Murdoch University
Library

Education Resources

Introduction

This guide has been created to provide assistance in finding Education resources that are either held in the library or available electronically on the web. It is not an exhaustive guide, but rather a sample of the many kinds of information sources you can use for your research topics.

Use this guide to help you to:

You may also wish to consider the approach you will take to completing your library research. A guide to Beginning Your Research is available from the Help menu on the Library Home Page.

If you require further assistance to find subject-related resources enquire at the Reference Desk at the South Street Campus Library or the Help Desk at the Rockingham Campus Library. If you are unable to access the library contact the Education Liaison Librarian by email.

Library Home Page

The Library Home Page offers a gateway to locating information sources that may prove valuable for your research topics. It gives access to the Library's Catalogue and to electronic resources such as Databases and past Exam Papers. It also provides access to useful Electronic Reference information. There are also Subject Guides to finding information, links to Citation Guides, as well as extensive details on the Services provided by the Library.

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Library Catalogues

Use the Library Catalogue to find books, journals and other resources that may be helpful in providing information about your topic. From here you will also be able to determine the availability and location of any resource that you are interested in. The Murdoch Library Catalogue is accessible from the Library Home Page. For assistance using the catalogue go to the How to Search the Murdoch Library Catalogue page.
Access to the catalogues of Catalogues at Other Libraries is also available from the Library's Home Page.

The Libraries Australia database is a very useful resource containing records from major databases world wide. Where an item is held in Australia details of each library's holdings are indicated in the record.

My Library

My Library is a service which allows you to stay informed about new materials added to the Library collection by setting up email alerts. Connect to My Library from the Library homepage or from the catalogue, using your Murdoch Username and Library PIN. Once you are logged in, you can search the catalogue, save your searches for later use, and set up email alerts to receive automatic notification when new material matching your search arrives in the Library. You can also renew your loans, recall items on loan and change your Library PIN, all without having to login again.

Using Subject and Word options

When searching for resources on a particular topic you can choose to search either by Subject or by Keywords. When starting out with a new topic it is probably best to begin with a Keywords search as this is the more comprehensive option. Keywords will search for the term(s) you have entered in a number of fields, including title and subject heading. Subject headings are fixed and you need to know the correct one(s) for your topic. If you try a subject search and it doesn't find anything, repeat it as a keyword search. Then look at the records you find and you will be able to see the subject headings assigned to them. You can use these for further searching if necessary.

Some useful subject headings for Education are:

Some shelf location numbers for Education are:

E-books

The library has access to thousands of electronic books, which are available to you whenever you are using the Internet. Where a book is available electronically there will be a link to it in the catalogue record. It is possible to limit your search so that you only find e-books. For example, try doing a keyword search for education, limiting the Location to E> ELECTRONIC and Serial/Monograph to MONOGRAPH. For more information on the titles that are available see the e-books page.

Finding Theses

During the course of your research in Education you may be required to locate relevant theses. To browse listings of theses completed at Murdoch University select the TITLE option in the Catalogue and then type the words murdoch university theses.
Select from the result by scrolling through the display to find Honours, Masters or PhD level theses in your chosen subject area.
You may wish to look at further information about Murdoch University theses.

Other universities also record theses in their respective library catalogues.

In recent years the Australasian Digital Theses Program has been developed to deliver Australian theses (PhD's or equivalent and Masters by research only) in digital full-text format. There were about 9782 digital theses online in this database as at August 2006. Murdoch University intends to contribute to the Australasian Digital Theses Program in the future.

Dissertations and Theses Abstracts (ProQuest)
Index to theses and dissertations from a wide range of countries and disciplines.

Australian Education Index
Index to Australian education dissertations.

The following printed indexes may also be of assistance:

Bibliography of Education Theses in Australia (Library has 1978 to 2001)
South Wing Level 2 J 378.94016 B582 1

Union List of Higher Degree Theses in Australian University Libraries. Supplement 1959-1989
Link Level 3 R 013.370994 U58 3

Index to theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by the universities of Great Britain and Ireland, 1986-1999 London, ASLIB. (Murdoch University Library no longer has a current subscription to this title)

Main Library Link Level 3 R 013.370941 I38 I

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Reference Resources

For background information on Education there are many reference books available, some of which are listed below. Use these resources to clarify the meaning of your topic and to check for synonyms (similar words) for your topic words. The following reference materials include both printed and electronic encyclopaedias, dictionaries and other items that may be useful for your research. To find other reference material held in the library, choose WORDS search in the Library Catalogue, then type the particular aspect that you are interested in, together with the term dictionaries or, alternatively, encyclopaedias.

