WCSU Libraries

LOCATING BOOKS

• Use CONSULS, the WCSU Libraries online catalog, to locate books and other materials relevant to the conducting of education research and the study of research methodologies.
• You may search CONSULS by author, title, subject, or keyword.
• If you do not retrieve enough items using subject search, be sure to run a keyword search as well.
• Books at CCSU, ECSU, SCSU can be delivered to WCSU using the CONSULS "Request Book" feature (accessible from book record display screen, using your library PIN code).
• Books from any other library can be delivered to WCSU using Interlibrary Loan.

LOCATING SCHOLARLY JOURNAL LITERATURE ON YOUR TOPIC

Also referred to as scholarly periodicals, peer-reviewed periodicals, refereed publications and professional literature. For doctoral level research, it is appropriate to focus on retrieving research-based studies published in authoritative, peer-reviewed journals.

It is useful to know the difference between primary and secondary literature.  Most of the sources used in your literature review should be primary in nature.  Look for original studies that present new information/findings based on empirical data.  Your topic will determine how many of these studies you can locate.

• Primary sources are original materials, created at the time of an event or soon thereafter. They are usually created by those who saw an event or collected data themselves (as with empirical studies). They present original thinking, new discoveries or new information.
• Secondary sources describe, interpret, analyse, evaluate, explain or comment on a primary source or event.

ACCESSING JOURNAL ARTICLES AT WCSU

Use your Windows login to access articles from anywhere on campus. If you are working at another location, make sure to get a library pin code. You will be required to submit it before accessing articles from our databases remotely.

DATABASES CONTAINING EDUCATION RESEARCH ARTICLES

ERIC (through EBSCOhost system)

• user friendly basic search and advanced search options; help is only a mouse click away.
• utilizes ERIC subject headings (called "descriptors" and "identifiers") for targeted, efficient searching (follow the "thesaurus" button to identify descriptors and identifiers for your search, or follow term links to search related articles directly.)
• automatically links to full text of articles (EJs) and documents (EDs) whenever available, even searching other library databases.
• use Ebsco Combined Databases feature, to search ERIC and Academic Search Premier (described below) simultaneously to retrieve more fulltext articles.

Educator's Reference Complete (through iCONN)

• access to over 300 full text journals for educators

Academic Search Premier

• contains full text
• limit to Peer Reviewed articles

Expanded Academic ASAP

• contains full text
• limit to refereed publications