CUIN 3316 - Prekindergarten Curriculum and Instruction
Starting Your Search
Starting your research for an assignment can feel overwhelming. There are so many places to look and resources you can use! One thing to consider is where you're most likely to find the information you need. Sometimes this might mean doing a simple Google search, while other times it might require more in-depth searching in a library database. Ultimately, you'll probably want to use a bit of both. The following video explains the difference between what you can find with Google and what you can find in the libraries' research databases.
Suggested Databases
Because of the range of topics and perspectives on those topics that you may encounter for your assignment, there are a variety of search tools that could help you with your research.
The following is a list of databases from Education, Psychology and Sociology that you can try for finding information on your topic.
- ERIC (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowThe primary database for Education research. Contains articles (peer reviewed and trade), reports, and more in the field of education. You can also try out the thesaurus to get some good search terms for a powerful search or use the education level limiter to narrow in.
- Education Source This link opens in a new windowThis database offers the world's largest and most complete collection of full-text education journals, and encompasses an international array of English-language periodicals, monographs, yearbooks, and many unique sources that were never previously available, covering all levels of education--from early childhood to higher education--as well as all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education and testing.
- APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new windowAPA PsycInfo, American Psychological Association’s (APA) renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. It contains approximately 3 million citations and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s with DOIs for over 1.4 million records. Journal coverage, which spans from the 1800s to present, includes international material selected from around 2,400 periodicals in dozens of languages.
- SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new windowCovers scholarly publications in sociology, social work, and related fields. Contains 2.3 million articles and other materials (64% in full text) with deep coverage from 1960 and some back to 1882.
Accessing Full-Text
You've done some searching in the database and were able to find some articles that are relevant to your research. Now what? Many databases will provide full-text access in the form of a PDF. However, if there is no full text right in the database, you will want to use the Find This Item button:
When you click on this button, you will activate a search of all of our subscriptions to find an electronic copy. If one is found, it will automatically open and be displayed for you.
But what if it doesn't find the article?
If we do not have subscription access to an article through one of our databases, pressing that button will still take you to a screen with the citation information for the article. This will then allow you the option of requesting the item through Interlibrary Loan.
What is Interlibrary Loan?
Interlibrary Loan is a free service provided by UH Libraries to help you get the access you need to the research materials you want. When a request is submitted, we find a library that does have access and ask for a shareable copy. You will be notified once the item is ready for you to access.