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Education

This LibGuide provides a variety of helpful resources for conducting Education-related research.

Course Guides

CES 101: Self and Identity

 
Overview: 

After today’s session, you will be able to:

  • Recognize the services offered by the Leatherby Libraries
  • Understand the meaning of empirical articles and know how to find them
  • Effectively construct and revise a database search 


Discussion Questions: 

  • Why use library sources? 
  • What's the difference between academic vs. non-academic sources? 
  • Is there ever a good time to use non-academic sources? 
  • What is the difference in using a book vs. a journal article for your research? 
  • What is peer review? 
    • Why is it useful to you? 

 

Your Assignment 

Note: you'll have time to work on this assignment during class after my presentation.

  • Find and evaluate a peer-reviewed, empirical research article of your choice having to do with self and/or identity.

 

Empirical articles
  • Original research
    • What does this mean? 
  • Avoid “think pieces” that present a position or opinion but do not include data obtained by the author.
    • Examples to avoid: "review articles," "theoretical articles," "meta-analyses," etc. 
  • Common Structure
    • Introduction: The authors explain the problem they’re investigating and why it matters.
    • Methods/Methodology: They describe the details of how they conducted their study—who or what they studied, how data was gathered, and which tools or procedures they used.
    • Results: They present the data they collected (graphs, tables, statistics, etc.).
    • Discussion: They interpret the results, explain what they mean, and relate them back to the broader topic or previous research.
    • References or Bibliography: lists the citations of other books, articles or reports mentioned within the main study

 

Finding Empirical articles: 

  • Use a library database
    • Some databases will allow you to filter by article type or methodology
  • Limit to peer review
  • Try keywords:
    • Add words like “empirical,” “empirical research,” or “original research”
      • Other options: “quantitative study,” “qualitative study,” “mixed-methods study”
    • Combine these with Boolean operators (“AND,” “OR,” "NOT") to refine results.

  • Check Abstracts and Summaries:

    • Look for phrases like “we conducted a study,” “the participants were…,” “data were collected…,” or “results indicate….”
      Empirical articles typically describe a methodology (how data was gathered) and results (what was found).

  • Use Advanced Search Filters:

    • Many databases let you limit your results by study type or research design (e.g., “quantitative study,” “qualitative study,” “mixed-methods study”).

    • ERIC sometimes labels articles with descriptors like “Reports – Research.”

    • PsycINFO has a “Methodology” box where you can select “Empirical Study.”

  • Look for Tell-Tale Sections in the article's Full Text:

    • Once you find a promising article, check if it has Methods and Results (or Findings) sections. If it does, it’s very likely empirical.

 

Recommended Databases: 
Use this Start Your search box to search across multiple databases with a single search.

 

APA Citation help

 

Discussion: 

  • What can a librarian do for you? 
  • Where can you get help from a librarian?

 

Sample Searches: 
  • "Social Identity"
  • "Social Identity"  AND sports
  • "Social Identity" AND sports AND (empirical OR “original research” )
    • “Social Identity" AND sports AND ("qualitative study" OR "quantitative study" )
  • descriptor:"Extracurricular Activities" OR "Team Sports"
  • "Social Identity"  AND sports AND "high school"

CES / LBST 203: Introduction to Research Methods in Education 

 

Library Session #1: 

Overview:

During and after today’s session, you will be able to:

  • Navigate the library's website to find library resources and services.
  • Find articles for your course assignments: 
    • From certain databases: empirical articles with specific methodologies.
    • For your "Annotated Bibliography" selections.
  • Start your research and ask questions.
 
Google Scholar:

Advanced Search, Cited by, Related articles

 

Advantages of Library Resources:

Discussion:

  • Where do you usually go to find sources for your classes? 
  • Why use library resources?
  • Why not use Google Scholar by itself?
  • Pick a partner. Answer these questions: 
    • What does it mean for an article to be peer reviewed? 
    • What do you hope to get out of this session today?

 

Library Home Page and Education LibGuide:
  • Search boxes, A-Z List, and Top Resources
    • Discussion: Which top resources do you think link to research help?
  • Off-campus: prompted to login with your Chapman username and password
 
Getting Started on Research for Your Assignments:

Explore using the library search boxes or a library database
Brainstorm key words or phrases related to your topic (examples: hands-on learning, elementary school)
Go from a broad to a narrow research topic as you review the literature
Use any of these Boolean operators to include multiple terms in your search string:

  • AND to search for more specific results, OR to search for results that contain synonyms, NOT to exclude results with certain words
 
Finding Articles in Education Databases:

Discussion:

