ELECTRONIC RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION:
HOW TO FIND JOURNAL LITERATURE

Periodical indexes are useful for finding references to journal articles. The University Libraries provide numerous electronic indexes and databases for locating articles related to Education. Some indexes provide only citations; some provide citations and abstracts. Others furnish the complete texts of articles.

This guide suggests relevant electronic indexes and databases and provides links to facilitate access to them. See INDEXES AND DATABASES FOR EDUCATION below for a selection of linked indexes and databases.

Journal Articles Available Online

University at Albany library users may retrieve and print full text articles directly from their computer workstations (inside or outside the library). To find out if the libraries provide access to specific journals in full text online and the years of coverage, start on the Libraries' HOME PAGE. From the center column, RESEARCH TOOLS, click on Journals - Print & Online, then type the title of the journal in the search box.

Additional links to electronic journals can be found on: Subject Pages & Guides: Education. Click on Internet Resources in Education, then on Electronic Journals. The article you seek may be in one of the periodicals listed and linked there.

Journal Articles NOT Available Online

If references retrieved from a periodical index lead to articles that are not available in full text online, check the University at Albany online catalog, MINERVA. If the libraries own the traditional print or microform version of the journal, look for the journal by call number in the Periodicals Section (in the Main Library it is on the lower level) and make a copy of the article. If the library doesn't own the journal, students and faculty members of the University at Albany may request a copy of the article by connecting to the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan system and completing the request form provided there. Please allow several weeks for interlibrary loan material to arrive.

I. INDEXES AND DATABASES FOR EDUCATION

This section, INDEXES AND DATABASES FOR EDUCATION, describes several electronic indexes and databases that focus specifically on Education. Begin your search for relevant citations by using one of the indexes or databases described below.

• ERIC - Educational Resources Information Center
            Updating of the ERIC database ceased during 2003 and was resumed in 2005 with a small number of entries for 2004 and 2005. For references to journal articles from the years 2003 - 2005, it is necessary to supplement an ERIC search with a search of Education Full Text and other databases, such as the multidisciplinary databases linked below. At present, the ERIC Web site is the only version of ERIC that includes references to articles published in 2005.
  The ERIC database consists of two files:
  
  1. Journal articles (1969+). Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). Indexed articles from a large number of journals in Education and related fields until 2003. NB: ERIC is a poor source of references to current periodical articles. For references to articles from recent years (2003 - 2005+) use Education Full Text and other databases in addition to ERIC.
  
  2. ERIC Documents (1966+). Resources in Education (RIE). Announces and summarizes research reports, bibliographies, speeches, syllabi, glossaries, conference papers, and various other types of publications. For further information about the ERIC documents collection on microfiche, see the entry below for Resources in Education under MICROFORM COLLECTIONS.

University at Albany users have additional options for searching the ERIC database:

• ERIC [via EBSCO]
            A database that provides indexing and abstracting services and full text articles from more than 380 of the journals indexed by ERIC. Offers keyword searching at the basic and advanced levels and subject searching using the thesaurus. Click on Linked Full Text to retrieve the full article. If "Check SFX for availability" appears in the record, the entire text of the article may be available from another subscribed database. To find out or to retrieve the article, click on that message.
           When the message "Full text from ERIC" appears in the record, the item is an ERIC document. If you want to see the full text of the ERIC document, click on "Full text from ERIC."
            All ERIC documents that were produced on microfiche between 1966 and 2004 have been acquired by the library, despite information to the contrary that appears in EBSCO's brief records. The full EBSCO record shows whether an ERIC document was produced on microfiche by ERIC. The microfiche collection is housed in the periodicals section on the lower level. Fiches are filed in cabinets under their ED numbers.
            NB: ERIC is a poor source of references to current periodical articles. For references to articles from recent years (2003 - 2005), use Education Full Text and other databases in addition to ERIC.

• British Education Index    (1950+)  
        Covers significant journal literature on Education, principally from British journals and includes selected reports in full text versions. Online access is offered by the library's customized search service. To use this service, schedule an appointment at the Reference Desk.

