Research and Course Guides: Doing Research in Education?--Where to Start!: Reference Sources

Feeling lost?

Feeling lost and don't know where to start your research? Help is right here.

Online dictionaries

Lexicon of Learning
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Produced by ASCD, this online dictionary attempts to explain educational vocabulary for the average person.
Glossary of Instructional Strategies
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Brief definitions and examples of specific instructional strategies.
Oxford Dictionary of Education
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This UK-focused Dictionary of Education provides clear and concise definitions for 1,250 terms covering all levels of education. It also has a useful, fully cross-referenced section of comparative terms used in the US, Canada, Australia, and South Africa.

Online Chronologies or Timelines

American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline
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Created by Edmund Sass, Professor of Education at St. John's/St. Ben's, this site highlights major events in American education from 1600 to the present.
History of American Education Web Project
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Not sure if this site is still active, but it identifies major events in the history of American education.

Need Background Information?

Handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference sources are a good place to look for a topic overview, a definition, or a quick fact on a topic. Sometimes the bibliography from an article in an encylopedia or handbook can identify some of the major authors on a topic. They also may be helpful for identifying search terms for a database search.

The print sources listed below are located in Keffer Library. Click on the title for the call number and availability, or ask for assistance at the Keffer Reference desk. E-books can be viewed on your computer.

The Greenwood Dictionary of Education, 2nd ed.
Call Number: Keffer Ref LB15 .G68 2011
This book provides definitions for more than 2,600 terms that apply to educational research, practice and theory. The focus is on the most critical terms in education as used by current practitioners, yet references to significant historical events in education are also included.
Handbook of Learning Disabilities, 2nd ed.
Call Number: Keffer Ref LC4704 .H364 2013
Widely regarded as the standard reference in the field, this comprehensive handbook presents state-of-the-art knowledge about the nature and classification of learning disabilities (LD), their causes, and how individuals with these difficulties can be identified and helped to succeed. Best practices are described for supporting student performance in language arts, math, and other content areas.
Handbook of Special Education
Call Number: Keffer Ref LC3965 .H26 2011
This book is an excellent reference source for anyone (researchers, scholars, graduate students, practitioners, policy makers, and parents) interested in the state of special education today: its research base, current issues and practices, and future trends.
Key Ideas in Educational Research
Call Number: Ebook, username and password required
Contains concise essays on research terms such as: action research, content analysis, comparative research, ethnography, grounded theory, qualitative/quantitative research, postmodernism, reductionism, subjectivity, and more for a total of 120 articles.
Routledge Encyclopaedia of Educational Thinkers
Call Number: Keffer Ref LA2301 .R68 2016
This book comprises 128 essays by leading scholars analyzing the most important, influential, innovative and interesting thinkers on education of all time. Each of the chronologically arranged entries explores why a particular thinker is significant for those who study education and explores the social, historical and political contexts in which the thinker worked. Ranges from Confucius and Montessori to Dewey and Edward de Bono.
The Handbook of Educational Theories by Beverly J. Irby
Publication Date: 2013
The organization of the chapters within each section makes the volume an easy to use and an understandable reference tool as researchers and practitioners seek theories to guide their research and as they develop theoretical frameworks
Handbook of Research on Emerging Pedagogies for the Future of Education
Publication Date: 2021
This book provides an overview of education in the new normal by distilling lessons learned and extracting the knowledge and experience gained through the COVID-19 global crisis to better envision the emerging pedagogies for the future of education. The chapters cover various subjects that include mathematics, English, science, and medical education, and span all schooling levels from preschool to higher education.
The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Development Programs, Practices, and Policies by Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal and Eric Dearing
Publication Date: 2017
The first and only comprehensive review of current early childhood development theory, practices, policies, and the science behind them. The Handbook of Early Childhood Development Programs, Practices, and Policies is a valuable resource for practitioners, scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students across the social sciences who are interested in strengthening their understanding of current strategies for promoting early childhood development and the science informing those strategies.

Contact me for assistance

Conrad Woxland

he/him/his

Contact:

conrad.woxland@stthomas.edu
Charles J. Keffer Library | MOH 206F

651-962-4662

Subjects: Education, Psychology