  • What makes a journal article empirical?
  • What makes research quantitative?
  • What about qualitative research or mixed methods research?
  • Education subject databases: ERIC, PsycInfo, Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), JSTOR, and more

Most databases: peer reviewed and full text filters

  • Boolean operators
  • Example search: hands-on learning AND mixed methods research
  • Limiters: Descriptors (for methods), Publication Type: Reports – Research (for empirical research), education level
  • EBSCO platform features and filters: related terms, methodology
  • Example search with the empirical study filter: learning AND elementary school AND qualitative
  • Example search: (elementary school or primary school or grade school) AND qualitative research

 

ILL and Education Library:
  • Modify Search / Advanced Search filter options

 

Research Activity!
  • Partner up
  • Use a database you heard about today to find an empirical article on any topic related to your research 
    • topic e.g.: hands-on learning in elementary school, qualitative research for elementary classrooms, or a more specific topic
  • Identify its methodology by skimming the abstract
  • Discuss what you found and how you found it

 

 

Library Session #2: 

Overview:

During and after today’s session, you will be able to:

  • Understand how to analyze academic literature, specifically empirical research articles.
  • Use a free software (Zotero) to collect sources and generate APA Style bibliographies.
  • Generate topic ideas for your research proposals: on your own and/or using AI. 
  • Continue your research and ask questions.

 

Analyzing Empirical Research Articles:
  • Standard empirical articles typically contain: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references

Discussion and Activity:

  • Do you recall what you can look for in an article's database record to see if it is relevant and empirical?
  • Which portions of an article's PDF might you review first to analyze its content?
  • Demonstration on how to understand an empirical article
  • Partner up to practice analyzing an article and answer these questions:
    • Were you able to tell if the article is empirical, quantitative, or qualitative? How?
 
APA and Zotero!
 
Using and Citing Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools:

Brainstorm ideas on your own and then you can use AI to expand on those to generate topic ideas

IES 204: Theories of Learning

 
Finding Articles
  • Top Databases (search simultaneously by selecting "choose database" option)
    • ERIC
    • Education Full Text 
    • Academic Search Premier 
    • PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES
      • Use these databases to limit to type of article and methodology, including qualitative or quantitative studies 
  • Search by entering keywords, or the main subjects of your research topic or question. 
 
Finding Books
  • Use the catalog (second box on the library homepage) to search for books
    • To find books about a topic: use keyword
    • To find books about a person: start with subject and type in the last name
  • To find electronic books
    • Search in the catalog and limit to electronic book type
    • Search in the Start Your Search box and limit to electronic book under "Source Types" limiter

 

APA Citations

  • See the APA 7th Edition Resources page in the left navigation bar for help with APA 
 
Develop a Search Strategy

1. Determine your keywords. Pick only the main words of your topic:

Topic: How has constructivism been applied to the teaching of the sciences in middle school?

Main concepts: constructivism     science     middle school

 

2. Determine how to combine your keywords.

AND    constructivism AND science

OR       middle schools OR junior high

 

3. Decide how you want to focus your results.

Examples:       peer-reviewed journal articles

                        published in the last 10 years

Search the Library catalog:


Use Start Your Search to search across multiple databases with a single search.

LBST 240: Literature and Literacy: Children & Adolescents

Muth Library of Children's Literature 

This library is located on the left side of the Library's 3rd floor.

The library is composed of children's books from 14 different literature awards, including the

  • Newbery Medal
  • Caldecott Medal
  • Read Across America, 
  • California Reads, and more 

Other sections include the Dr. Seuss books and the Dream Collection, which contains all of the Disney DVDs and many Disney children's books. 

The library is arranged in the Library of Congress format, which means that it is arranged by broad subjects, such as American Literature (the largest section), and Recreation and Leisure. 

Search for these books by using the catalog. 

 

 

Searching for Children's Books

  • Use the catalog (second box on the library homepage) to search for books. 
  • Muth Children's Literature Books
    • To find books about a topic (such as a genre): use keyword
      • You can modify search to only the Education Library (but not directly for just Muth books)
      • Sometimes it works to add the term juvenile
    • To find books about a person: start with subject and type in the last name
      • SUBJECT:  King, martin luther
        SUBJECT:  King Martin Luther Jr 1929 1968 Juvenile
    • Award-Winning Books
      • Search the name of the award in quotations: "Caldecott"

 

Guide to the Muth Collection

  • Includes picture books interspersed with chapter books, arranged by author’s last name.
  • Current collection size of Muth and Dream collections (as of 2/20/2025): 5,060 items (includes mostly books but also DVDs and CDs)

 

Call numbers within Muth collection: 

