Education Resources Information Center
Encyclopedia
ERIC - the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) - is an online digital library of education research and information. ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences
(IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of ERIC is to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable, Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and information for educators, researchers, and the general public. Education research and information are essential to improving teaching, learning, and educational decision-making.
ERIC provides access to more than 1.3 million bibliographic records (citation
s, abstract
s, and other pertinent data) of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added every week. A key component of ERIC is its collection of grey literature in education, which is largely available in full text in Adobe PDF format. Approximately one quarter of the complete ERIC Collection is available in full text. Materials with no full text available (primarily journal articles) can often be accessed using links to publishers and/or library holdings.
The ERIC Collection, begun in 1966, contains records for a variety of publication types, including:
ERIC provides the public with a centralized Web site at www.eric.ed.gov for searching the ERIC Collection, managing search results, and submitting materials to be considered for inclusion in the collection. Users can also access the collection through commercial database vendors, statewide and institutional networks, and Internet search engines such as Google, Google Scholar
, MSN, and Yahoo.
To help users find the information they are seeking, ERIC produces a controlled vocabulary
, the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors. The Thesaurus is a carefully selected list of education-related words and phrases used to tag materials by subject and make them easier to retrieve through a search.
Three expert advisory panels foster ERIC's ongoing development:
Prior to January 2004, the ERIC network consisted of sixteen subject-specific clearinghouses, various adjunct and affiliate clearinghouses, and three support components. The U.S. Department of Education consolidated the program into a single entity, upgraded systems, and converted paper-based processes to electronic, thus streamlining operations and speeding delivery of content. ERIC Digests, produced by the former clearinghouses, are available in full text on the ERIC Web site, as are thousands of documents previously available only on microfiche.
Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences, created as part of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, is the primary research arm of the United States Department of Education. It is the successor to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement . The first director of IES was Grover Whitehurst,...
(IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of ERIC is to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable, Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and information for educators, researchers, and the general public. Education research and information are essential to improving teaching, learning, and educational decision-making.
ERIC provides access to more than 1.3 million bibliographic records (citation
Citation
Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source . More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original source). More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated...
s, abstract
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
s, and other pertinent data) of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added every week. A key component of ERIC is its collection of grey literature in education, which is largely available in full text in Adobe PDF format. Approximately one quarter of the complete ERIC Collection is available in full text. Materials with no full text available (primarily journal articles) can often be accessed using links to publishers and/or library holdings.
The ERIC Collection, begun in 1966, contains records for a variety of publication types, including:
- journal articles
- books
- research syntheses
- conference papers
- technical reports
- dissertations
- policy papers, and
- other education-related materials
ERIC provides the public with a centralized Web site at www.eric.ed.gov for searching the ERIC Collection, managing search results, and submitting materials to be considered for inclusion in the collection. Users can also access the collection through commercial database vendors, statewide and institutional networks, and Internet search engines such as Google, Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes most peer-reviewed online journals of Europe and America's largest...
, MSN, and Yahoo.
To help users find the information they are seeking, ERIC produces a controlled vocabulary
Controlled vocabulary
Controlled vocabularies provide a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval. They are used in subject indexing schemes, subject headings, thesauri, taxonomies and other form of knowledge organization systems...
, the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors. The Thesaurus is a carefully selected list of education-related words and phrases used to tag materials by subject and make them easier to retrieve through a search.
Three expert advisory panels foster ERIC's ongoing development:
- Steering Committee - provides guidance and recommendations for implementing the ERIC mission. Its members have a blend of expertise in education libraries, literature, and research; information management, access and delivery; and the major technical aspects of an online database, database search engine, and Web site.
- Content Experts – provide advice on acquiring subject-specific, education-related resources for inclusion in the ERIC Collection. Members have expertise in research methodology, topics related to the mission of the Department of Education, and each of the ERIC topic areas.
- Library Committee – provides input on collection development, service delivery, the ERIC Thesaurus, and outreach to ERIC audiences. Members include academic, special, and K-12 librarians.
Prior to January 2004, the ERIC network consisted of sixteen subject-specific clearinghouses, various adjunct and affiliate clearinghouses, and three support components. The U.S. Department of Education consolidated the program into a single entity, upgraded systems, and converted paper-based processes to electronic, thus streamlining operations and speeding delivery of content. ERIC Digests, produced by the former clearinghouses, are available in full text on the ERIC Web site, as are thousands of documents previously available only on microfiche.
External links
- ERIC website
- ERIC on Facebook
- ERIC Digests - Full-text reports on educational topics prepared by the ERIC Clearinghouses.
- Educational Databases and Resources - Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
summary of online ERIC resources.