Using Central Search:
Use Central Search to find books, e-books, AND articles. Central Search allows you to use one search box to search across most of the library's collections, including Quest, the online catalog, and the majority of the library's subscription databases.
Central Search includes a Basic Search and an Advanced Search mode.
Using one of the Library's Subscription Databases:
The library subscribes to over 200 databases. Finding the right one for you is the first step. If you know which database you want, start with the A-Z List. To find a database on a particular subject, start with Databases by Subject. For a list of education databases, click here. For databases used in a K-12 setting, click here.
To find the best education database for your needs, first look over the possibilities. There may be a "perfect" database for your topic--such as Career & Technical Education, SportDiscus, or Educational Administration Abstracts. Library science students will want to search Library Literature and Information Science Full Text.
Two comprehensive education databases are useful for most education topics: Education Research Complete and ERIC. Both will help you find articles from education journals; ERIC will also retrieve ERIC documents--items such as research reports and papers presented at professional conferences.
Kirkpatrick Library nearly 200 databases from many different vendors. Each database is unique; however, there are several basic commanalities among these resources. Most databases...
Remember to search the database Help function for further information.
Most databases use a search technique based on Boolean logic. This type of search retrieves all records in the database which contain a word or a set of words and uses Boolean operators--words that have special meaning in database searching. The most important operators are AND, OR and NOT. See below for an explanation of these terms. Some databases require the Boolean operators to be capitalized; otherwise, they may be searched just like regular search terms.
Example: girls AND mathematics
Will retrieve records which contain the word “girls” and the word “mathematics.” This operator is used to decrease the number of records retrieved. AND is the most common default Boolean term.
Example: mathematics OR arithmetic
Will retrieve records which contain either the word “mathematics” or the word “arithmetic” -- or both. This operator is used to broaden the number of records retrieved.
Example: charter schools NOT urban
Will retrieve records which contain only the term "charter schools" but not the word "urban." This operator is used to reduce the number of records retrieved. Exercise caution when using NOT; you may eliminate helpful records--such as an article that is predominantly about rural charter schools but includes the term "urban."
Rockwell Schrock coded this Web page to visually demonstrate how Boolean operators work in a search.
Use nesting to preserve the “logic” of your Boolean Search. Nesting is the use of parentheses to put your search words into sets. If you do not use parentheses, Boolean terms are connected according to the default functions of the database. Because it is difficult to keep track of differences in databases and because almost every database accepts parentheses, it is suggested that parentheses ALWAYS be used in a complicated search phrase.
(Huntingtons AND disease) OR chorea
Huntingtons AND (disease OR chorea)
((diabetes OR diabete) AND (hypertension OR (high blood pressure))) NOT therapy
Use truncation to find different forms of words in a Boolean or keyword search. Some databases use the asterisk, some use a dollar sign, and others use the question mark. The symbol may represent one character or multiple characters. It usually applies to word endings and may or may not apply at the beginning or middle of a word. Check the help function of the database you are using to learn the truncation symbol and rules.
counsel*
Will retrieve counsel, counselor, counseling, counseled, etc.
The most common truncation symbols are * and ?
Stopwords are commonly used words that occur frequently in records. Stopwords may be ignored by a search or they may stop a search. Stop words are usually listed in a database's Help screens. Commonly used words rarely help refine your search results and should be avoided.
Some common stop words are: the, an, at, for, from, of, then.
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Different databases treat phrases differently. Some automatically assume two adjacent words are a phrase. Others require the use of quotation marks or parentheses to search for a phrase. Databases that automatically assume two words are a phrase often ignore the quotation marks. Because it is difficult to keep track of differences in databases, it is often helpful to use quotation marks when you enter a phrase. "school choice" An exact phrase finds the words in exactly the same order and will search for "school choice", not "choice school."
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When your search doesn't work out as you'd hoped, ask yourself these questions: Did you misspell any words? |
Some databases include an Index, a list of words used by all the records in a database. A database does not directly search its records but actually searches its Index for your word(s), which then tells the database which records contain those words. Some databases allow you to browse the Index directly. Th ERIC database contains several approaches to the index, including Educational Level, Journal Title, Language, and Author. Using the Author Index is very helpful in locating variant forms of an author's name (such as Mark L. Smith, M. L. Smith, etc.) Stopwords are not included in the database and therefore cannot be searched.
Peer-reviewed journals are also called “refereed” or “juried” journals. They are sometimes called "scholarly" or "academic" journals. The peer review process means that a manuscript is reviewed by others in the same field. These individuals (peers) read and review the manuscript, offering their comments and judgement as to its value. The process is intended to enhance the quality of the refereed or juried publications.
Peer-reviewed journals have characteristics that distinguish them from popular magazines. There is not always a clear-cut distinction between popular magazines and journals; some publications have qualities of both. Following is a comparison of peer-reviewed journals and popular magazines.
Journal articles are written by experts in the field. Often, popular magazine articles are written by a staff writer.
Journal articles are often intended for a person with knowledge in a specific discipline: a medical journal is written for doctors, a legal journal for attorneys, etc.
The author of a journal article is always listed—usually, along with his or her qualifications or brief information about the author.
Journal articles include a list of references. This allows you to see what the sources are and to check them if you wish, providing you with other possible resources.
Scholarly journals are often published by a professional organization or society.
Often, the word “journal” appears in the title. However, this is not always a good clue: Ladies Home Journal, for instance, is a popular magazine.
