you can then combined. You can find an appropriate term in the Thesaurus and "explode" it so that it turns up in your Search History. Find another official descriptor and explode it. Then, in the Search History area, do a combined search to narrow your results. Also, you can use the previous searches in the new search field. For example, you can enter #2 'and' teacher education.