  • Largest area: PS - American Literature
    • PS700 - 3576 – Works by Individual authors
      • PS700 - 893.....17th/18th century (colonial period)
      • PS991 - 3390....19th century authors
      • PS3500 - 3549...Authors 1900-1960
      • PS3550 - 3576...Authors 1961-2000
      • PS3600 - 3626...Authors 2001-
  • Other substantial areas:
    • GV - Recreation and Leisure
      • GV557 - 1198.995….. Sports
      • GV1199 - 1570 …. Games and Amusements
      • GV1580 - 1799.4…. Dance
    • PR – English Literature
      • PR6000 - 6049.... Authors 1900-1960
      • PR6050 - 6076.... Authors 1961-2000
      • PR6100 - 6126.... Authors 2001-
  • Notable sections:
    • PS3513.E2= Dr. Seuss - Dream Collection
    • All of the Disney DVDs, many Disney children’s books.

 

Children’s Literature Awards collected by the Leatherby Libraries:

  • ALSC book lists (Association for Library Service to Children) [will begin collecting next year]
  • AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION (ABA) AWARDS – 1993-
    • Search for ABA Award
  • ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE – 2005-
  • CALDECOTT MEDAL – 1938-
  • CALIFORNIA YOUNG READER MEDAL – 1988-
  • CHRISTOPHER AWARDS – 2001-
  • CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARDS – 1970-
  • INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION AWARDS – 1975-
  • NEWBERY MEDAL – 1922-
  • ONCE UPON A WORLD CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS – 1996-2014
  • PURA BELPRÉ AWARD – 1996-
  • READ ACROSS AMERICA & CALIFORNIA READS (selected titles)
  • ROBERT F. SIBERT INFORMATIONAL BOOK MEDAL – 2001-
    • Search for Robert F. Sibert 
  • SCOTT O’DELL AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION – 1984-
  • STONEWALL BOOK AWARDS – 2010-

Note:  We replace these books, when still available, if they are damaged or lost, including the Dr. Seuss/Theo. LeSieg Collection

Search Library catalog:


 

Use Library of Congress subject terms to search the library catalog:

 

For more book options, explore options through Interlibrary Loan!

 

 

Sample searches: 

  • Music juvenile
  • SUBJECT:  King, martin luther
  • SUBJECT:  King Martin Luther Jr 1929 1968 Juvenile
  • California Young Reader

 

Finding Research on Children's and Adolescents' Literature

 

Discussion Questions: 
  • Why use library sources? 
  • What's the difference between academic vs. non-academic sources? 
    • Is there ever a good time to use non-academic sources? 
  • What is the difference in using a book vs. a journal article for your research? 
  • What does it mean for an article to be "peer reviewed"?
  • If Start Your Search finds so many sources, why use an Education-specific database? 
     

Zotero!

 

Advice on searching: 

  • Figure out the key concepts and related terms for your topic
  • Interdisciplinary Research - break your research topic down into subcomponents and make connections

 

Finding Books

 

The Start Your Search bar searches many databases all at once. It is a great place to find journal articles, books, ebooks, and book chapters.

Use Start Your Search to search across multiple databases with a single search.

 

Education-Specific Databases

 

Find book reviews: 

Tip: Many databases allow you to filter by document type, which may allow you to filter to only see reviews. 

 

Google Scholar, "Cited By"

 

APA Citation help

 

Looking for a specific journal?

Use the Publication Finder on the library homepage. 

Journals for this project: 

  • The Reading Teacher
  • Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
  • Journal of Adolescent Literacy 
     

 

Discussion: 

  • What can a librarian do for you? 
  • Where can you get help from a librarian?

 

Very quick feedback survey: Link to survey 

 

Sample searches: 

  • childrens literature AND sadness
    • children* AND (books OR literature) AND (feelings OR emotions)
  • Emotional Learning  AND adolescen* AND literature
    • Emotional Emotional Learning  AND (books OR reading)
  • descriptor:"Dyslexia" OR "Reading Difficulties"
    • (descriptor:"Reading Difficulties" OR "dyslexia") AND literature NOT review

IES 405: Inquiry, Evidence, and Decision-Making

 
Overview:

During and after today’s session, you will be able to:

  • Navigate the library's website to find library resources and services.
  • Find articles for your course assignments:
    • From certain databases: empirical articles with specific methodologies.
    • For your "Literature Review" selections.
  • Explore a free software (Zotero) that you can use to collect sources and generate APA Style bibliographies.
  • Start your research and ask questions.
 
Google Scholar:

Advanced Search, Cited by, Related articles

Advantages of Library Resources:

Discussion:

  • Where do you usually go to find sources for your classes? 
  • Why use library resources?
  • Why not use Google Scholar by itself?
  • What does it mean for an article to be peer reviewed? 
  • What do you hope to get out of this session today?

