This document provides an overview of library resources for education research available to students in an ED 690 course at Pace University. It summarizes key databases for finding articles on education topics, such as ERIC, Education Abstracts, and PsycInfo. It also discusses searching techniques like using Boolean operators and subject headings. Tips are provided for searching the library catalog to find books, and for accessing full text documents through the library's collections or interlibrary loan. Students are directed to library research guides, tutorials, and staff for additional help with their research.

1. Teacher as Researcher
Library Instruction for ED 690, Spring
2012
Photo by Steven De Polo

2. Objectives
Develop an awareness of the different
library resources available for education
research
Generate search terms and organize your
search strategy
Become familiar with basic and advanced
search features in databases in order to
search the journal literature

3. Library Research Guide
• Research guides will help you
choose encyclopedias,
databases, journals, and other
resources for your education
research
• Start at the Library Homepage
– http://www.pace.edu/library
• Under “Library Services” click
on Research Guides
– Choose Education from the
Subject list Or access the guide
directly at:
– Search for or scroll to: “Teacher
as Researcher: Action Research” libguides.pace.edu/
ActionResearch

4. Using the Pace Library Catalog
• The Pace Library Catalog lists the books, e-books, movies and
other materials owned by the Pace Library
– There are two ways to search the catalog
Classic catalog
Encore

5. Tips for using Encore to search the
catalog
• Start with a broad search
• Use the tags on the right to narrow your search
• While you’re browsing, you can click on the
“Add to List” link to keep track of items you were
interested in
• When you find a book that looks interesting, look at the record and click
on the relevant subject heading to find more books and materials on that
subject

6. • Use the Request It button to get books from other Pace campuses
• Takes 1-2 business days. You will get an e-mail when the book arrives and it
can be picked up at the circulation desk.
• Use the Connect NY button to find resources from other universities
• Takes 3-5 business days. You will get an e-mail when the book arrives and it
can be picked up at the circulation desk.
• When you’re in Connect NY (it will open in another tab or window) use the
WorldCat link to find books available through InterLibrary Loan

7. Organizing your search strategy
• Sample question:
• What factors affect the intrinsic motivation of
socioeconomically challenged middle-school
students?
• Step 1: eliminate extraneous words
• Step 2: pull out key words
Concept A Concept B Concept C
intrinsic motivation socioeconomically middle-school students
challenged

8. Organizing your search strategy, cont.
• Step 3: brainstorm synonyms for your key
words
– Note: you may continue to add synonyms and
subject headings as you search

9. Using Databases to find Articles
From the library
home page, click on
Databases: Find an
Article
Recommended Databases:
Education Other
ERIC PsycInfo
Education Abstracts Academic Search
Professional Development Premier
Collection Jstor

10. Boolean Operators

11. Boolean Operators & Search Tips
• Use “OR” to connect related or synonymous terms within a single search
box, this widens your search
• Parentheses: be sure to group OR terms within parentheses, eg. (“special
education” OR “special needs”)
• Use “AND” to narrow search results by combining key concepts
– Eg. motivation AND “socioeconomically challenged” AND “middle
school”
• Asterisk: retrieves all alternate endings, eg. disab* retrieves disability,
disabled, disabilities, etc.
• Quotation marks retrieves that exact phrase, eg. “social media”

12. Limiting your search
• In Ebsco databases (eg. ERIC and PsycInfo) you can
limit your search in 2 ways
From the Advanced After getting
Search screen a set of
results

13. Finding Subject headings in PsycInfo
• To review How and Why to use the Thesaurus
in PsycInfo, view this video:
– http://tinyurl.com/axvbybr

14. Finding Full-Text Documents
 In ERIC, if it is a book, search for the book title in the catalog
to see if the book is available from Pace or Connect NY
 For articles (in all databases) use the Search for Article button

15. Finding Full-Text Documents
After clicking Search for Article, if you see:
Note: you need a library
barcode to create an
InterLibrary Loan account

16. To get more help
• The library home page:
www.pace.edu/library
• Use the Ask-a-
Librarian link
• Under “Library
Services”
– Video tutorials
– How do I?
– Research Guides
• E-mail Jennifer!
jrosenstein@pace.edu
• Stop by or call the
reference desk
(the desk under the big
Information sign in the
middle of the library)
• (212) 346-1331

17. Quiz Time!
tinyurl.com/ed690mcdermott
Photo by Alberto G.