Education
Resources and helpful tips for research in education.
In This Guide
In this Guide, you'll find:
In this Guide, you'll find:- Tips and resources for choosing a topic and developing research questions
- Tips and resources for finding sources, including:
- Tips on evaluating the sources you find
- Tips and resources for citing and managing your sources
- Contact information for your subject librarian
Choosing a Topic & Developing Research Questions
Do some background reading.
Reference sources can help build your background knowledge, point you to topics and keywords, and suggest more reading. Listed in this guide are a few general online reference databases and some subject-specific reference books (both print and online).
TIP: Brainstorm
Take two minutes to write down as many words, ideas, and questions related to a potential topic that you can think of. What do you find interesting? What do you want to know more about? What doesn't make sense?
Reference Sources
Explore these reference sources from Preus Library as you get started on your research.
TIP:
A reference source summarizes facts and concepts on a topic and provides useful background information. Reference sources include dictionaries and encyclopedias.
General Online Reference Sources
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Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of over 3,000 reference works, covering all disciplines. -
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
An online collection of over 600 full-text reference works, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, and more. -
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
This online source provides access to subject and language reference works from Oxford University Press. In addition to text, access is provided to maps and illustrations, timelines, web sites, and bibliographies. -
Encyclopaedia Britannica This link opens in a new windowOver 72,000 articles from the encyclopedia and Britannica Book of the Year. Over 10,000 illustrations, including photographs, drawings, maps, flags and more. Includes Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary with over 75,000 definitions and pronunciation guides. Continuously revised.
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Encyclopedia of Education
Call Number: Ref LB15 .E47 2003Publication Date: 2002Also available as an e-book. -
Encyclopedia of Education Law
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Call Number: Ref KF4117 .E53 2008 and as an e-bookPublication Date: 2008 -
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Philosophy of Education
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Call Number: Ref LB17 .P485 1996Publication Date: 1996Charts the influence of philosophic ideas that have had the greatest influence on education from ancient Greece to the present. Also available as an e-book. -
Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Education
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Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2012This Encyclopedia is a reference work about young children in the USA, designed for use by policy makers, community planners, parents of young children, teacher and early childhood educators, program and school administrators, among others. -
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Concise Encyclopedia of Special Education
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Call Number: e-bookISBN: 9780471232186Publication Date: 2004A comprehensive resource for those working in the fields of special education research and practice. Features reviews of assessment instruments and teaching approaches, legal issues, overviews of specific learning disabilities, dozens of biographies, and more.
Research Tutorials
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Library HelpStep-by-step instructions on using the tools and services provided by Preus Library.
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