Education - Library Guide

1) Watch the Searching Education Research Complete to learn how to search a library database.

• Use the checkbox for peer-review if you want to limit your results to that type of article. 
• Use the checkbox for academic journals if you want to limit your results to those sources.
• Improve your search with more tips from this handout and this video on Boolean searching.

2) Watch Requesting Articles through Interlibrary Loan to learn how to order a copy if CUE Library does not have the full text. 

• You will need your library barcode and PIN to place a request.

3) Search a database that is focused on research in education, here are 2 suggestions:

Too many results? Not enough results? Results off topic?

Try this:

1) Search the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education to learn more about your topic, get information about recent research, and gather more precise search terms to use in the databases..

2) Boost your searching skills

• Watch the video Picking Your Topic Is Research then narrow or broaden the scope of your topic. 
• Learn more about selecting and using keywords and how to select better search terms. 
• Learn more about Boolean operators and how to use them in your search query.
• Examine other sections of this guide, including Advanced Research & Writing and Help & Tutorials. 

3) Search more databases

These are listed in the Education Databases section.

• Add search terms like CLASSROOM, TEACH, CHILDREN, OR ELEMENTARY to help narrow your results.
• Search the CUE Library Catalogue to see a wide range of items, available from CUE Library and NEOS Libraries.
• Search Google Scholar and read the Google Scholar section of this guide.

4) Get support 

• Consult CUE Library for help choosing a database, selecting keywords, limiting your results, and for more tips on how to search effectively.
• Consult your instructor to clarify the assignment and ensure you are on the right track. They may offer you some source titles or author names to get you started. 
• Consult your classmates, they may have helpful suggestions too!

CUE Library Databases with Education related content.

Need a different database than the ones suggested here? Choose from:

• CUE Library's Education related Library Databases 
• All CUE Library Databases 

Set up Google Scholar to display CUE holdings alongside your search results.

1. Ensure that you are logged in to your CUE Google account.

• Not sure? Look in the top right corner of the browser to see if your picture, initials, or other avatar appear.
• Contact CUE Library or the IT helpdesk if you need assistance, before moving on to the next steps.

2. Go to scholar.google.ca

3. Expand the 3 bar menu icon in the top left corner and click on "Settings"

4. Click on "Library links"

5. In the search box "Show library access links for" type "Concordia University of Edmonton" and press the Enter key.

6. Check the box beside both of these results: 

• Concordia University of Edmonton - Full text @ CUE Library
• CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY OF EDMONTON - ProQuest Fulltext

7. Click "Save"

Once this is done, links to CUE Library items will display on the right side of your search results, if CUE Library has holdings of those items. Be aware that:

• Sometimes Google does not connect to the correct item. When this happens, use the CUE Library website (or one of our databases in your subject area) and search for the title and/or author. Library staff are happy to help, just ask us!
• There are many pros and cons to using Google Scholar, take a look at the tipsheet below to find out more.

You will need your CUE Library barcode and PIN to open the form and place your request. 

Watch the video video below to learn how to place an interlibrary loan for items that CUE library does not have, such as

• Articles that CUE Library does not have full text access to.
• Books from libraries outside the NEOS system.
• Book chapters that can be scanned and sent from other libraries.

The video demonstrates how the database you are searching will auto-fill the form. However, a blank interlibrary loan form is available online if you want to start from scratch. 

Please check to ensure that the item you are seeking is not held by CUE Library before placing your request. Our staff are happy to help.

Some ebook and database platforms require you to create a personal account before you can save, print, or download pages from ebooks

Once created, these accounts give you access to additional features.

• Highlighting, bookmarking, and annotating
• Saving your search history
• Creating folders to gather books and articles for your assignments

Personal accounts are not automatically generated with your basic CUE Library account.

The next videos show you how to create personal accounts with EBSCO and ProQuest eBook Central.

As always, you can Ask Us! for help.