So
You'd Like To Do Some Research
An Introduction to the New ERIC
If you want to do some research, one place to start is the
national database maintained by the ERIC, the Education
Resources Information Center at http://www.eric.ed.gov. ERIC
is digital library of education-related resources and
reference materials sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Education's Institute of Education Sciences. The new ERIC
library, which opened to the public on September 1, 2004,
consists primarily of bibliographic records of journal
articles and other reports on elementary, secondary, and
postsecondary education.
Currently, the ERIC database includes references to more than
1 million education-related journal articles, reports, and
other publications published from 1966 to 2004. Each
bibliographic record contains the name of the author of the
article or report, the original source of the article (such as
the name of the journal or magazine in which the article was
originally published), an ERIC identification number that can
be used to retrieve the article from any federal depository
library, and an abstract or short summary of the article. In
future years, the ERIC database will contain a direct link to
the full text of selected articles and the collection will
expand to include other electronic resources, such as audio or
video materials.
The new ERIC database allows users to conduct both "basic"
searches and "more advanced" searches. A "basic" search allows
users to search for articles or reports on one generic topic
using some simple search terms. Search terms include a keyword
(or subject), author, and ERIC identification number. To do a
simple search, users should go to the ERIC search screen, then
in the "Search" field select a Keyword, author, or ERIC
identification number of an article, then in the next field
select the particular subject or article for which you are
searching.
For example, if you were looking for articles on "Pell Grants"
you would select "Keywords" in the Search field then in the
field next to it you would type "Pell Grants." Be sure to use
quotation marks around the words Pell Grants so that your
search is limited to the subject Pell Grants. Then select the
"Search" button on the bottom of the page to begin your
search. Your screen will then show all of the article
available on Pell Grants from 1966 to 2004, with a short
summary of each article, the author's name, the journal or
magazine in which the article was published (if applicable),
and the ERIC identification number to use to retrieve the full
article. A list of possible keywords or subjects covered by
ERIC is available from the ERIC Thesaurus.
If you would like to conduct a basic search for all articles
from a particular author, you should type the author's last
name, first name, and middle initial if applicable. For
example, for articles by John A. Smith, you would select
"Author" in the "Search" field, then type "Smith John A" in
the field next to the Search field (no commas or period are
necessary in author searches). Be sure to include quotes
around the author's name.
An advanced search may be used to narrow your search to a more
specific subject or author you seek. Say, for instance you
only want articles on Pell Grants that were published by John
A. Smith. In this case, you would select "Advanced Search"
from the ERIC search screen, then in the first search option
you would select Keyword and type in "Pell Grants" and in the
second search option box you would select Author and type in
"Smith, John A." The advanced search screen also allows users
to narrow the years of their search. If, for instance, you
wanted articles from only 2000 to 2004, you would select these
years in the "Publication Date" fields.
The Advance Search page also allows for searches using Boolean
logic. Operators AND, OR, and NOT may be used in between each
field to create a more complex Boolean search. These operators
may be used for searching articles on "Pell Grants" OR
"Student Loans".
Here are a few suggestions for helping with your ERIC
searches:
Suggestion #1: Start your search broadly, worry about the
details later.
When you enter keywords into the ERIC search engine, try to
think of your question in general terms. Overly specific
searches tend to result in few, if any, hits. Also, if you
define your search too narrowly, you may miss useful
information because it didn't fit within your specific search.
For example, if your question is "What is the Stafford Loan
default rate of students in Ohio?" you may enter "Stafford
Loan," "default rate," and "Ohio" as your keywords. This
search, however, would result in very few articles. If you
define your search more broadly, you may only enter "Stafford
Loan" and "default rate," which would result in more hits.
Also see the Thesaurus for help in defining your search.
Suggestion #2: If a search isn't working, think of another way
to state your question.
For example, if you want to know the amount of federal funding
provided to public colleges, you may enter "federal funding"
and "public colleges" as your keywords. While this search will
provide you with 25 sources, you may find even more references
if you used synonyms for "public colleges," such as "public
universities" and "public institutions."
Suggestion #3: When in doubt, use the ERIC help features.
The "Help" link on the ERIC Home page has a more information
on many of the database features and provides:
General search tips.
Help with basic searches.
Help with advanced searches.
Displaying search results.
Narrowing search results.
Answers to frequently asked questions.
We hope the ERIC database helps you with your research needs.
By Kenneth Redd, NASFAA Director of Research and Policy
Analysis
COLLEGE BOARD CONVENES "A CONVERSATION ON
TUITION AND AFFORDABILITY"
On Friday, August 6, the College Board led a small working
group of key congressional education staff, national higher
education organizations, and representatives of the U.S.
Department of Education (ED) in an initial meeting to explore
the many issues surrounding tuition, net price, and
affordability. Policy experts Drs. Donald E. Heller, senior
research associate at the Center for the Study of Higher
Education, Pennsylvania State University, and Jamie Merisotis,
president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy
assisted in guiding participants through the policy session.
During the discussion, attendees raised a number of concerns,
including the following: the lack of financial aid information
available to low-income and non-traditional students, the
complexity of the financial aid system and the difficulties it
causes families, tuition levels, the role of net price and the
availability of information about it, the lack of early
intervention in the financial aid process, and the dearth of
policy knowledge from the 1998 Higher Education Act
Reauthorization process informing preparations for the
upcoming bill. The College Board also offered attendees a
preview of a new supplementary report that it will release
with the 2004 Trends reports, which will be available in
October. The new report will provide information on the social
and individual benefits associated with higher education and
document differences in participation among demographic
groups.
The College Board plans to host a series of policy discussions
over the next several months as Congress revisits
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. For more
information, please contact the College Board Office of
Government Relations at 202 741-4700.
Reprinted from the College Board Weekly newsletter
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