The Library's web page listing Electronic Reference resources could also be of value, especially the Electronic Subject Dictionaries and Encyclopedias relating to Education to the Social Sciences and Humanities and to Australian Indigenous Studies.

The reference resources listed below are divided into the following three categories:

Dictionaries and Thesauri

Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: a User's Guide to Sociological Language - Electronic resource

Link Level 3 R 301.03 JOH 1995

Rockingham R 301.03 JOH 2000

Dictionary of British Education

Link Level 2 370.94103 GOR 2003

Cyclopedic Education Dictionary

Rockingham 370.3 SPA 1998

Quick Reference Dictionary for Athletic Training

Link Level 3 R 617.102703 BER 2005

Australian Thesaurus of Education Descriptors

Link Level 3 R 370.994 MIL 1996
Rockingham R 025.4937 AUS 2003

Dictionary of Developmental Psychology

Link Level 3 R 155.03 STU 1996

Rockingham R 155.03 STU 1996

Dictionary of Sociology (Oxford)/ edited by Gordon Marshall - Electronic resource

Link Level 3 R 301.03 DIC 1998

Rockingham R 301.03 DIC 1998

Dictionary of the Social Sciences (Oxford) - Electronic resource

The Max Weber Dictionary : Key Words and Central Concepts / Richard Swedberg with the assistance of Ola Agevall

Link Level 3 R 301.03 SWE 2005

Rockingham Level 2 301.03 SWE 2005

Encyclopaedias

International Encyclopedia of Education

Link Level 3 R 370.321 I61

Encyclopedia of Education 2nd ed

Rockingham R 370.3 ENC 2003

Encyclopedia of Educational Research

Link Level 3 R 370.78073 ENC 1992

Encylopedia of Psychology

Link Level 3 R 150.3 ENC 2000

Encylopedia of Ethics

South Wing Level 1 170.3 ENC 1992

Encylopedia of Human Behavior

Link Level 3 R 150.3 ENC
Rockingham R 150.3 ENC 1994

Encyclopedia of Educational Research

Link Level 3 R 370.72073 ENC 1992

Encyclopedia of Sociology. Selections

Link Level 3 R 301.03 ENC 1998

Rockingham R 301.03 ENC 1998

General Reference

Electronic Reference - This list of ready reference sites is maintained by Murdoch University Library staff.
A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

North Wing Level 4 ASD 378.12 HAN 2003

OECD statistics
Asian Higher Education: an International Handbook and Reference Guide
South Wing Level 3 R 378.5 ASI 1997

Year book Australia
Year book of Australia, 1978-,
South Wing Level 3 GR 319.4 A1301 0

Key Concepts in Adult Education and Training
South Wing Level 2 374.1 TIG 1996

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Journals

The library has journals available in print and electronic format. In some cases both the paper and electronic versions of titles are held. To find out what journals the library holds, where they are located, and in what format they are available, use the Library's Catalogue.

New Journal Display

Print copies of the latest issues of selected journals received in the Library are kept in the New Journal Display areas. New Business and Law journals are displayed in South Wing Level 3, all other new journals are displayed in Link Level 3.
Remember, only the most recent issue of journal titles are displayed in the New Journal Display, other unbound issues will be in boxes adjacent to the bound issues. All journals are arranged by Dewey number.

Finding a Specific Journal Title

The Library holds a wide range of Education journals. Use these to find specific articles on current research or practical journals with lesson ideas. If you have a citation for a journal article, or have been asked to research from a particular journal, you can check to see if it is held in the library by doing a TITLE search in the Catalogue. Click on Title on the Catalogue screen and type all or part of the journal title in the search box.

One journal the library subscribes to is Harvard Educational Review. A Title search for this item will display a result screen that provides a summary of the library's holdings. The details given indicate that the library holds this journal in print format and in electronic format. If you select the record for the print format, it shows that the journal is held from Vol. 30 (1960) up to v. 68 (1998). The call number for the item is given, as well as the location within the library. From the information provided we are able to determine that the library is no longer receiving print copies of the journal.

The online entry for Harvard Educational Review does, however, tell us that it is available electronically via Proquest from 1988 to present.

