Searching works best when you have a research question in mind. You should be able to identify key concepts related to your research. These concepts form the basis for your search terms.
Know your topic. Exploring general sources (a chapter in your textbook, an encyclopedia article or other background reading) is a good way to start. The better you understand a topic, the easier it is to evaluate sources.
What is your purpose? Since you are developing an action research project you need to select scholarly research about your topic. You need to study the topic in depth, find out what others have learned about the topic, so you can develop an effective project.
Start early. Until you have done some searching and reading, you might not recognize if your topic is too broad or narrow.
Search terms: Look at the descriptors or subject terms to identify appropriate and alternate search terms. Be aware that different databases may use different search terms. You may need to adjust your search terms as you move from one database to another.
Select resources appropriate for your topic. Your professor will require that you use only scholarly, peer-reviewed resources.
Search journal: If you are working on a major research project, keep a search journal by recording the databases you used, the search terms you tried, and the success of the search. This can keep you from repeating an unsuccessful search.
Don't wait until the last minute. Good resources may not be available locally. Allow yourself time for an interlibrary loan.
Here are links and brief descriptions of the Library databases that can be used to find articles about education.
In your coursework you are expected to use high quality, scholarly sources of information. The following tutorial will help you understand what scholarly sources are.
By phone
Call 973-720-2116
The Reference Desk is staffed until 10PM Sunday-Friday and until 8:00pm on Saturday.
By e-mail
Send your question to the Reference Desk via email - refdesk@wpunj.edu Allow 24 hours for a response.
Schedule a Research Appointment
Contact the library for an appointment with a Reference Librarian: Schedule Research Help