EDU 626 - Writing Process

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

For further research assistance, please contact Tim Lynch tlynch@usm.maine.edu; (780-5344), Research and Instructional Services Librarian; Laision to the Education Department. Gorham Campus Library, University of Southern Maine.

The EDU 626 Courseguide of Writing Methods is designed to help students research the field of student writing. Excellent subject guides are located from the "research" section of the library homepage, Education and Counseling and Education Literature Searches designed for USM graduate students. Both will be extremely helpful as you proceed in this class.

URSUS
The catalog in this class is used primarily to look up journal article locations (electronic and in print). In the database record. The Source or SO: information provides all the information you need to retrieve the article. For example [Source: Journal of Teacher Education v98 n.4 May 2002 p. 245-255] will allow you to find this article no matter where you are in the United States--and no matter where the article is. If you have a question as to whether USM has a journal, use URSUS to check its location. Click on JOURNAL/MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER and search the title of the Journal. The Journal may appear as a paper or bound version, a microfilm version or an electronic version. The electronic version could be full-text. If the item is not available from USM, you may interlibrary loan the item by using the ILLIAD program from the library homepage.

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

Subject Headings

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 at the bottom of the relevant records to find additional, useful resources. Remember, by choosing one of these new subject headings you will have completely changed your search from your initial search. Return to your oringinal search by using the "Search History" tab.

The following is a listing of selected subject headings relating to Education Research. Each subject heading is hotlinked directly to URSUS. These subjects are merely examples because the research level in any field is more dependent on the approach to research, rather than the subject matter.

Education Research (use for background info)
English Language Composition and Exercises Study and Teaching Elementary
Gifted Children Education
Writing English Language Study And Teaching Elementary
Writing--Evaluation

Searching Using AND and OR: (This process can be used in most any database including journal indexes and databases)

Basic Search

1. State your topic in one sentence. (Ex. I'm looking for information about homework in the US gifted programs)
2. Separate important terms. (Ex. homework AND gifted AND United States)
3. Did you find enough information? If not continue. . . .
4. Add IMPORTANT synonyms and related terms that you would find in the professional literature: homework AND (gifted OR talented) AND (United States OR U.S.)
5. Truncate terms to get plural as well as singular form.
   Ex. homework AND (gifted* OR talent*) and (United States OR U.S.)

Advanced Search (Default)

AND and OR searching can also be accomplished by filling in the search boxes using the AND connector in the Adanced search mode. Make sure and place all the OR terms (ie synonyms) together in the same box. Also place and the AND terms in the same box, connected with

To obtain materials not located at USM, but within the University of Maine System, you will need to click on the black Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (The small red number found under the barcode on your USM Card). Your barcode will need to be activated at the Circulation Desk on the first floor. Remember also to choose a location for the item to be delivered. Items requested in this manner require 3 to 5 days for delivery.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or Maine InfoNet you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).
Books requested by interlibrary loan may take a week to 10 days to arrive. Articles requested by interlibrary loan usually arrive in under 3 days! Items requested from Maine InfoNet will arrive in approximately 5-7 days.

Off-Campus (remote) connection to databases: Use your last name and library barcode number (2502. . . . ) available at the bottom of your student ID to access Indexes and databases from home. Indexes and Databases that can be accessed remotely will have a small yellow "remote access" icon next to the Index or database. If you are having trouble, try using the state funded Marvel Databases. Enter personal information including ZIP Code.

Reference Items

Encyclopedia of African-American Education
Gor. Ref. LC2717 .E53 1996

Encyclopedia of Education
Gor. Ref. LB15 .E47 2003 [8 vols.]

Encyclopedia of Educational Research
Gor. Ref. LB15 .E48 1992 [4 vols.]

Encyclopedia of Disability and Rehabilitation
Gor. Ref. HV1568 .B53 1995

Encyclopedia of Human Behavior
Gor. Ref. BF31 .E5 1994 [4 vols.]

Encyclopedia of Human Development and Education
Gor. Ref. BF713 .E65 1990

Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence
Gor. Ref. B431 .E59 1994 [2 vols.]

Encyclopedia of Learning and Memory
Gor. Ref. BF318 .E53 1992

Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family
Gor. Ref. HQ9 .E52 1995 [2 vols.]

Encyclopedia of Special Education
Gor. Ref. LC4007 .E53 2000 [3 vols.]

Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood & Adolescence
Gor. Ref. HQ772 .G27 1998

Growing Up
Gor. Ref. HQ767.84 .B76 1995

International Encyclopedia of Education
Gor. Ref. LB15 .I569 1994 [12 vols.]

International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education
Gor. Ref. LB1025.3 .I58 1995

International Handbook of Research and Development of Giftedness and Talent
Gor. Ref. LC3993 .I596 1993

Handbook of Alternative Education
Gor. Ref. LC45.4 .H36 1994

Handbook of Child Psychology
Gor. Ref. BF721 .H242 1998 [4 vols.

