The tabs in this box provide links to the key resources available via the Library for Education which you will be expected to become familiar with during your studies.
Many of the resources are searched by Library Search but you can also search each site individually if you wish. You can find more information about Library Search from the Finding Articles tab to the left and you can access the individual databases from the databases link on the library homepage
You need to have logged into UDo to use the databases and can access them both in the University and off campus. Where there are special conditions for off-campus use which may require a different log in, information will be provided in the NOTES section of each entry
This link opens in a new windowUsing highly structured and original content, users can easily study and compare countries through six key education levels: early childhood education, childhood, youth, primary education, secondary education, and higher education.
This link opens in a new windowAn on-demand TV and radio recording service for education covering 65 TV and radio channels.
This link opens in a new windowBEI is the key source for Education and Childhood information
CareKnowledge is an online resource useful for students, academics and practitioners in the field of social work, social care, early childhood studies, young people & communities.
This link opens in a new windowFormerly known as InfoTrac Newspapers. Comprehensive newspaper database covering over 2,000 regional, national and worldwide titles.
This link opens in a new windowProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, offering millions of works from thousands of universities. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.
There are two excellent multi-disciplinary collections which are worth exploring independently as the eBooks are not all available on the catalogue or Library Plus- Ebook Central and Sage Knowledge
As well as multi-disciplinary collections of eBooks, we also purchase subject specific collections. Although many of these are included in Library Plus and the Library catalogue, sometimes, it's good to be able to browse through a smaller, subject specific database
For Education specific material have a look at the Bloomsbury Education & Childhood. This is especially useful for aspects of comparative education
Also really useful is the multi volume TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching
Please note that not all texts are available in eBook format.
The Library cannot digitise or create eBooks in-house; they must be purchased via academic suppliers. E-books can only be purchased for institutional multi-user access if the publishers have made them available. Many publishers (particularly those of texts aimed at practitioners, as opposed to students) have not made their titles available as eBooks.
Some titles will be available for individual eBook purchase (i.e. via Amazon for Kindle) but not for institutional purchase. The availability of an eBook via Amazon or a similar online eBook seller is no guarantee that the title in question will be available for the Library to buy.
When you start looking for information for an assignment you may not know exactly what has already been written about your topic or where it may have been published. You should not just rely on searching Google as you will not find all the academic resources that you need. The most frequent issue that students have in finding journal articles is they try to search by their essay title or use a long sentence so make sure you have a look at all the hints and tips on creating an effective search strategy in the Finding Articles tab in the side navigation bar. As a quick guide
Step 1 - What's your assignment title/ research topic and what keywords can you immediately identify from that title that you can search for?
e.g. The attainment of children with SEN in the primary classroom
Step 2- Don't stop there! These are not the only terms you should think to search for. Look at the words. What other keywords could you use that convey the same concepts?
eg Attainment/achievement/assessment/underachievement/testing
Children/child/pupil/student
SEN/Special education/Special educational needs/Learning disability/Learning disabilities/Dyslexia/Dyslexic and so on.
Primary/Early years/Early childhood/Infant/EYFS/Early years foundation stage/Pre-school and so on
Classroom/class/school/setting
Also, under-achievement & pre-school are examples of words that can be written as one word or hyphenated so bear that in mind when you're searching because each spelling will give you different results
If you want to search for a phrase use "..." around the words. eg "National curriculum"
The key education database, British Education Index is available to search through Library Plus . BEI is education focused and provides a wealth of journal information for you to utilise in your research. In addition to BEI, Library Plus also searches the Library catalogue, our electronic journals and many other databases that we subscribe to. More information about Library Plus can be found in the Finding Articles link in the side navigation bar
You will be able to read many of the articles you find from these databases, in full text online, or download a PDF copy to keep. On some sites you may see just the 'Abstract' or description of the article; in these cases, if we do not have a subscription to the relevant journal, you may be able to get the full article through our Inter Library loan service.
For some assignments you may need to search for legal information eg Child protection law/cases and for specialist legal information Westlaw is the place to go. You can use it to find law reports, legislation, journal articles and eBooks. Couple of top tips to remember when using Westlaw
For more information see the Library guide for Law.
Comprehensive law database, including cases, legislation, eBooks, commentary.
