Finding Articles
Subject specific databases are the best way to find articles on a topic.
When searching databases, you need to construct a search (break your topic into key concepts) rather than entering a phrase or question. See Finding Books or How to Find Articles on a Topic for tips on constructing a search.
To search Education databases, click on the blue button, databases on the Library's home page.
On the Databases listing page, select Education in the first dropdown, Choose a Subject.
Education Research Complete is a good database to start your searching. Click on the linked database title, Education Research Complete.
Once you are in Education Research Complete, you will want to add all of the Education databases available from EBSCO. This way you can avoid searching each of these separately.
Click on the linked Choose Databases.
Add more Education databases by clicking on the checkboxes next to the databases you want to add in the Choose Databases pop-up window. Some you may want add include: Educational Administration Abstracts, ERIC, Professional Development Collection, and Teacher Reference Center. Then click on the yellow OK button.
Enter your search terms in the search boxes.
As you can see in the image above, I have entered "government fund*" in the first search box, "k-12 education" in the second search box, and in the third search box; US OR U.S. OR "United States" OR America.
You can change the dropdown menu if desired. Sometimes it can be a good idea to limit one of your search terms to the title if you find you are getting a lot of results. Click the Search button to perform the search.
At the time of writing, my search returned 6 results. In this case, I would change my second search box to k-12 (take education and the quotation marks out of the second search box). By doing that, my search results went up to 20.
To ensure you are looking at scholarly sources, click on the limits on the left, including Scholarly (Peer-review ed) Journals and change the earliest publication date to the date range you need. Scroll down a little to set Language limits and click on the box next to Academic Journals.
Don't forgot to set up an alert in EBSCO to have the databases email to you any articles added to the databases that fit within your search. Setting up an alert saves you time because you don't have to come back to the database to redo your search.
Click on the Search dropdown that appears to the top right of your results. Click on Email Alert under Create an alert. Follow the steps as prompted.
Don't forget to go back the Databases list of Education databases and search other databases not provided by EBSCO (e.g., SAGE Premier).
How to Find Articles
You can find articles on education in several ways:
- Search one of the 50+ education and related databases at ORU. (Best way!)
- Search opens new windowEducation journals at ORU.
- opens newwindowEagleSearch
- opens new windowGoogle Scholar
Eagle Search
EagleSearch searches the ORU Library catalog and several of the databases to which ORU Library subscribes. It is a good place to start if you aren't sure where to look. You can enter a phrase or question in this search box; similar to the way you would search Google.
Go to the Library's home page and on the EagleSearch tab, enter your search terms in the search box.
Database Search Tips
Use Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT to combine search concepts.
Too FEW hits: OR to add synonyms; individual key words, NOT whole phrases; drop concept(s) with AND; truncate; consider other databases.
Too MANY hits: AND another concept into search; use other available limiters in the database.
Truncation symbols (?, *, !, +) will provide variant spelling after the root word.
A wildcard (?, *) is a character that may be used in a search term to represent one or more other characters.
Do an advanced search and take advantage of the fields provided.
Use the subject headings/descriptors to find additional citations on your topic. If that does not work, use the keyword search.
You can also use limits (e.g., publication year, language, words in the title, etc.) to narrow your retrieval.
Set up an auto alert/RSS feed to monitor the research.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a good place to search for articles when:
- You are having trouble finding articles in the databases or EagleSearch.
- You have a known citation and want to see where it is available (freely or at ORU). (If you live off-campus, see Setting up Google Scholar to set up your Google Scholar search so that E-resources@ORU links will appear on the results list of items in our databases.)
- You want to make sure you have searched comprehensively (e.g., for your Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation).
Search Strategies
| Boolean Operator | Strategy | Examples of key terms for searching |
|---|---|---|
| AND | Use to search different concepts together; produces fewer results | culture AND education |
| OR | Use to link similar terms; produces more results | disabilities OR special needs |
| NOT | Use to specify a term you do not want in the search results | (children OR child) AND disabilities NOT therapy |
| Other Search Techniques | Strategy | Examples of key terms for searching |
|---|---|---|
| Truncation (*) | Searches the ROOT of a word ended with *; searches alternative endings | educat* AND culture Searches: educate, educates, education AND culture, cultures, cultural |
| Use fewer concepts | Increases number of results | child* AND disabil* |
| Use more concepts | Decreases number of results | child* AND disabil* AND educat* |
| Phrase Search | Use quotation marks to search an exact phrase | "children with disabilities" AND educat* AND cultur* |
Access Online Resources—Off Campus Login
ORU databases, including full text articles, journals and ebooks, are fee-based resources and, as such, are generally restricted to current ORU students, faculty and staff. For off-campus access it is necessary to login with your ORU Network username and password (Single Sign-on) when prompted.
If you do not know your login, the IT Help Desk can assist you (studenthelpdesk@oru.edu or 918-495-6321). More information is available in the ORU IT Student Guideopens new window.
If you know your Single Sign-on and it works for other ORU applications (D2L, ePortfolio, email, etc.) but not for remote library access, troubleshooting guide may help you discover a technical issue which may be interfering with your access.