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EDL 224: Introduction to Educational Policy: Tips on How to Search Library Resources

Search Terms

How to find Peer-Reviewed Articles

Note: This video shows you how to find peer-reviewed articles on the "Articles and More" tab on the library's homepage, but you can also use this same approach with the databases (Education Research Complete and ERIC) listed on this guide. You can also check a journal's peer-review status by Googling it and reading their explanation of their peer-review process. 

Note on Database Searching:

Note: When using the databases, also think about using the limiters on the left-hand side of your results search, like "subject." You can also find recent articles by limiting the publication date as well as limiting to peer-reviewed articles:

Image of database and highlighted limiters on the left-hand side of search results. You can limit your search results using filters like publication date and limit to finding specifically peer-reviewed articles. You can also limit by subject. Doing this will help you narrow your results to getting to your more specific topic.

How to Search in Specific Journals

To search many journals at the same time it is best to search in a database, like Education Research Complete or ERIC. You can also choose more than one database to search at a time which will increase the number of journals you can find. You can do this by clicking on "Choose Databases" at the top of your search box and checking the databases you wish to search:  

The "choose databases" link is above the search boxes and beside the name of the database you are using.

 

To find specific journals, go to the "Publication" limiter on the left-hand side of your results: 

The "publication" feature is on the left-hand side of your search results and can help you when you want to search in a specific journal.