Searching ERIC (On-Campus Guide)
If using ERIC off-campus, use the ERIC Off-Campus Guide.
You cannot reach full-text articles off-campus using this guide.
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES IN EDUCATION
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) provides free access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials. It is one of the primary sources for scholarly education articles. ERIC has been available as a free online resource to abstracts of articles and documents for many years. However, ERIC has very few indexed articles in full-text available as a direct link online. Now, ERIC has added a "Find in a Library" link to its results, and uses the "FIND IT" technology to link to articles in FLITE's licensed databases. FLITE now provides access to the web-based ERIC through our database links.
Some users may notice this is a different search interface than in the past when ERIC was accessed using FirstSearch. Be sure you access ERIC through the FLITE website in order to reach full-text articles. If you try to find articles by merely typing the address into your browser window, the "Find in a Library" link will not work.
Scholarly Articles
Once you have reached ERIC, select "Advanced Search" to search for scholarly articles.
If you are looking for scholarly articles, check the box for "Journal Articles" and then click "Search". If you do not need to limit yourself to scholarly articles, click "Search" without checking any boxes. Do not limit yourself to full-text articles from this site. The "Find in a Library" link using FLITE databases should find many more articles for you then the free full-text articles available here. If you have questions about using any of the displayed fields such as keyword, title, and so on, please contact a librarian for help.
Let's search for one of the results from a keyword search for "assessment", a title called Identifying Essential Topics in General and Special Education Introductory Assessment Textbooks.
(Note: ERIC added the "Peer Reviewed" field to the search results in 2005 for journal articles published from 2004 onward. Any articles published before 2004 will display a "N/A" result in that field.)
Click on the link "Find in a Library."
Click on the "Continue" button on the resulting screen.
"Find in a Library" shows you that FLITE can retrieve this article for you from one of our subscription databases called "Synergy Blackwell Journals". Click on the red GO button.
In this case, you are taken directly to the issue of the journal you want online. All you need to do is scroll through the contents until you find the article you want.
In some cases, you will be taken directly to the article, and in other cases, you will need to do some detective work to find the article you need. When that happens, look for a place on the website where you can access older issues of the journal and enter the appropriate data. Sometimes you may need to look for the words "Click here for full-text" listed somewhere on the on the page. Look at any columns on the right or left, as well as along the top and bottom of the page for the full-text links. If you have trouble finding your article, please contact a librarian at the Oval Information Desk by phone, 231-591-3602, or by chat.
ARTICLES NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE
What happens if you can't find the journal online using "Find A Library"?
If the article is available online full-text, you know now to follow the GO button on this screen to the full-text document. If, as in this case, an article was published some time ago, we find the information is located physically within the FLITE library.
Select the GO button after "Holdings in Ferris State University Library catalog", and you will be taken to the FLITE online catalog record which shows you can access the article via microfiche. Go to the FLITE second floor service desk, and a library staff member can help you find your material. You might find the journal in the FLITE print collection, too, rather than on microfiche or microfilm.
If you are off-campus and can't come to FLITE, simply order the article through our Interlibrary Loan service.
Example of a library catalog record telling you where to find the resource in the library:
INTERLIBRARY LOAN
If the only message you see is Interlibrary Loan, you will need to order the article. By clicking on the GO button, you will be taken to the Interlibrary Loan form you should complete. The article will be emailed to you. Please do not use the Interlibrary Loan request form for materials found at FLITE.
OFF-CAMPUS ACCESS
To reach the actual articles found using ERIC, you must be able to access databases from the FLITE homepage or via the Library tab in MyFSU. If you are enrolled as an off-campus student or are trying to reach the articles from somewhere other than the Big Rapids campus, you will need to identify yourself to FLITE with your MyFSU user name and password. A page will display asking for identifying information. If you are having problems getting to the databasess, please contact the
Oval Information Desk for help.
If you are a Distance Education student, you may wish to make use of some special services that the Library offers in addition to remote access to our databases, such as Document Delivery. See Distance Education Library Services for additional information.
FIND A JOURNAL OR OTHER PERIODICAL (OR A SPECIFIC ARTICLE IN A SPECIFIC JOURNAL)
To find a specific article title in a specific journal, or to look up whether FLITE owns a particular journal title, use Find a Periodical to search for the journal title. Remember to use the journal title, not the article title, for your search.
HELP
In addition, librarians are available at the Oval Information Desk to help you find information for completing your course assignments and reports. Remember you may always email a request for assistance. If you would prefer to contact Library Instruction Coordinator (and School of Education Liaison) Kristy Motz personally, please email.
Last update: December 17, 2008