Research and Course Guides: Research in Education: Finding Articles

Databases: 'GET IT' Button

In UST databases, you will sometimes see the full text of articles readily available. Other times, you'll have to click on the "Get It" button to be directed to the full text.

This feature checks all of the databases and will list a print or electronic copy, and will provide links where available.

Databases: Interlibrary Loan

If the Saint Thomas Library does not own an article or book you need for your research, use the Interlibrary Loan option to have the materials delivered to you digitally. You can also request physical books and pick them up at the library of your choice. This service is completely free to you!

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a search engine from google that can connect to UST databases to bring you the full text of articles through the "Get It" button. Google Scholar broadly searches scholarly literature but can also include popular sources, predatory journals, and poor quality materials. Use Google Scholar to supplement your searches and utilize it's flexible search algorithms.

If you're using Google Scholar from off campus, set up your Library Links. Search for University of Saint Thomas (MN) - GET IT @UST Libraries and select it as an additional option.

Which Database Should I Use?

All databases related to education can be found on the A-Z Databases page, but feel free to start with one of these "Best Bets":

Education Source This link opens in a new window
Education Full Text indexes over 770 education journals, as well as some monographs and yearbooks. Over 400 of the journals are peer-reviewed and almost half are available in full text. It also includes several peer-reviewed open access journals.
ERIC This link opens in a new window
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database provides information about 1.3 million items related to education, including journal articles, books, conference papers, statistical or research reports and other items
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
PsycInfo includes scholarly materials, case studies, tests, dissertations, assessments and more. Topics include general psychology and specialized, basic, applied, clinical and theoretical research in psychology and also psychological aspects of related disciplines like medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law

Keyword Tips

When searching in databases, use keywords that capture the essential ideas of your research topic. Narrowing down your topic into specific key concepts will help retrieve relevant sources. Here are some keywords tips:

A search like 'The impact of gender on people's salary' will retrieve fewer results because the database will look at all the words as separate concepts. Instead, break your topics into the key concepts: gender AND salary
Brainstorm keywords with similar meanings to concepts. For example, salary could also be wages, page, income, or earnings.
Search for all of these terms together separated by OR. For example, pay OR wages OR income OR earnings tells the database to find all of these terms in your search results.