TCE 191: Find Articles
Important Note
Please be sure to review the information on the Before You Search! tab on the left menu before you begin searching in the tools listed on this tab. The Before You Search! tab explains what a "peer reviewed" article is and how to tell when you have found one. It also gives tips for building more effective searches. There are brief videos and tutorials that explain how to choose the best keywords, refine your searches, and evaluate the information you find.
ERIC, Education Full Text, Education Research Complete, & Professional Development Collection
Searching
You can search all four of these databases at the same time by selecting one of them and then clicking the blue "Choose Databases" link. When the pop up box opens, place a check in the box beside each database name you want to include in the search and then click the yellow "OK" button.
When entering your search terms, try putting your topic in the top box and entering best practices in the second box. As you begin typing best practices you'll see that a dropdown menu appears offering several autocomplete suggestions. Select the "best practices or guidelines or evidence-based practice" option. The results list will be made up of articles that give current best practices regarding your topic so that you know what policies and procedures you will be improving on for your project. To make sure your results are actually current, adjust the publication date on the left column menu so that articles have all been published in the last 5 years.
Click on blue article titles to see additional information including an abstract or summary, page length, and more. When full text is available, links to it labeled "PDF Full Text" "HTML Full Text" or will appear in the upper left corner. When there is no full text link, use the yellow "Find It!" button button in that same spot to search for it in other databases. Use the tool bar on the right of the screen to print, save, email, and cite your articles in APA format. The screenshot below shows all of these areas and buttons.
Tutorials and Videos
Choosing and Using Keywords (tutorial)
Refining Search Results (video)
Evaluating Information (tutorial)
How to Read Scholarly Materials (tutorial)
Use the Find It! Button
Some databases include the full text of the articles described in the them. However, most databases do not. When the database does not have the full text of an article, you should see a yellow Find It button like the one above.
Clicking this button will search through other databases that Miami subscribes to looking for the full text. If a different database has it, you will see a link to it on the new tab that opens.
If there is no full text link on the new tab, you should see a link to a form for a service called interlibrary loan (ILL). If you fill out this form, the library will try to find the article from another library on your behalf. This can take several days, however, so if you need the article right away, it is not a good option for you.