Using ERIC: A Tutorial on Database Searching
Congratulations on a smart move!
Using databases to locate sources for research projects may be a challenge until you've received some training, but database-searching skills will be essential throughout your education.
Coming here was your first smart move: Learning to navigate a database is the best way to jump into the game! This brief tutorial will teach you how to use the ERIC database, and can be used to practice database research in general.
Follow along on your computer with the steps in purple to get the most out of this tutorial.
Choose Your Topic - Locate ERIC - Conduct a Basic Search - Examine a Resource - Narrow Your Results
Coming here was your first smart move: Learning to navigate a database is the best way to jump into the game! This brief tutorial will teach you how to use the ERIC database, and can be used to practice database research in general.
Follow along on your computer with the steps in purple to get the most out of this tutorial.
Choose Your Topic - Locate ERIC - Conduct a Basic Search - Examine a Resource - Narrow Your Results
You have been assigned a Research Paper in an Elementary Education course, and have chosen the following topic area:
_Explore the merits and drawbacks of "Gifted and Talented" education programs
_As a University of Arizona student, you can use the University of
Arizona Libraries web portal to access thousands of resources on this topic, using
hundreds of databases.
Too much information? Don't let that army of information sources make you surrender! They are on your side and already organized. Since your topic is in the field of Education, you may be able to find everything you need in Education Resources Information Center, the ERIC database. |
Step 1: Click this link to Go to the University of Arizona Libraries web portal.
Step 2: Hover over "Search and Find" and click on "Articles and Databases" - See screenshot
Step 3: Under "Find Databases in your SUBJECT area:" select "Education" from the dropdown list and then click "Go" - See Screenshot
Step 4: Under "Major Indexes" select ERIC
Step 5: If you see the University of Arizona login page, enter your NetID and Password.
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Your screen should be displaying the ERIC search box in either Basic Search or Advanced Search mode. (The mode you are in will be in black text directly beneath the search box.)
Step 1: Select "Basic Search" if it is not yet selected
Step 2: Type "gifted and talented" in the search box, with the quotation marks. (The quotation marks will help narrow your search.) See Screenshot
Step 3: Click the Search button.
You should get about 2500 search results.
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Step 1: Around result #6 will be a Report beginning with the title "Is Gifted Education a Bright Idea?" Click on the title. See Screenshot
Step 2: This resource may be relevant, so in the "Tools" menu on the right side, click "Cite". Above the bibliographic information about this resource you will now see its citation, in AMA or APA format, which you will need if you use this resource as a reference. See Screenshot
Step 3: Scroll down to the other bibliographic information about this resource.
_Cut corners with Descriptors, your new subject terms
Note the list of Descriptors in the information about this resource. There are several that could help you narrow your search, like these two:
You could click on them to narrow your search according these subject terms, but for now just make a note of them. See Screenshot |
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Step 4: You would like to read this article. On the left, click "Get Full Text or Document Delivery."
Step 4: You would like to read this article. On the left, click "Get Full Text or Document Delivery."
Not found?
It turns out this report on Gifted Education is not available online through ERIC. (See Screenshot.) You have the option of ordering a photocopy of it through the library's Document Delivery service. However, you would prefer to use a peer-reviewed article anyway. You choose to begin a new search, hoping to find resources with full text available immediately and online. You have learned that you may need to limit your search to find the best resources for your topic that are convenient for you to access. |
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Step 1: Click "Advanced Search" below the search bar(s). (You may first need to close the popup window that told you the previous article was not found online.)
Step 2: Leave "gifted and talented" in the first search field.
Step 3: In the box beneath where you have "gifted and talented", change the AND to OR. Then, in the box next to OR, type "academically gifted" in quotation marks. Continue to Step 4 below to continue fine-tuning your search. See Screenshot of search settings so far.
Step 1: Click "Advanced Search" below the search bar(s). (You may first need to close the popup window that told you the previous article was not found online.)
Step 2: Leave "gifted and talented" in the first search field.
Step 3: In the box beneath where you have "gifted and talented", change the AND to OR. Then, in the box next to OR, type "academically gifted" in quotation marks. Continue to Step 4 below to continue fine-tuning your search. See Screenshot of search settings so far.
OR means give me MORE Choose OR when the term before the term is narrow enough to suit your topic. The phrase "gifted and talented" on its own signifies special programs for high level students, so it doesn't need to be further narrowed. AND means give me LESS You don't want articles simply on the "academically gifted"; neither do you want articles about all types of "special programs". What you want are articles on "special programs" for the "academically gifted". Leaving the word AND between these two descriptors narrows results to resources containing both descriptors. |
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Step 4: On the next line, in the box next to AND, type "special programs" in quotation marks.
Step 5: Under "Search Options", check "Apply related words." This can help ensure descriptors we missed will be searched.
Step 6: Under "Limit your results", check the boxes next to "Full Text" and "Peer Reviewed".
Step 7: Next to "Educational Level," you would like to limit by multiple levels. Press the Control key (Windows) or Use the Command/Apple key (Mac) while selecting every line from Elementary Education to Grade 5.
Step 8: In the right column, next to "Journal or Document", select "Journal".
See Screenshot of all advanced search selections
Step 4: On the next line, in the box next to AND, type "special programs" in quotation marks.
Step 5: Under "Search Options", check "Apply related words." This can help ensure descriptors we missed will be searched.
Step 6: Under "Limit your results", check the boxes next to "Full Text" and "Peer Reviewed".
Step 7: Next to "Educational Level," you would like to limit by multiple levels. Press the Control key (Windows) or Use the Command/Apple key (Mac) while selecting every line from Elementary Education to Grade 5.
Step 8: In the right column, next to "Journal or Document", select "Journal".
See Screenshot of all advanced search selections
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You should have about 56 Results. (See Screenshot.) If you scroll through them, you will find most of them are relevant to your topic. Don't forget to copy their citations before you download any article (usually as a pdf) and save it to your computer or flash drive.
Customize these settings when you perform searches on your own. Checkmate!
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You should have about 56 Results. (See Screenshot.) If you scroll through them, you will find most of them are relevant to your topic. Don't forget to copy their citations before you download any article (usually as a pdf) and save it to your computer or flash drive.
Customize these settings when you perform searches on your own. Checkmate!
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