Searching the ERIC database in FirstSearch

ERIC indexes research reports and journal literature in the field of education from 1966 to the present (indexing was suspended in December of 2003, and resumed in early 2005, but there are still gaps in coverage). For additional help with searching use the online help box or ask at the Main Library Reference Desk.

FirstSearch was designed to make basic subject searching easy for the novice searcher. It can do many of the more powerful searches that researchers require, but how to do them is not always obvious.
For complex searches, taking the time to read the online help is essential.

To Search for a Procedure
      Subject
  • Use the Keyword field to search titles, descriptors, abstracts, and notes at the same time. Unless enclosed in "quotes" words entered in the Search for box will be searched as if they were connected with and.
  • Use the Subject tree in the gray bar above the search area to search for subject headings used in the database. This is particularly helpful when searching for concepts that are common (e.g. mathematics), or are described using common words (e.g. content area).
    •       Author

    Select Author in the pull down box on the right. Put author name in the Search for box.
       If the author has a fairly common name this might not work, next try:

  • Make sure the author is entered last name first
  • Select Author Phrase in the pull down box on the right.
  • Click the Browse Index button on the far right
  • Click the item you wish to view from the hot links displayed. A search screen with this entry will appear. Click Search.
    •       Title

    Use the Title pull down and the Search for box first.

    • Put the title in "quotes" if you know it exactly.
    • You can also select Title Phrase from the pull down menu.
          Using Wildcards to truncate words and find plurals.
  • Add + to the end of a word to find that word and variations with either s or es added at the end.
  • Add * to the end of a word (at least three letters) to find all variations with those initial letters
  • Add ? n alone or with a number to allow a given number of characters at the end of a word
  • Add # n alone or with a number to allow a given number of characters in the middle of a word
    • Limiting area Procedure
          Limiting to journal articles (or research reports.)

    Below the search boxes is an area titled Limit to: Use the pull down to select Journals or Documents (research reports).

          Caution Limit to Full Text checkbox

    Using the Limit to Full Text checkbox is not recommended because it will eliminate from your results most of the items available full text from MSU. It will only provide items available full text from FirstSearch (well below 50% of our full text holdings). Limiting to Subscriptions held by MSU is a bit safer, probably 80% accurate (but note it will eliminate all ERIC documents from the results).. See MSU Electronic Journals for a complete listing of our electronic subscriptions.

    Finding the items
    Procedure
    EJ Accession No. Citations from ERIC with EJ accession numbers are journal articles. Find if MSU subscribes to the journal by clicking "Find Text @ MSU" near the top of the page for that item. If that doesn't work, you can look for the journal name in the Library Catalog .
    ED Accession No. Citations from ERIC with ED accession numbers are ERIC documents. Most published from 1966-2003 are available at MSU by looking for the ED number in the microfiche collection on 2 West of the Main Library. A majority of the ERIC Documents from 1993 to the present are also available online. Look for the "Full Text" link right after the title in the FirstSearch listing.

    Kate Corby's Education Page ERIC in FirstSearch

    Michigan State University Libraries
    Page editor: Kate Corby
    Last updated: 5/15/07