• EdResearch Online   (2000+)
           Subset of the Australian Education Index. Australian terminology may differ, so use the thesaurus to find the Australian equivalent of your search topic. Offers selected full text articles for sale.

• EDUCATION FULL TEXT    (1983+ Selected full text)  (1994+ Abstracts)  (1995+ books)
           Select Advanced Search or Basic Search. Indexes approximately 400 journals, about half of which offer full text retrieval online for selected years. Allows users to limit their searches in various ways, e.g. by document type, by publication year (or a span of years), to peer-reviewed journals, or to full text sources.

• Education-line; Electronic Texts in Education and Training  (1997+)
           Sub-set of the British Education Index that provides access principally to documents such as conference papers in full text versions. Search by keyword or browse the index (i.e. subject search). Includes a thesaurus of subject terms. British terminology may differ, so use the browse functions to find the British equivalent of your search topic.

• Education Research Complete. (Selected full-text, coverage varies by journal)
            Bibliographic and full-text database which provides indexing and abstracts for more than 1,500 journals, as well as full text for more than 750 journals. Includes full text for more than 100 books, monographs, and full text for numerous education-related conference papers. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing. It also touches upon areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration, policy, funding, and related social issues.
• Educators Reference Desk -  Includes access to the ERIC database as well as other types of resources for educators. This replaces AskERIC which closed in December 2003.

• Search ERIC  - A search aid that offers shortcuts for searching the abstracts and digests produced by ERIC. The search Wizard provides ready-made searches on popular topics. For access to these search results, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Expert Examples."

II. OTHER USEFUL INDEXES AND DATABASES

The indexes and databases in this section, though neither primarily focused on Education nor exculsively on journal literature, can provide relevant citations to journal articles and other kinds of material such as conference papers and government publicatons. Some also provide the full text of the articles or other material.

Indexes and Databases That Provide Full Text Articles

The following services offer the option of obtaining the full text of many of the indexed articles directly from your computer workstation.

• Book Review Digest Plus   (1983+)
          Includes book summaries, bibliographic information, and full text reviews from more than 8000 journals. Covers fiction, non-fiction, children's books, and reference works. Select Advanced Search or Basic Search. Allows users to limit their searches by publication year (or a span of years) and to browse by subject or by other selected criteria.
• Business Source Complete   (Dates vary)
            Business Source Complete provides full text from 11,200 sources, including more than 1,100 scholarly business journals. The database contains full text from international top ranking journals including, Harvard Business Review, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, Journal of Marketing Management etc. Business Source Complete also includes publications with full text such as country economic reports from the EIU, Global Insight, ICON Group and CountryWatch, detailed company profiles for the world's 10,000 largest companies as well as Bernstein's White and Black Book series with financial information.
• Criminal Justice Periodical Index   (1971+)
           Juvenile delinquency and related topics are covered. Selected articles are available in full text.

• EBSCO Academic Search Premier   (1990+)
           Multidisciplinary database with selected articles available in full text. Choose Basic Search or Advanced Search. Click on Full Text to limit results to full text articles only. Other options for limiting are also provided, e.g. year(s) of publication and peer review. For a list of journals indexed and dates of coverage, click on Choose Databases, then on Title List. To retrieve photographs and other types of pictures, select Images. Example: a search of the word "desegregation" in the category "Historical photos" produced seven photographs.

• IngentaConnect    [Online journal collection]    (Dates vary)
            Perform a keyword search or browse journal titles. Click on the journal title and issue to display the table of contents. In the table of contents, click on the article title for access to the full article. Articles designated in the key as free or subscribed are available to University at Albany faculty and students at no charge. To display an alphabetical list of titles of education related journals, select Social Sciences as the subject area, then click on Education from the Browse Within list. IngentaConnect also offers a current awareness service. Follow online instructions to activate this service.

• International Index to Black Periodicals   (1998+)
           Includes citations, abstracts, and some full text articles from scholarly and popular journals, newspapers, and newsletters.

