Introduction
Reference Materials
Articles
Books
Handbooks
Curriculum Guides
Specialized Indexes
Websites
Materials from Other Libraries
Writing and Style Guides
Help
This guide provides a general introduction to the research literature available through the University of Lethbridge Library in the field of Education. Since there are many areas of overlap in the subject matter of Education and other disciplines, you may also find the research guides for Psychology, Nursing, Public Health, Sociology, and Social Work, among others, to be helpful. The Curriculum Laboratory may also be of interest as it contains resources supporting the Faculty of Education's teacher education program.
The items listed below represent only a sample of available resources. To locate additional sources, or to obtain assistance using the sources listed below, please ask at the Library's Information and Reference Assistance Desk on Level 10 of the Library, or call 329-2263.
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The Library's collections include dictionaries, encyclopedia and other sources of quick facts or foundational information on a variety of education topics. The following is a selection of materials of this type that have recently been added to the Reference Collection.
Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education (2009)
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Finding Journal Articles: Indexes/Databases. The most current research on any academic topic is often found in journal articles. Online indexes and databases provide access to this information, allowing you to search for articles on specific subjects. In addition to journal article citations, indexes/databases usually provide abstracts (short descriptions or summaries of articles), and sometimes they provide the full text of the journal article. Some indexes and databases cover not only journal articles but also newspaper articles, dissertations, conference proceedings, book chapters, government publications, and other types of information.
Education Indexes/Databases. The most useful
indexes/databases for finding information on topics in Education are available from the Library's Education Resources page. ERIC, the first-listed resource on this page, is the largest and
most comprehensive index to the English language research literature in education. CBCA Complete is the second-listed resource because it is one of the best resources licensed by the Library that indexes Canadian research content in education as well as many other subject areas. ProQuest Education Journals and Education Research Complete are two additional indexes that cover the field of education and include some resources not covered by ERIC.
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Search the Library Catalogue to find books (print and ebook) on Education-related topics. It can also be used to find audiovisual materials, government publications, microforms, and electronic resources. You can search the Catalogue for specific titles, works by a particular author, or items on a specific subject.
Two kinds of subject searches can be carried out: Keyword and Subject Heading. Subject Headings are subject terms that are assigned to each item in the library catalogue in a standard, consistent way, according to a thesaurus or list of approved terms. The majority of terms used in the Subject Heading index are Library of Congress Subject Headings.
To find library resources on teaching a given subject matter, search the Subject Heading index using: [subject] study and teaching. For example:
To find library resources on education or teaching students at particular educational levels or abilities, search the Subject Heading index by terms such as the following:
You can also keep abreast of new Education books and other materials added to the Library's collections by monitoring or subscribing to the New Education Materials RSS Feed.
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Handbooks, guides, and companions are useful resources that provide overviews and anthologies of foundational discussions on a variety of topics relating to educational research and practice. Listed here is a selection of titles that were recently added to the Library's collections.
Action Research For Improving Educational Practice: A Step-By-Step Guide (2010)
Conducting Educational Research: Guide to Completing a Major Project (2011)
Educator's Handbook for Understanding and Closing Achievement Gaps (2010)
Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts (2011)
Promoting Academic Achievement Among English Learners: A Guide to the Research (2010)
Research Methods in Early Childhood: An Introductory Guide (2010)
Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education (2009)
Routledge International Companion to Multicultural Education (2009)
Routledge International Handbook of Lifelong Learning (2008)
Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Education (2010)
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Programs of Study (Alberta Education)
The Alberta Programs of Study provide descriptions of expectations for student learning at the elementary, junior high and senior high school levels.
Authorized Resources Database (Alberta Education)
Teaching materials approved by Alberta Education for the Kindergarten to Grade 12 programs of study.
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The resources listed here represent specialized tools for researching in some areas of education.
Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY)
The MMY is a guide to over 2,000 contemporary testing instruments. It contains information essential for a complete evaluation of test products within such diverse areas as psychology, education, business, and leadership and is designed for novice test consumers to experienced professionals.
Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Access records to dissertations and theses from over 1,000 graduate schools and universities worldwide. Nearly half of the 2.7 million records have fulltext. UofL Library users can access the full-text of dissertations and theses authored by UofL students.
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Alberta Education
This section of the Alberta Education website provides resources aimed at teachers, including programs of study approved for Alberta's Early Childhood Services to Grade 12 curriculum.
Annenberg Learner
The Annenberg Learner website offers multimedia resources to support development of teachers in K-12 school systems. Some programs marked with a "VoD" icon may be viewed online, free of charge.
MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching)
MERLOT is an open-access collection of peer-reviewed online learning materials aimed principally at higher education faculty, staff and students. The Education collection provides resources relating generally to education, as well as those on educational leadership, and teacher education.
Statistics Canada
This section of the Statistics Canada website provides Canadian education-related statistics on topics that include educational attainment, literacy, and outcomes of education.
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You may wish to search the catalogues of other libraries to identify additional books or audio-visual materials on your Education research topic.
The Library will attempt to obtain or acquire copies of research materials (e.g., books, journal articles, videos) not available in the Library that are needed by University of Lethbridge students, faculty and staff. This service, called Interlibrary Loans, requires that requestors have valid, current Library privileges, and works best if interlibrary loan requests are submitted at least 7 to 10 days in advance of the date by which they are needed, although some requests for journal articles may be delivered in a much shorter turnaround period.
The Interlibrary Loans: Borrowing Guidelines page provides information on what may be borrowed, by whom, how many requests may be submitted, how long you may have to wait to receive requested materials, and where you may pick up your interlibrary loan requests when they arrive.
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An important aspect of writing a research paper is properly acknowledging and citing the sources you have used. Be aware that plagiarism
(representing words or ideas belonging to someone else as your own) is
an academic offense at the University of Lethbridge. The Faculty of Education requires students to use the APA (American Psychological Association) style when citing and listing information sources.
For assistance in applying the APA citation style in your research paper, see the APA section of the Library's Citing Sources how-to guide. APA's Frequently Asked Questions page may also be useful.
Current University of Lethbridge students and staff may download EndNote (PC and Mac versions), a software application designed to help you capture, organize and format your reference citations into APA or some other citation style of your choosing. For more information see the Library's EndNote guide.
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Help is available if you have difficulty finding or using information sources you require:
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Maintained by
Content Revised: May 13, 2011
Content Created: October 3, 2005