 

Library Home Page and Education LibGuide:
  • Search boxes, A-Z List, and Top Resources
    • Discussion: Which top resources do you think link to research help?
  • Off-campus: prompted to login with your Chapman username and password
 
Getting Started on Research for Your Assignments:

Explore using the library search boxes or a library database
Brainstorm key words or phrases related to your topic (examples: hands-on learning, elementary school)
Go from a broad to a narrow research topic as you review the literature
Use any of these Boolean operators to include multiple terms in your search string:

  • AND to search for more specific results, OR to search for results that contain synonyms, NOT to exclude results with certain words

 

Finding Articles For Your Assignments:

Discussion:

  • What makes a journal article empirical?
  • What makes research quantitative?
  • What about qualitative research or mixed methods research?
  • Education subject databases: ERIC, PsycInfo, Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), JSTOR, and more

Most databases: peer reviewed and full text filters

  • Boolean operators and Thesaurus
  • Example search: descriptor:"Mixed Methods Research" AND hands-on learning
  • Limiters: Descriptors (for methods), Publication Type: Reports – Research (for empirical research), education level
  • Truncation, EBSCO platform features and filters: related terms, methodology
  • Example search with the empirical study filter: learning AND elementary school AND qualitative
  • Example search: (elementary school or primary school or grade school) AND qualitative research

 

ILL and Education Library:
  • Modify Search / Advanced Search filter options
 
APA and Zotero!
 
Using and Citing Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools:

 

Research Activity!
  • Partner up
  • Use a database you heard about today to find an empirical article on any topic related to your research 
    • topic e.g.: hands-on learning in elementary school, qualitative research for elementary classrooms, or a more specific topic
  • Identify its methodology by skimming the abstract
  • Discuss what you found and how you found it

CSP 549: Introduction to Educational Research

*Note: You can find the librarian's email address and more graduate resources in this LibGuide's left navigation sidebar.

 

Overview:

During and after today’s session, you will be able to:

  • Find articles for your course assignments: 
    • From certain databases: empirical articles with specific methodologies.
    • For your “Articles to Replicate” and “Article Discussion” selections.
  • Use a free software (Zotero) to collect sources and generate APA Style bibliographies.
  • Start your research and ask questions.

 

Advantages of Library Resources:

Discussion:

  • Where do you usually go to find sources for your classes? 
  • Why use library resources? 
  • Why not just use Google Scholar? 
  • Pick a partner. Answer these questions: 
    • What does it mean for an article to be peer reviewed? 
    • What do you hope to get out of this session today?

 

Library Home Page and Education LibGuide:
  • Search boxes and A-Z List 
  • Off-campus: prompted to login with your Chapman username and password 

Discussion: 

  • Which top resources do you think link to research help?
 
Getting Started on Research for Your Assignments:

Explore using a library database or the library search boxes
Brainstorm key words or phrases related to your topic (example: school counseling)
Go from a broad to a narrow research topic as you review the literature
Use any of these Boolean operators to include multiple terms in your search string:

  • AND to search for more specific results, OR to search for results that contain synonyms, NOT to exclude results with certain words

 

Finding Articles in Education and Psychology Databases:

Discussion:

  • What makes a journal article empirical?
  • What makes research quantitative?
  • What about qualitative research?
  • What do mixed methods refer to? Why do you think this can be a helpful approach?
  • School Counseling and School Psychology, Psychology, and Education subject databases

Most databases: peer reviewed and full text filters 

  • Thesaurus and Boolean Operators
  • Example search string: descriptor:"Mixed Methods Research" AND (school counseling OR school psychology) AND mental health
  • Limiters: Descriptors (for methods), Publication Type: Reports – Research (for empirical research)
  • Methodology: filter or search terms
  • Truncation example: (school counsel*)
  • Example search string: (school counseling or school counselor) AND mental health AND qualitative
  • Example search string: ((school counseling or school counselor) OR (school psychology or school psychologist)) AND mental health AND qualitative
  • Methodology: filter or search terms
  • Example search string: (school counseling or school counselor) AND mental health AND qualitative

 

Research Activity!
  • Partner up
  • Use a database you heard about today to find an empirical article on any topic related to this course (e.g., school counseling, school psychology, or a more specific topic)
  • Identify its methodology by skimming the abstract
  • Discuss what you found and how you found it

 

ILL and Education Library:

Discussion: 

  • How would you filter to show only journal article results?

  • Modify Search / Advanced Search filter options

 

APA and Zotero!