Research: Helpful Resources for SPE1113

Jamie M. Holmes
Instructor of Library Services/Education Resource Co-Coordinator

Office:
Broken Arrow:
A222 Library (Broken Arrow campus)
3100 E. New Orleans | Broken Arrow, OK 74014

Telephone EXT. 6456 (449-6456)
BA Library FAX (918) 449-6454
Email: holmesjm@nsuok.edu

 

 Access:

Many of the resources listed below may be accessed remotely 24/7 through the links listed below.

Remote Access to NSU=s Databases: http://library.nsuok.edu/Indexes/proxy.html

NSU Broken Arrow Library: http://library.nsuok.edu/nsuba/index.html

NSU John Vaughan Library Web Page: http://library.nsuok.edu/index.html

 

Resources Part 1 - If you are unfamiliar with the terminology you encounter while searching article databases (or while reading articles in journals) you may wish to refer to sources such as textbooks, dictionaries, and other reference resources in the field of study. 

Books (Catalogs for finding)

Print format books are available by searching the NSU online catalog.

Search the NSU Libraries' Online Catalog: http://library.nsuok.edu/vtls.english/index.html

Searches may be limited to just the Broken Arrow campus for convenience. Books available on the Tahlequah campus may be ordered for delivery to the Broken Arrow campus. It usually takes two to three days for materials to arrive via campus mail.

Electronic books: Netlibrary provides access to over 25,000 academic books to NSU students 24/7.

Search for E-Books using NetLibrary and/or eBrary: http://library.nsuok.edu/Refdesk/vrdbks.html

 

Journal and Magazine Article Databases

Academic Search Premier - This is a general database, which means it contains article citations and full text articles covering many academic subjects. It is one of the twenty-five databases produced by EbscoHost for which NSU has a subscription. It is probably our most widely used database and is sometimes referred to simply as "Ebsco."

ERIC - This is another database produced by EbscoHost. ERIC stands for the Educational Resource Information Center. It contains more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals. ERIC contains a thesaurus, which can be very helpful in figuring out which search terms to use when looking for information.

Professional Development Collection - Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of more than 550 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This databasealso contains more than 200 educational reports.

PsycARTICLES - a definitive source of searchable full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains more than 40,000 articles from 53 journals - 45 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 8 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1985 to present.

PsycINFO - PsycINFO, from the American Psychological Association (APA), contains more than 2 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. 97 percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Journal coverage, which spans 1887 to present, includes international material selected from nearly 2,000 periodicals in more than 25 languages. Contains a thesaurus.

Go to all EbscoHost databases

Education Full Text - Part of Wilson's Omnifile Full Text, Mega Edition, EFT provides comprehensive coverage of an international range of English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. Coverage includes 79 journals (37 with full text) not covered by ERIC's Current Index to Journals in Education. Index coverage goes back to 1983. Full text articles from 1996 to the present. Contains a thesaurus.

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Search Tips

1. Be prepared with synonyms in case your original search produces no results. Use a thesaurus if the database is equipped with one.

2. Pay attention to search tips or help screens provided by each database. Even experienced researchers (like professors and librarians!) can have trouble when dealing with a new interface. Take the time to learn how to use the tool - it will help you to avoid frustration!

3.  Remember that most databases allow for Boolean Searching.  Use and to narrow, or to expand, not to exlude.  Truncation is also useful for bringing back all relevant results.  For example, type counsel* to bring back documents containing the words counsel, counseling, counselor...

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Resources Part 2

Internet Sites

General

Sites for Teachers: http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

Can Teach: http://www.canteach.ca/index.html

Teachers' Top Sites: http://www.americanteachers.com/topsites/index.php?a_m=2

United States Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml?src=a

Tom Messner's Search Engine Page: http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~messner/eresearch/e%20research.htm

The Internet Public Library: http://www.ipl.org/

 

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Evaluating Web sites

It's important to remember that publishing on the web is very easy - almost anyone can do it! The problem with that is knowing what's credible (worth your time) and what's not.

Here are some of the thing you want to look at or for:

the URL (.gov, .mil, .us, .edu are usually pretty credible);
links to information about the author or sponsoring organization;
links to other sites that are credible;
how current it is

Ultimately the researcher must be the one to determine whether or not to use information found on a web site. The following information from the University of California at Berkeley provides some excellent guidelines for evaluating sites:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.htm

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