EDU 607 - Teacher Research in Literacy

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Writing the Paper

For further research assistance, please contact Maureen Perry (mperry@usm.maine.edu; 753-6546), Social & Behavioral Sciences Liaison at Lewiston-Auburn College Library, University of Southern Maine.

In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System you will need to consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

If you do not know the exact subject heading describing the topic you need, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic and then click on the subject heading links found within the relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

The following are a listing of URSUS related subject headings:

Action research in education

Education research

Educational reports

Literacy

Proposal writing in educational research

To obtain materials not located at your USM campus, but within URSUS, you will need to click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, always beginning with 25022....). Your barcode will first need to be activated at the Circulation Desk.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or Maine InfoNet you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).

Reference sources are useful tools to obtain background information and to develop a vocabulary of possible search terms. The following items are print resources available within the University of Southern Maine system.

Dictionaries

The cyclopedic education dictionary
LEW Reference LB15 .S73  

The literacy dictionary : the vocabulary of reading and writing
GOR & LEW Reference LB1049.98 .L58

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of American education
LEW Reference LB17 .U54, v. 1-3

Encyclopedia of early childhood education
GOR & LEW Reference LB1139.25 E53

Handbooks

Education statistics of the United States
LEW & GOR Reference LA201 .E38 

Educational research, methodology and measurement : an international handbook
LEW Reference & GOR Stacks LB1028 .E3184

Because of the lengthy publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more informaiton on how to find articles.

To find scholarly articles it is necessary to consult a discipline-specific electronic or print index/database. The following are electronic indexing sources available to the Unversity of Southern Maine community.

Academic Search Premier
For date and title coverage click here
Provides full text for nearly 4,000 scholarly publications of which 3,100 are peer reviewed. Academic areas of study include: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.

ERIC-Education
Date coverage: 1966-current (note: because of contractor changes, some of ERIC's updating may have cocverage lags)
Indexes and abstracts journal articles and documents on education research and practice.

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International
Coverage from 1972
Index to the literature of public and social policy, and other aspects of social sciences. Includes journal articles, serials, books, government documents, directories, and public, intergovernmental, and private organization reports. Updated monthly.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

PsycINFO
Coverage from 1887
Index to the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines, including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas. Coverage includes references and abstracts to over 1,300 journals in more than 20 languages, and to book chapters and books in the English language. The database includes information from empirical studies, case studies, surveys, bibliographies, literature reviews, discussion articles, conference reports and dissertations.

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

ERIC website

International Reading Association

USM Policy & Procedures for Human Subject Research (Institutional Review Board)

This category contains information on how to write the paper. In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in this process.

USM has a site license for Endnote, a personal reference database program. The main functions of this program include maintenance of a database of references, downloading references from other databases, using the database to link to references in word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the Endnote Help for further information.

Writing Handbooks

St. Martin's Handbook
POR Reference PE1112 .L86 1989
Contains sections on the writing process, sentence construction, punctuation, doing research, and academic writing.

A Writer's Reference, 3rd Edition
POR Reference PE1408 .H2778 1995
Includes sections on composing and revising, design, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, writing, and documentation.

Citation Styles

APA Documentation (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)

APA Style.org

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition
POR and GOR Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001; LEW Reserve BF76.7 .P83 2001

Online: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition) (Purdue University Online Writing Lab)

Plagiarism

Plagiarism-The Do's and Don'ts: Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism (University of California-Davis)

Plagiarism Examples (Indiana University School of Education)

USM Academic Integrity Policy

Last update: 9.19.05 mp
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