Technology Matters

Using the ERIC Web Site and Database

Volume 3 / Issue 2 / Winter 2003

Making decisions about the education of a gifted child is not easy. Parents often are not familiar enough with the research on gifted education to make informed decisions. The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database and related services offer help. ERIC is the information database of the U.S. Department of Education, which catalogs over a million articles from educational journals and other documents, such as research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, and books from 1966 to the present.

To search ERIC, go to www.ericae.net and choose “Search ERIC.” Because documents are classified by keywords, finding information by entering words that seem applicable can be difficult. For example, the word parenting does not appear in the ERIC database; it is indexed under child rearing. Fortunately, the ERIC Search Wizard can help you find the correct terms to use. The Wizard can also narrow broad terms and suggest related terms for more precise results.

After you enter a term, the Wizard offers a list of terms on the right side of the page that are used in the ERIC thesaurus. Select the term(s) you want to search by clicking boxes and adding them to the search set. Up to three terms or sets of terms can be included. You may also specify a type of document, the range of dates you wish to search, the number of entries you want on each page, and whether to view a short or a long description of each entry.

After entering your search criteria, you will receive a list of matching entries. Each entry lists bibliographic information, such as title, author, and type of document, and includes an abstract of the document to help you determine if the full document will be helpful. If you find an article or document that contains the information you need, click “Find Similar” to locate other entries that might meet your needs. Each entry in the database has a number. Those beginning with “EJ” are journal articles; those beginning with “ED” are other documents, such as books, research reports, and curriculum materials.

The ERIC database archives abstracts only, not full-text documents. Many academic libraries, however, house ERIC documents on microfiche. If you do not have access to such a library, you may order documents through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS.com). Paper copies cost $7.25 per 25-page increment, and electronic copies in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) cost $6.00 per document (Adobe Reader 4.0 or higher is required). About 95 percent of documents published after 1992 are available through electronic delivery.

If you do not want to search ERIC on your own, you can access a few expert searches that have been conducted on popular topics, including ability grouping for gifted students, identification of minority gifted children, and models for teaching gifted children. Through a service called AskERIC (www.askeric.org) you can also e-mail professionals who will conduct searches for you and send the results within two business days.

Those who need information quickly may search the ERIC Digests database, which contains free 1,000–1,500-word summaries of research on current educational issues. Each digest offers an overview and lists references for further information. The database, updated quarterly, contained 2,576 digests as of June 2002.
—G. Denise Lance, Ph.D.

Denise Lance is research associate at the BeachCenter on Disability at the University of Kansas and teaches an on-line course on including exceptional children in general education for the University of San Diego.

Editor’s Note: At press time, the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education had proposed eliminating funding for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education and the ERIC Office of Special Education Programs special project.