• JSTOR   [Online journal collection]    (Dates vary)
           Full text of articles from journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Mathematics. Includes several journals that are relevant to Education. Click on Search to perform a boolean search, or click on Browse, then on Education to view the journal titles and available years. JSTOR does not include recent issues of the journals.

• LegalTrac   (1980+)
           Indexes articles in major law reviews, journals, and more. Includes selected full text material. Covers federal and state cases, laws and regulations, and other legal topics, including Education law.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic    (Dates vary)
          Covers case law, codes and regulations, and other topics. Provides selected full text material. Click on Sources to display an alphabetical list of indexed journals.

• Project Muse    [Online journal collection]    (Dates vary)
           Offers access to full text articles from current and retrospective issues of selected scholarly journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and other disciplines, including several journals related to Education. Browse the journal list or perform a keyword search (basic or advanced) in all fields or in specific fields.

• PsycINFO  (1887+)
           Useful for finding articles on Educational Counseling, Educational Psychology, and related topics. Selected full text access is provided through SFX and Ovid.

• ScienceDirect     [Online journal collection]    (Dates vary)
           Contains selected full-text articles from several journals related to Education. Offers a keyword searching option (Quick Search). To display a list of journals related to Education, follow instructions given in the database. Click on the journal title to display the table of contents. Select "subscribed" from the display menu to limit the display to articles available free to UA students and faculty in full text.

• Westlaw    (Dates vary)  
            A legal research system which includes federal and state court cases, legal periodicals, congressional information, and state and federal bill tracking services. Provides full text material. Access to Westlaw is available at the Dewey Graduate Library to students possessing a valid University at Albany SUNYCard. The Main Library on the uptown campus offers Westlaw consultation at the Reference Desk.

• Women's Studies International  (1972+)  
          Provides selected full text articles through full text linking partners such as Ingenta, Ebsco, Ideal, JSTOR, and Project Muse. Search by keyword(s) or phrase or perform a boolean search . The database includes entries from Women Studies Abstracts and several other sources. Offers broad coverage in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. Both print and Web resources are covered.

Indexes and Databases That Provide Citation Only or Citation and Abstract

• Digital Dissertations   (Citations: 1861+; Citations & Abstracts: 1980+; MA Theses: 1988+)
          Perform a keyword search (simple or boolean) or browse broad subject categories for doctoral dissertations and masters theses. For dissertations published since 1997, citation, abstract, and the initial 24 pages of text are provided.

• Essay and General Literature Index.  (1985+)  
           Offers references to essays in collections and anthologies. Covers the entire range of the humanities and social sciences, including education on all levels. Provides links to MINERVA, the University Libraries' online catalog, for the publications containing the essays cited in the search results.
• FirstSearch   (Dates vary)
           Select a database or a topic from one of the FirstSearch menus. Provides access to several databases from which to retrieve references to articles, papers, and books related to Education:

.   AHSearch [Arts and Humanities Citation Index]   (1980+)   Includes references to articles on Education in the Arts and Humanities.

.   ArticleFirst   (1990+)   A source of references to articles from journals in various disciplines, including Education.

.   PapersFirst   (Oct. 1993+)   Indexes papers of all academic and professional meetings and conferences received at the British Library.

.  Proceedings   (Oct. 1993+)   Provides citations and tables of contents of papers presented at professional meetings. Multidisciplinary and international in scope.

.  Worldcat  (Dates vary)   Catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.

• GPO Monthly Catalog    (1976+)
           Provides references to U.S. government publications, e.g. those from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as information about legislative activity having to do with Education.

• Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts: LLBA   (1973+)
           Covers international literature on the study of language and linguistics. Offers quick and advanced keyword searching as well as a thesaurus for subject searching.

• Public Affairs Information Service, PAIS   (1972+)
           Provides references to journal articles, books, government reports, and other material related to Education.

• Sociological Abstracts   (1974+)
           Provides bibliographic information and abstracts for journal literature and conference papers in Sociology.

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Compiled by Marjorie A. Benedict
Maintained by Yu-Hui Chen


Updated 5 September, 2006