You can begin searching ERIC via EBSCOhost simply by typing a search term directly into the search box and pressing 'Search'. However, this frequently results in an extremely large number of results. Using the initial search boxes you can add or exclude terms by using the Boolean operators (and/or/not) pull-down menus on the left side of the box. Additionally, you can search a specific field in the record by using the pull-down menus to the right side of the search box.

ERIC Documents (ED) vs ERIC Journals (EJ)
Every ERIC citation has a number beginning with either ED or EJ.

ED (ERIC Document): Numbers that begin with an ED refer to ERIC documents. These are non-journal items, such as project reports, lesson plans, curriculum guides, and conference papers. These are referred to as ERIC microfiche documents, because they are available in microfiche format. Microfiche collections are located throughout the state.

EJ (ERIC Journal article): Numbers that begin with an EJ refer to journals found in ERIC. ERIC indexes articles that have been published in over 800 professional journals. The EBSCOhost version contains some full-text articles. When you are looking at your search results, Check linked full text sources will appear next to articles available online. Check the FPC catalog to determine if the library subscribes to a journal if full text is not available online.

Using the Thesaurus:
The ERIC Thesaurus is an alphabetical listing of the descriptors, (or controlled vocabulary or subject headings), that are assigned to each article and document indexed by ERIC. An indexer reads each article and determines its subject content. The article is then assigned a number of descriptors (controlled vocabulary subject terms.) The same term is always used for the same concept. Although various authors discussing the holding back of students may talk about "retention", "repeating a grade" or "holding back", any article which discusses this topic will be assigned the ERIC Descriptor "grade repetition".

To access the Thesaurus click on the Thesaurus button in the top menu bar. Enter your search term in the second box on the page. (The first box is for searching the database.) Enter the term for which you are searching: ex. 'Classroom Management'. ERIC uses the term 'Classroom Techniques'. For a definition of a term, click on the linked term.

Exploding a term: Adds related terms to your search. For example, checking the 'Explode' box for the term 'Ability' will create this search: (DE "Ability" OR DE "Academic Ability" OR DE "Cognitive Ability" OR DE "Competence" OR DE "Language Proficiency" OR DE "Leadership" OR DE "Nonverbal Ability" OR DE "Skills" OR DE "Spatial Ability" OR DE "Verbal Ability")

Major Concept: Checking the 'Major Concept' box in the thesaurus limits your search to records where the subject heading is the major point of the article. Helpful in narrowing searches.

Using Limiters:
Limiters can be helpful when a search has returned too many results. There are several ways to narrow your search. They can be used individually or in conjunction with each other.

Full-text: limits results to articles with only linked full-text. May exclude many useful references.

Journal or Document: allows you to limit to either ED's or EJ's

Audience: allows you to choose audience the article was written for (i.e. administrators, parents, teachers, etc.)

Government Level: allows you to specify the administrative level which created the document (i.e. state, federal, foreign)

Language: allows you to restrict results to those written in a specific language (i.e. English, Spanish, French, etc.)