Finding Other Relevant Journals

When you need to broaden your search from a specific journal title to a general search for other relevant journals relating to your course, you can choose the WORDS search option in the Library Catalogue to perform a keyword search. Then type a term to describe the aspect you are interested in, followed by the term periodicals.

Education Journals

Listed below is a selection of journals that are relevant to the area of Education. The titles included here are a guide to the variety of journals available and cannot be considered a comprehensive list of what is held in the library. Included amongst these are research journals, which have articles that report on specific pieces of research, reviewing journals where the articles are generally written by an expert in a research field, who reviews the literature in that area of research and journals which contain practical examples of lesson plans and activities.

Select List of Journal Titles

Peabody Journal of Education
Practically Primary
Discourse
Educational Research
Australian Journal of Education
Independent Schooling in Australia

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Databases

Databases are a collection of data which can be searched for a particular piece of information. The Library's databases include indexes to journal articles and full text collections of materials such as journals, newspapers, statistical publications, encyclopaedias and legal materials. Databases are accessible from the Library Home Page. You can search the databases for information on specific subjects, using key words or concepts relevant to your research topic.
A guide to Using Databases is also available from the Help menu on the Library Home Page.

Finding Journal Articles

The library catalogue records the titles of journals held in the library but does not index all the articles in each of the journals. To find individual articles on a particular topic use the Databases. From here you can choose a specific database from the Browse by Database Title alphabetic list at the top of the screen, Browse by Subject Area to find journals in a specific discipline, or use the Quick Links to Major Databases list for the more popular databases. These databases collectively index the article contents of thousands of journals. Some provide only a citation with an abstract (summary of the article), while others provide the whole article (full text) as well. To find out information on older research you may have to refer to the printed abstracting and indexing journals, which are available in the library.

All of the databases are accessible from the eLibraries on North Wing Level 3, South Wing Level 3 and the workstations around the Library. You are also able to get remote access by using your User ID and University Password for authentication. For further information on how to do this see the Off Campus Access web page. Some databases require a password for access, which you can get from the Reference Desk on Link Level 3 (9360 6838).

Creating a Search Strategy

Before you can find information on a topic you need to have a clear idea of what it is you are trying to find. To help you to do this you can develop a search strategy, which enables you to focus on your topic and then refer back to and adapt as needed. A number of steps are necessary in order to create a specific and successful search strategy. The steps described here are useful for all information retrieval, not just in searching electronic databases and journals.

Once you have understood these concepts you can apply them when searching in a variety of databases. Most databases have HELP buttons linked to detailed descriptions of successful searching tips. Always check this option when you are searching a new database.

Databases available through Murdoch University Library

Databases relevant to Education can be found on the Databases page under the Browse by Subject Area listing.

Australian Databases

Articles about Australian issues can be found in international databases, for example Expanded Academic ASAP, but not to the same extent as information about other regions of the world. If you need information that is specifically about Australian issues you should look at the following Australian databases.

AEI - Australian Education Index
Indexes and abstracts published and unpublished material on all levels of education and related fields. Includes information published in Australia and Australian content published internationally.

APA-FT - APA-Full Text is based on the journal indexing of the database Australian Public Affairs Information Service (APAIS)

APAIS - Australian Public Affairs Information Service 1978-
A wide ranging index of Australian sources in the social sciences and humanities. There is good coverage on issues such as the environment and on government policy.

AusStats (Australian Bureau of Statistics), 1998-
AusStats provides full text access to all ABS publications from 1998 onwards, as well as time series spreadsheets, multidimensional datasets and census basic community profiles. Coverage includes social, economic, demographic, environmental, labour, finance, and other statistics.
(FULL TEXT)

Factiva - Provides fulltext access to significant news items from over 6000 international sources, including more than 100 Australasian sources. Coverage includes articles from newspapers, news wires, press releases, company announcements and journals.

Australasian Education Directory
Australasian Education Directory (AED), produced by the Australian Council of Education Research (ACER), is a concise accurate guide to educational institutions and related organisations

DELTAA Database on English Language Teaching for Adults in Australasia
A clearinghouse for information related to English as a second language learning and teaching in Australia

Major International Databases

ERIC (CSA)
Indexes and abstracts international documents and journal articles on all levels of education and related subjects. Provides access to over 850 ERIC digests which contain the full text of the original document.

Academic One File
A multi-disciplinary database. Information on Astronomy, Religion, Law, History, Psychology, Humanities, Current Events, Sociology, Communications and the General Sciences.

