Educational Policy Studies 201 and 202
FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN EDUCATION
A Guide to Library Resources for Educational Policy Studies 201 and 202
Articles |
Books & Journals |
Primary Sources |
Print Resources |
Citing Sources |
Research Assistance
Welcome! This site has been created to assist you in exploring library resources related to your
EPS 201 or 202 class. Our library is one of the largest in the United States and it can be a bit
overwhelming at first. We will try to make things a little easier for you, but don't hesitate to
ask questions.
FINDING ARTICLES
Journal articles are one of the primary means of communicating research ideas. They are an
important component of academic research and give you some insight into ongoing debates and
scholarly conversations about your topic.
Finding articles is a two-step process:
- First, find the citation to the articles you want. You can use bibliographies or suggested
readings lists, or you can search for the topic you are interested in by using one of the article
databases listed below. If you get stuck, ask your professor or a librarian for help getting
started.
- Next, find the actual text of the articles you want. Some of our journals are
online but most of them are still available
only in print format. If the journal article you are looking for is not available electronically,
you will need to use the
Online Library Catalog to look up the
location of the journal for which you have a citation.
Which electronic resources will be useful for this class?
-
Digest of Education
Statistics - Available both electronically as well as in print (370.973 Un3d1) in our reference
collection, the Digest of Education Statistics is the official U.S. authority for statistics on
almost every aspect of education.
-
Education
Full Text - Education Full Text indexes and abstracts articles from English-language journals
and yearbooks published in the U.S. and elsewhere. English-language books relating to education
published in 1995 or later are also indexed. Abstracting coverage begins with January 1994.
Abstracts describe the content and scope of the source documents. Full-text coverage begins in
January 1996.
-
Education
Index Retrospective - This database complements Education Full Text by providing citations to
articles from 1929-1983 covering some 500 periodicals. It is accessed through the same interface as
Education Full Text--just check the "Education Index Retro" box in the Database Selection Area.
(You can search Education Full Text simultaneously by checking its box as well.)
-
ERIC
- ERIC is a national education database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Presently
the largest education database in the world, ERIC contains over 1,000,000 citations covering
research documents, journal articles, technical reports, program descriptions and evaluations, and
curricular materials in the field of education. In addition to ERIC subject descriptors and
extensive abstracts, limited full-text to selected items is available. Covers 1966-present.
-
John Dewey: Collected
Works (via Past Masters II) - This database is based on the 37-volume printed edition, The
Collected Works of John Dewey 1882-1953, published by Southern Illinois University Press, 1967-1990
(edited by Jo Ann Boydston).
-
Sociological
Abstracts - This database of sociological articles can be a valuable resource for information
on the social foundations of education.
FINDING BOOKS & JOURNALS
Library catalogs are used for two purposes. First, if you know exactly what you are looking for
- an exact title or author - you can use the catalog to locate your material. This works for book
titles and journal titles. Second, you can use library catalogs to discover material that might be
helpful to you by doing subject and keyword searching.
-
Online Library Catalog - Look here to find
books, DVDs, magazines or journals containing articles that you need, and many other resources. In
addition to the 10 million volumes we have on this campus, you can connect to 71
other
libraries in Illinois and request that books be sent to you.
When you find something you want in the catalog, write down the following:
Location- in which library the item is kept (or libraries, if we have multiple
copies)
Call Number - this number is essential for finding the item on the shelf
Status - is it available for you to check out?
-
WorldCat
and
Interlibrary Loan - The places to verify citations for books and
request books and articles you cannot find elsewhere. Ordering books and journals via interlibrary
loan is free and generally fairly quick.
FINDING PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary Sources Research Guide - This guide from
will assist you in finding primary sources in print and online. From the guide: "Primary resources
are actual artifacts that have survived from past historical events, including letters,
photographs, physical objects such as cooking utensils from the days of westward expansion, or
articles of clothing. They provide firsthand evidence of historical events, and can represent a
wide variety of formats that are generally not formally published (maps, audio/video recordings,
posters, postcards, government documents, diaries, court records, census bureau data that is
tabulated but not interpreted, etc.). Published materials can also be viewed as primary resource
materials if they come from the period that is being discussed, and were written by somebody with
firsthand experience of the event."
SOME HELPFUL PRINT RESOURCES
-
African American Education Data Book
(Q.378.1982996 N386A/Education Reference) - This source contains a wealth of statistical
information about African American students in the American educational system. Statistics include,
but are not limited to, performance on a variety of standardized tests, employment status relative
to education, and level of educational attainment.
-
Annual Status Report, Minorities in Higher Education
(378.008693 Am35a1, Education Reserves)
Issued annually, this report from the American Council on Education provides statistical and
narrative information about the current status of faculty, students, and administrators from
underrepresented groups in higher education.
-
Biographical Dictionary of American Educators
(923.773 B52/Education Reference) - Compiled and written by several hundred American
educators, this source contains biographical information for approximately 1,665 individuals who
have established themselves as leading figures in the field of education.
-
A Digest of Supreme Court Decisions Affecting Education
(379.14 D5692009/Education Reference) - This ready reference source focuses on U.S.
Supreme Court cases directly affecting students and staff in public and private schools from
kindergarten through grade 12. The topics included in the seven chapters of the work deal with
school district governance and finance, church state relationship in education, student rights and
responsibilities, employee rights and responsibilities, discrimination, disability, national
origin, race and sex issues, civil rights cases, special rules, and procedural parameters. A
glossary, an appendix, a table of cases and an index are included.
-
The Encyclopedia of Education
(Q.370.3 En1932003/Education Reference) - This eight-volume encyclopedia provides detailed
explanations for many of the terms and concepts related to the study of education. In addition to
the general information provided by this source, its 8th volume provides detailed entries for court
cases, legislation, and international agreements that have influenced the history of
education.
-
Greenwood Dictionary of Education
(370.3 G8562011/Education Reference) - Recently updated, and containing over 3,000
terms, this source is the first comprehensive dictionary of Education created in over a quarter of
a century. It is an incredibly valuable source for information on the foundations and fundamental
concepts related to the field.
-
Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts
(370.1 W721k2008/Education Reference) - A guide to the key terms and concepts
pertaining to the history and philosophy of education. An introduction provides a survey that
discusses the relevance of the subject. Over 150 concepts are described and analyzed in this book,
which also contains an extensive bibliography.
CITING SOURCES
Guidelines for citing electronic and print resources are available from the Reference Library's
Cite a Sourcepage and the Social Sciences,
Health, and Education Library's
Style and Writing Guide.
RefWorks
A great tool for writing papers,
RefWorkshelps you export bibliographic records from
databases, change the citation styles as needed, and import the citation directly into a Word
document so you can create bibliographies on the fly.
RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
Ask-A-Librarian for Help with Your Research
Use our
Ask-A-Librarian Service to IM, chat,
email, phone or find a reference librarian.
Nancy O'Brien
Office: Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, 100 Main Library
Email:
npobrien@illinois.edu
Contact a librarian to request an appointment for an in-depth
Research Consultation.
Finding Your Way Around
There are over 25 departmental libraries on our campus, and sometimes it may be difficult to
determine where to find the resources you need. For your class, the library that you will be using
most is the
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library(SSHEL). We are
located in SSHEL North (Room 100) and SSHEL South (Room 101) of the Main Library building. Do no
hesitate to come in and ask one of our energetic and helpful information desk assistants.
More Help Using the Library
-
Resources in Education - A guide to
education-related sources in the Education and Social Science Library.
-
Research Process A step-by-step guide
to research that takes you through the entire process, from choosing your topic to citing
sources.
