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

Graduate Students in Education
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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 researchers 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:

Education Databases
  • Education Abstracts
    Although Education Abstracts provides very little full-text, you can also use the "Choose Databases" link above the search box to add OmniFile Full Text Select to your searches. This option broadens your search to journals not indexed by other Education databases. The ability to link out to articles using the "Find It" link further increases this database's usefulness. Look for the check box for Scholary (peer-reviewed) articles under "Limit your results".

  • Education Collection - Sage Journals Online
    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. Sage plans to add more journals to this collection in the future.

  • 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 higher education. Limiting to peer-reviewed articles is an easy task using a check box.

  • ERIC
    The premiere education database, ERIC (the Educational Resources Information Center), is a digital library provided by the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education. Many of the resources are citations or abstracts only, rather than full-text, and using the "Find It" function to link to other databases will be necessary. Use this 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.)
General Databases
  • Academic OneFile
    A general database with more than 39 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.

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. PsycARTICLES supplies articles in full-text, while PsycINFO delivers abstracts or citations.

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 Online Reference Resources, found under Online Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc. 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

Don't forget about using Online books, also known as ebooks or electronic books. FLITE provides more than 30,000 book titles online. We have prepared a short tutorial Finding and Reading Online Books and a web document, Finding Online Books, as guides for you with tips for using the different interfaces from the four major vendors we use: Ebrary, Springer, Credo Reference, and NetLibrary. (Hint, always turn your browser's pop-up blocker off when accessing online books or articles from library databases.)

OWL - Purdue University Online Writing Lab and Ferris Writing Center

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) is an invaluable reference for writing research papers. Covering everything from creating a thesis statement and coping with writer's block to formatting citations and the principles of academic writing, this comprehensive web site is a resource tool for every paper you'll ever need to write.

The Ferris Writing Center offers free assistance to all FSU students, faculty, and staff. In addition to tutoring help on-campus, the Writing Center will do tutoring online, including reviews of research papers and citation consultations. Don't pass up this opportunity for help.

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 no longer a Ferris student and 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

Looking for Education statistics and datasets from the federal government? Try these reliable websites from the U. S. Department of Education.

  • United States Education Dashboard

    • Debuting January 24, 2011, this federal website provides easy access to state and national education data, monitoring many indicators measuring the progress at every level of public education across the county in pursuit of President Obama's goal: by 2020, the United States once again will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

  • Data.ed.gov

    • Launched June 17, 2010, this U.S. Department of Education website aims to increase access to education data. Ultimately, this will be a location for practitioners, researchers, and the public to find information about US DOE grant programs.

  • Education Statistics - The 2012 Statistical Abstract:The National Data Book

    • Education statistics gathered and collated by the U. S. Census Bureau, covering formal education at various levels and for public and private schools. Find data about the school-age population and school enrollment, educational attainment, education personnel, and financial aspects of education. Look as well for data about charter schools, computer usage in schools, distance education, and adult education.

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

Information about U. S. Department of Education grant programs data

  • Data.ed.gov

    This U.S. Department of Education website will ultimately provide a location for practitioners, researchers, and the public to find information about US DOE grant programs.

The National Opportunity to Learn Campaign - The Schott Foundation for Public Education 2009

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: May 16, 2012





Rick Bearden
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