Factiva.com
Provides fulltext access to significant news items from over 6000 international sources, including more than 100 Australasian sources. Coverage includes articles from newspapers, news wires, press releases, company announcements and journals. Also provides information on companies and industries.

JSTOR
An archive of back issues of about 350 full text journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Coverage is from the first volume in most cases. Current content, usually the latest 3-5 years, is not available, but is added from time to time.

ProQuest
Abstracting, full-text and image database which includes telecommunications, accounting & tax, applied science & technology, Asian business, computing, education and religion.

Sociological Abstracts
Indexes and abstracts scholarly literature in sociology and related disciplines. It provides abstracts from approximately 2500 journals, book chapters, conference papers, relevant dissertation citations from book reviews. Sociological Abstracts covers publications in sociology, anthropology, community development, economics, medicine, philosophy, demography, political science and social psychology.

PsycINFO
Indexes and abstracts over 1300 journals in more than 25 languages. Includes book chapters,books, technical reports and citations to dissertations. Covers the professional and academic literature in the field of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines.

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Journal Title Abbreviations

In many information sources the abbreviated form of the journal title is used in the citation and you will need to know the full title of the journal in order to check it in a library catalogue, or to cite it correctly. Some sources will have a separate listing of the full journal titles indexed but others may not.

You can use the following source in the library to check abbreviated journal titles:

Periodical Titles Abbreviations
NW Level 3 Enquiry Desk

There are also a number of online resources that can be useful in providing the full title of journal abbreviations. These include the following:

All that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory

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Document Delivery

As part of the Library support to staff and research students, the Document Delivery service will request copies of documents, theses and other materials which are not held in the Murdoch collection. Requests are supplied from a number of sources including other libraries and commercial Document Supply services. For information on using this service including how to register, and details of the fees involved, look at the Library's Document Delivery web site.

Subject Guides

In addition to the online guide you are now reading, the library has developed other Subject Guides to assist in finding information resources in specific subject areas.

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The Internet

There are many varied sites and resources on the Internet, some more useful than others. Though you may have fun surfing the net, remember that it should not be seen as the only, or even first resource for information gathering. Evaluate the web sources carefully before including them in your repertoire of research materials.

Evaluating Internet Sites

The main criteria for evaluating a web site are:

Selected Internet Sites

Subject specialists in Murdoch University Library have selected internet sites in a number of different subject areas. There is a listing of sites specifically relevant to Education.

Education Internet Resources

Other internet sites of interest may include the following:

Sociology Internet Resources
Psychology Internet Resources
Australian Indigenous Studies Internet Resources
History Internet Resources
Politics & International Studies Internet Resources

The Government Information list provides links to some of the worlds government agencies. Many government publications are now published on the internet and are freely available to the public. Look for the Publications link on these internet sites to see a list of the available fulltext resources.

Search Engines

You could use a search engine to help find information on the internet. Use the University's Internet Resources to see the many internet navigation resources available. Keep up to date with new search engines and internet sites by subscribing to one of the email alert services such as the Scout Report.

Email Lists

There are many email lists you could subscribe to in order to keep abreast of new developments. Some are discussion lists and some merely informative. For further information on lists, what they are and how to subscribe to them, look at the University's Discussion List page.

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Citing References

It is essential that any references used in your research projects are cited correctly. A comprehensive bibliography is an indication of how widely you have read for the topic. This record also allows any relevant papers to be found at a later date. The most important aspect of citing is to be consistent.

The Library's publication, How To Cite References, which discusses various citation systems, is available for consultation online.

Please remember that there are specific citation rules for electronic resources. The guides give examples of these materials.

Managing References : EndNote

EndNote for Windows is a software package that allows you to manage your references electronically. You can search databases, organise your references in a single database and create bibliographies and reference lists automatically in your word processor. For Honours and Postgraduate students it is considered a particularly valuable tool. Look at the Library's EndNote site for further information about the software and details on how to get access to it.

The library holds introductory training sessions aimed at users without experience in using the EndNote software. The Library's Information Skills Training page provides details of classes that are available.

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Information Skills Programmes

During the year the Murdoch Library regularly offers training in how to use the resources it provides, such as Databases and EndNote, as well as how to research using the web. These classes are available to all University staff and students. Details are posted on the Library's Training Notice Board, North Wing Level 3 and on the Information Skills Training page. Postgraduate students should also refer to their Generic Skills Programme for details of Library related workshops.

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