ERIC is a database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that contains education-related journal articles and documents. It was established in 1966. ERIC documents include papers from conferences, reports from school districts and state education agencies, and doctoral dissertations. Searches can be limited to peer-reviewed or full text materials. Controlled vocabulary descriptors provide agreed-upon terms to search for subjects and concepts. Boolean and truncation searches can be used to broaden or narrow results. While some full text is available, other items can be requested or accessed at local libraries.

1. WHAT IS ERIC?AN OVERVIEW OF THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER DATABASEbyMARK HABERTHE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE, GILL LIBRARYOctober 2008

2. WHAT IS ERIC? Educational Resources Information Center

3. ERIC FactsEstablished in 1966 Sponsored by U.S. Dept. of EducationContains both journal articles and documents

4. WHAT ARE ERIC DOCUMENTS?Papers presented at scholarly conferencesReports of school districts Reports of state departments of educationDoctoral dissertations in education

5. Limiting Your SearchERIC Searches can be limited to:Journal articles onlyPeer reviewed materialsFull text materials

7. Controlled VocabularyAgreed upon term for a subject or concept (in ERIC, these are called “Descriptors”)Phonic method USE PhonicsReading disabilities USE Reading DifficultiesSpeech handicaps USE Speech Impairments

8. Use of ThesaurusList of ERIC DescriptorsScope Note (ERIC’s definition of the term)Other Terms (Broader, Narrower, Related)

13. Boolean SearchingCombine Search Terms“AND” narrows the search (retrieved item must have all the terms)“OR” broadens the search (retrieved item can have one or more of any of the terms)“NOT” limits the search (retrieved item does not have the term)

16. TruncationThe asterisk * at the end of the root of a word retrieves the word and all forms of the wordTeach* retrieves teach, teacher, teaching, etc.Adolescen* retrieves adolescent, adolescence, etc.Read* retrieves read, reader, reading, etc.

18. Retrieving the full textSome articles and documents are available full textOthers can be requested at the Circulation DeskJournal articles and ERIC documents that are not owned by CNR can be ordered via IlliadThe Arrigoni Library at Iona College (715 North Ave. New Rochelle) also has many ERIC documents and education journals and is available for use by CNR students.

28. Advantages of Using ERICContains both journal articles and ERIC documentsComprehensive ThesaurusBoolean Searching