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Ferris Library for Information, Technology and Education
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  Kristy Motz
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  Phone: 231-591-3625
  Office: FLITE 140H
 

Graduate Students in Education Orientation - Fall 2009
drawing of white board

Off-Campus Access

Our Distance Education web site should help you with any questions you may have about reaching FLITE from wherever you are. Be sure to study it carefully and return to it often. If you have any questions, please contact our Distance Education librarian, Stacy Anderson, at 591-3635.

Finding Journal Articles for Research

Confused about peer-reviewed articles from scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journals? FLITE provides this handout to help: Guide to Popular vs. Scholarly Periodicals

Some people find this guide helpful to understand the peer-review process: "I Don't Know What to Believe"- a short peer-review guide

Peer-reviewed journals or refereed journals are scholarly/academic journals with the addition of a peer-review process run on the articles before they are accepted for publication. Not all scholarly or academic journal articles are peer-reviewed, so be sure to clarify what is required for your assignment.

Use this short (3-minute) tutorial to learn to search Ulrich's Periodical Directory and find out if your article is peer-reviewed. (Requires Flash software.)

This short (3-minute) tutorial explains how to use Google to find your journal's website, and check for peer-review information: Using Google to Learn Whether It's Peer-Reviewed (Requires Flash software.)

To find journal articles on a particular topic, use one or more of the databases available through the FLITE web site. These databases index thousands of journal titles. Some provide full text, but others only provide citations or abstracts.

Some of the databases we recommend you try include:

General Databases
  • Academic OneFile
    A general database with more than 32 million articles from 13,000 journals, its ability to allow you to easily restrict your search to peer-reviewed journals makes it a great place to start your research.

  • WilsonSelect Plus
    Holding a smaller collection of articles, this mainly full-text general database may provide some information not available through any other source.
Education Databases
  • Education Abstracts
    Although Education Abstracts provides very little full-text, it contains journals not indexed by other Education databases, and its ability to link out to articles in other databases using the "Find It" link increases its usefulness. New this semester! Education Abstracts now has a Limit to peer-reviewed articles checkbox!

  • Education (Sage Full-Text)
    Although articles are pulled from just 36 education journals, all are peer-reviewed and the articles are provided in full-text with coverage back more than 90 years. Use this database for in-depth historical research.

  • Educator's Reference Complete
    With full-text provided for more than half the journals indexed in ERIC, this large database covers all aspects of education from pre-school to university.

  • ERIC
    The premiere education database, ERIC (the Educational Resource Information Center) is a digital library provided by the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education.
    Note: the search interface for ERIC at FLITE has changed.
    Here is the new Guide for Searching ERIC.

    Be sure to access ERIC through the FLITE web site in order to find your articles.

    (Please contact Kristy Motz if you would like one-on-one help using this valuable resource.)
Related Databases
  • PsycINFO/PsycARTICLES
    With the close ties between psychology and education, the PsycINFO/PsycARTICLES database provides an additional scholarly resource for content that crosses between the two disciplines.

Or, click here to see all of our databases listed by name.

Using Journals

If you have a citation and need to see if FLITE owns the article in any format, use the Journals tab, or Find-Journals from the drop-down menu.

If FLITE does not own the article in any format, use InterLibrary Loan.

If FLITE does own the journals in physical format and you are an off-campus student, use the same InterLibrary Loan form, but put a message into the notes field that that you are distance education student, and a digital copy of the article will be delivered to your InterLibrary Loan account.

Useful Guides

Citations

Finding Books - Online and Print

Books are a great way to gather background, explore topics, and gain a general understanding about a variety of topics. Start with our Electronic Reference Resources, found under Databases on the home page.We have quite a variety of items in our reference collection pertaining to education topics, so take a look in the L's (education section) for good reference materials on Education. Many Education books are available within FLITE and can be mailed to you. Try searching the Online Catalog, for the keyword: "education". You might also want to try other keywords that relate to "education", such as "teaching", "learning", or more specific topics such as "collaborative learning".

How to Find Electronic Books through the Library Catalog

eBooks can be found by starting with a Keyword Search. Use the Material Type drop down menu on the page to select "EBOOKS".





You may also search for them from a results page by selecting the "LIMIT THIS SEARCH" tab on the top of the page.





Limit the search again to EBOOKS.




We have prepared a Finding Online Books guide for you with screen shots and useful information about the two major vendors we use: Ebrary and NetLibrary. (Hint, always have your browser's pop-up blocker off when accessing online books or articles from library databases.) Or, you can use the step-by-step instructions below.

Using Electronic Books from FLITE - Ebrary (the largest number of titles in the eBooks collection at FLITE)

  • Turn off your pop-up blocker.
  • Allow automatic download of the plugin that will become the book "reader".
  • Set up a user name and password so you can save searches and take notes.
  • Skim the forward, introduction, and table of contents to gain general sense of topic.
  • Save your search by either printing your material (printing limits apply), emailing the citation to yourself, or saving the citation to a bibliographic database like RefWorks or Citation Machine.

Using Electronic Books from FLITE - NetLibrary (a smaller collection of Ebooks at FLITE)

  • You can set up a free account to use NetLibrary from any computer.
  • Call the Oval Information Desk at 591-3602 if you have problems.

MeL

As a researcher or as an educator, the MeL collection of databases should be very helpful to you and to your students. Several of the major FLITE databases are available as free online resources to the citizens of Michigan, provided by the Library of Michigan without charge. Use this valuable tool yourself, and promote it to your students: MeL - the Michigan eLibrary Click on MeL Databases - See Databases From Home for a list of available resources, including Academic OneFile, ERIC, and Educator's Reference Complete. When you are not in a library, you will need to use either your Michigan library card barcode number or your Michigan Driver's License/ID number to access the databases.

On the Web

There are several good sites on the Internet for resources about education topics:

Finding FLITE info

You can reach information about FLITE services and resources on the FLITE homepage, the Library tab in MyFSU, or, ask your instructor to contact us so we may place FLITE links into your FerrisConnect courses.

Research Assistance

If you have any questions regarding using the library for research, Email Kristy Motz.

If you would like to make an appointment for a one-on-one research consultation with a librarian, use this online form.

Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.

Last update: August 27, 2009





Rick Bearden
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