Handbook of Research on Teacher Education
Gor. Ref. LB1715 .H274 1996

Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children
Gor. Ref. LB1119 .H25 1993

Handbook of Reading Research
Gor. Ref. LB1050 .H278 1984 [3 vols.(vol. 3 is 2000)]

Dictionary of Counseling
Gor. Ref. BF637 .C6 B444 1994

Dictionary of Multi-cultural Education
Gor. Ref. LC 1099 .D53 1997

Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology
Gor. Ref. HA17 .V64 1999

Educator's Resource Directory
Gor. Ref. LB1028.27 .U6 E53 2001-02

Handbook of Educational Terms and Applications
Gor. Ref. LB15 .E419 1996

Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education
Gor. Ref. H62 .H2456 1992

Literacy Dictionary
Gor. Ref. LB 1049.98 .L58 1995

Requirements for Certification 2003-2004
Gor. Ref. LB1771 .W6 2003-04

Special Education Dictionary
Gor. Ref. LC3981 .E45 1997

Special Education Desk Reference
Gor. Ref. 3981 .E45 1997

Stack Items

The following items are a selected list of works pertaining to the teaching of writing from URSUS. More items can be obtained by using a search strategy such as teaching and writing and (child* or adolescen*).

Beyond words : writing poems with children
Gorham Stacks PN1085 .M32 1999

Learning to read and write : developmentally appropriate practices for young children
Lewiston Stacks LB1139.5.L35 N48 2000 

Literacy through Language arts : teaching and learning in context
Gorham Stacks LB1576 .L565 2003 

Picture books [microform] : an annotated bibliography with activities for teaching writing
Gorham Stacks LB1044.9.P49 C84 0998

Raising scores, raising questions : sixty-fifth yearbook of the Claremont Reading Conference
Gorham Stacks LB1049.95 .C57a 65th, 2001

Writing: taking a closer look at student motivation
Gorham Stacks LB1576 .B39 1998

One goal of this guide is to provide the necessary peer-reviewed information accepted by faculty. The Education Literature Searches guide is especially useful in finding information for both Education and Psychology related topics. Depending on the faculty member, ERIC Documents and Dissertations may not be accepted as usable research. Also empirical or statistical (quanititative) information; and subjective or survey or questionnaire or opinion (qualitative) information may be sought to different degrees or even one to the exclusion of the other.

The following Databases will get the EDU 626 student looking in right place!

Academic Search Premiere—General, multi-disciplinary database that is full-text (In some cases includes the entire article as well as abstract) Use this database to find articles in education, psychology, healthcare, business as well as many other areas. See handouts. (Can be searched along with other Ebsco databases (Ex.MasterFILE Premiere) Notice also that Academic Search Premiere provides access to other databases such as Primary Search which gives access to many children's magazines and other similar sources.

Dissertation Abstracts--This database includes abstracts of dissertations, as well as the ability to browse the first 24 pages of the actual dissertation. This may be useful because Introduction, Table of Contents, Summary, and Methodology will most-likely be included
This database is currently accessed at http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/gateway

Dissertations can also be obtained, for a price, from UMI, as well as from the institution that issued the dissertation, if they offer it as an interlibrary loan. Occasionally, dissertations are published on the web or are purchased by libraries as part of their regular collection.

ERIC
The Educational Resource Center, sponsored by the US Department of Education, but now outsourced to a private company, is the major research database for the field of Education. It collects, indexes and abstracts (summarizes) articles from virtually all of the 950+ US journals devoted to Education. Additionally, ERIC collects, indexes abstracts and publishes as ERIC Documents other items of interest to the educational community, such as conference papers, official reports of federally funded research projects, materials produced by state departments of education and other educational entities, a small number of commercially published books (abstracts only) and even classroom and other materials submitted by individual educators, although as of 2004 this type of information may no longer be included.

ERIC Journal Articles are available from those institutions that subscribe to that journal. In other words, if USM doesn't subscribe to it, and there are no "Full-Text" links in the record, or electronic access via URSUS, Interlibrary Loan (Illiad). is how you get the item. ERIC Documents are available sometimes in electronic form from this new private company (look for the "Full-Text" link in the record) or in FREE printable microfiche at the Gorham Campus Library. Gorham has all microfilm produced for ERIC since 1966 to the 2003. (ERIC Documents from 2004 will not be available until sometime in 2005).

Because ERIC has been sold to a private contractor for management, it is unknown to what extent the database will change. The new model promises full-text online for much of the information indexed in ERIC whenever possible. See more information at the http://www.eric.ed.gov/ site. So far news of the change-over has been positive for users.

PsycINFO
The online edition of Psychological Abstracts, produced by the American Psychological Association is the major Research Database related to the field of Psychology. The database includes abstracts of articles from the professional journal literature in several languages. It also includes abstracts of books and book chapters, dissertations and reports in psychology. ERIC and PsychINFO will, in some cases connect to the full-text of articles.

Finding Articles at USM
Once you have your citations (Journal Name/Year/volume/issue/page numbers) of the articles you want. The next step is to find that article. As mentioned above, if there are no "Full-Text" links or "PDF Full-Text" links, First search URSUS to see if USM has the journal you want. Perform a Title search in the Part of URSUS labeled JOURNAL/MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER.
Look for your item, then look to see where in the University of Maine System it resides. Locations of GOR, POR and LEW are all part of USM. Any other Location must be requested from Interlibrary Loan.

If all you get from your search is numbers then that item is not in the UMS system. This item also must be requested from Interlibrary Loan

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 Discipline-Based 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.

ASCD

Claremont Review

U.S. Department of Education

International Reading Association

Maine State Department of Education

National Council of Teachers of English

National Writing Project

In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in following correct citation methods and in avoiding plagiarism.

Writing Handbooks

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

Citation Styles

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Gor. Ref. BF76.7 .P83 2001

Online! A Reference Guide Using Internet Resources [Look for APA Style]

Remember to use the EndNote program guide for help with citations

Plagerism

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

Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it (Indiana University)

Last Updated :05.05
Comments: Ask-A-Librarian