Often, a journal article is preceded by an abstract, or summary of the content.
Journals do not include advertisements; popular magazines do.
Titles of articles in journals are very revealing of content, not just clever or catchy, as is often the case with popular magazines.
Scholarly journal articles often report on research; they may include theoretical assumptions, methodology, hypotheses, results, and conclusions. Popular magazines may report conclusions as factual (without including all the details and research.)
Ask your professor for a list of recommended titles.
Ask the librarian to help you find a professional journal in a particular field.
Use a discipline-specific index (Education Full Text, ERIC, PsycInfo, etc.) While this strategy will help you find peer-reviewed journal articles, you should be aware that not all citations in such indexes are from peer-reviewed journals.
Use special features of online databases. Many allow you to limit your search to peer-reviewed journals.
Check the Serials Directory, available from the Databases A-Z List, to see if it characterizes the journal in question as “peer-reviewed.”
Check the “Instructions to Authors” section in the journal, where the editor explains the process used to decide whether an article is appropriate for a particular journal.
Look carefully at a journal issue and consider the characteristics listed on the above. If you are in doubt, consult with a librarian or your professor.
JCKL's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is system where you can get books, articles and other materials that are not available at the Kirkpatrick Library or through MOBIUS. Log in using the link below.
After logging in, you can request materials, check on the status of your requests, verify due dates for materials and request renewals for items you currently have checked out.
Statutes begin as bills. When passed into law, they are first published as slip laws or session laws - a chronological arrangement. Federal laws at this stage are given a Public Law number and published in Statutes at Large. Eventually, laws are codified - placed in a subject arrangement. The United States Code is the subject compilation of federal statutes, and Missouri Revised Statutes is the state code. Annotated versions of the code, such as the United States Code Annotated and Vernon's Annotated Missouri Statutes, provide additional notes, histories, and case references.
Missouri law follows a similar pattern as that found in federal statutory law. Laws are first published in a chronological order and later codified into a subject arrangement. Annotated versions of the state code offer additional notes.
PRINT:
Laws of Missouri publishes the laws passed by each session of the Missouri state legislature.
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: Ref KFM7825
Missouri Revised Statutes (Mo.Rev.Stat.) is the codified or subject arrangement of Missouri law.
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: Ref KFM7830 2000 A23, vols. 1-20
Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes (V.A.M.A.) is a privately published set of Missouri statues which contains annotations (notes and additional information) to relevant court decisions.
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: Ref KFM7830 A3 V4
ONLINE:
Click here to find Missouri statutes online.
Slip Laws/Public Laws: When a bill is passed into law, it is published and numbered individually with the Congress number and a sequential number assigned in the order that it is passed. If you know the public law number, you can locate the law. P.L. 94-142 is the legal citation for the 142nd law passed by the 94th Congress, which was The Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Slip laws are kept in the library’s collection until they are replaced by the permanent copy of the United States Statutes at Large.
PRINT:
Slip Laws/Public Laws
Location: UCM Gov Document
Located at the end of the United States Statutes at Large volumes (AE2.111)
ONLINE:
Thomas: Contains full text of Public Laws from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. Laws are listed both by law number order and in bill number sequence.
LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE:
LexisNexis Academic (Access restricted to UCM community)
To search public laws, select U.S. Legal, then Federal Statutes, Codes & Regulations, then Public Laws.
Statutes/Session Laws: The chronological arrangement of the laws and regulations enacted during a session of Congress. The Statute number is assigned to the law at the same time as the Public Law number. A Statutes citation has the volume number, the abbreviation "Stat." for Statutes at Large, and the page number where the law begins. For example, 88 Stat. 4 is the legal citation for the statute that begins on page 4 of volume 88 of the Statutes at Large.
PRINT:
United States Statutes at Large
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: AE 2.111
ONLINE:
Recent volumes available at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/statutes/index.html
United States Code (U.S.C.) - This publication is a subject compilation of current federal statutes of general and permanent application. The statutes are grouped into broad subject topics, or titles. Title 20 is Education. Each title is divided into numbered sections. An index to the set will guide the user to the correct title and section. A citation to the United States Code uses the title number (instead of a volume number); the abbreviation of the edition of the code, the section or part number, and the year of the edition of the code. The symbol § is used to indicate a section or §§ to indicate a range of sections. For example, 42 U.S.C. § 5101 (2000) is the citation to refer to title 42 of the United States Code, section number 5101. 2000 is the year of the most recent edition.
PRINT:
United States Code
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: Y 1.2/5
ONLINE:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html
LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE:
LexisNexis (Access restricted to UCM community)
USCS is the United States Code published by a commercial printer. The Library subscribes to USCS as part of the LexisNexis Academic database. In LexisNexis Academic, select U.S. Legal, then Federal Statutes, Codes & Regulations, then Annotated U.S. Code.
United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A) - a privately published annotated edition of the U.S. Code. It follows the same title and section arrangement but adds editorial notes, discussions, references to other books, and annotations of court decisions interpreting the statute.
PRINT:
United States Code Annotated
Location: UCM Gov Document
Call Number: Ref KF62 W454
Bill Summaries: It is difficult to find copies of bills which were introduced prior to 1989 and never passed into law. In these cases, bill summaries are useful. Bill summaries describe the basic features of bills, changes made to them during the legislative process, and information about the bill’s sponsors. Find bill summaries in Thomas.