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ERIC FAQ - Searching ERIC
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q61Y5YWXL4"></script><script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}gtag('js',new Date());gtag('config','G-Q61Y5YWXL4');</script><title>ERIC FAQ - Searching ERIC</title><meta name="description" content="ERIC is an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education."><meta name="citation_abstract" content="ERIC is an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education."><link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/eric.css?v=0.9" media="all"><link rel="image_src" href="img/icon_fbshare.png"><script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/respond.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/eric.js?v=0.8"></script> <script type="text/javascript">$(function() {});</script> </head> <body id="bdyMain"> <div id="main"> <div id="actionbar"><a href="?note">Notes</a><a href="?faq">FAQ</a><a href="?contact">Contact Us</a></div><div id="logo"><a href="?" id="aHome" title="ERIC Home"><img src="img/eric_results.png" id="imgLogo" alt="ERIC - Institute of Education Sciences" /></a></div> <div id="sbar"> <form id="f"> <div> <div id="tab1" class="sTab"><span>Collection</span></div> <div id="tab1b" class="sTab"><a href="#thesaurus">Thesaurus</a></div> <a id="atips" href="?advanced">Advanced<br />Search Tips</a> <input id="s" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search education resources" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="sopt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="pr" /> Peer reviewed only</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ft" /> Full text available on ERIC</label> </div> </form> <form id="ft" style="display:none"> <div> <div id="tab2b" class="sTab"><a href="#collection">Collection</a></div> <div id="tab2" class="sTab"><span>Thesaurus</span></div> <a id="attips" href="?ti=all">Browse<br />Thesaurus</a> <input id="st" type="text" name="qt" placeholder="Search thesaurus descriptors" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="soptt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ts" /> Include Synonyms</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="td" /> Include Dead terms</label> </div> </form> </div> <div id="r"> <div id="rf"></div> <div id="rr"> <div id="rrw"></div> <div id="rrm"></div> </div> </div> <div id="i"> <div id="details"> <div id="nmleft" style="width:220px"> <div id="nmleft_h" class="FAQNav"> <div><a href="/?faq">FAQ Home</a><ul><li><a href="/?faq-general">General</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-content">ERIC Content</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-fulltext">Full Text</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-peerreview">Peer Review</a></li><li>Searching ERIC</li><li><a href="/?faq-searching_api">Searching ERIC with the API</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-thesaurus">Thesaurus and Identifiers</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-requirements">Awardee and Contractor Requirements</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-submission">Online Submission for Non-awardees</a></li><li><a href="/?faq-records">Changing or Removing Records</a></li></ul></div> </div> </div> <div id="nmmain" style="padding-left:246px"> <div> <div><a class="toggleClear">Open All</a><div class="nmt">Searching ERIC</div><!-- searching --> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Where can I find guidance on the best way to search ERIC?</h3> <p>ERIC’s intuitive search engine does not require complex strategies to return relevant results. For a brief tutorial on searching the ERIC website, access the following video: </p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WkUxARnUHn4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oZ0qBUSTHuY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Does ERIC have an advanced search feature?</h3> <p>The search engine was designed to use smart search technology. If you type what you are looking for without using advanced Boolean logic, the most relevant results will appear as the first results. Learn more about our search engine by viewing the video below. If you would like to use more complex search strategies, you can find information at <a href="/?advanced">https://eric.ed.gov/?advanced</a> and in the video below:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nsB3QliFg44?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Are there any tips for searching on the ERIC Website?</h3> <p>Yes, there are a few things to keep in mind when putting a search string together and the video “5 Quick Do’s and Don’ts for Your ERIC Search” highlights them, particularly:</p> <ul> <li>The default between search terms in the ERIC website is AND (in the API it is OR).</li> <li>You do not need to add a * to search terms to retrieve variations of the search word—ERIC automatically stems terms.</li> <li>You must use straight quote marks such as "term" and not smart or curly quote marks such as “term”.</li> </ul> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>What are the fields in an ERIC record?</h3> <p>The 2021 infographic <img src="img/pdficon_large.png" alt="PDF on ERIC" /><a href="/pdf/ERIC_Field.pdf">Guide to the ERIC Record</a> depicts the record structure and provides a description of most fields. The recorded webinar below presents an overview, takes a deeper look at fields that are not self-explanatory, and answers frequently asked questions. Note that the webinar from 2018 includes the Reference Count field, which is no longer in use in ERIC. The webinar does not include the recently added Related Records field, which identifies documents with the same research cohort or the Data File URL field, which is used by awardees and others to enter a link to their Data Management Plan.</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0dfBShLg_Y?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>How can I find content published in a specific year?</h3> <p>You can search within specific fields using the ERIC field name, which is <b>pubyear</b> for the publication year. Following is an example of the search format to find content using the keyword “algebra” published in the year 2020 – <a href="/?q=algebra+pubyear%3A2020">algebra pubyear:2020</a>. There is more information on field-specific searching on the Advanced Search page at <a href="/?advanced">https://eric.ed.gov/?advanced</a>.</p> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Is it possible to search for records within a publication date range?</h3> <p>Yes. The ERIC website allows for date-range searching (but the API does not). Use the following format – <a href="/?q=algebra+pubyearmin%3a1990+pubyearmax%3a2000">algebra pubyearmin:1990 pubyearmax:2000</a>. See more information on field-specific searching on the Advanced Search page at <a href="/?advanced">https://eric.ed.gov/?advanced</a>. In the API, each year of the desired date range must be searched separately.</p> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>How can I get additional information about IES publications?</h3> <p>For publications produced by IES, ERIC includes a link in the IES Publication field on the record that will re-direct you to the IES website. Here you can find additional information about the publication. The video below explains the ERIC links and the IES publication page.</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PYOQdxILTGQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>How can I find information on the IES grant that funded a publication?</h3> <p>For material published as the result of an IES grant, the ERIC record includes a link on the grant number that will re-direct you to the award information on the IES website. There you will find background information on the grant, as well as additional publications funded by that grant. Learn more on finding IES grant information in ERIC in the video:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PYOQdxILTGQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Is there guidance for using ERIC to conduct a systematic evidence review?</h3> <p>ERIC has search tools available on the website to help you conduct this kind of research. Here’s a recorded webinar that demonstrates the use of these tools for conducting a systematic review:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/At3gaxONpXs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p>You might also be interested in the joint What Works Clearinghouse and ERIC webinar on best practices for conducting a What Works Clearinghouse systematic literature review. Access the recorded webinar to hear the principles underlying a systematic literature search and how to use ERIC effectively for these types of searches:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ejBSKHfrnGQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p>This video shows one way that researchers may want to use the ERIC API to conduct a systematic review. It shows how to use the fields in ERIC to capture all relevant research and how to export findings to a spreadsheet:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4iVbsld7WRA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>Why are certain author names a clickable link?</h3> <p>ERIC began including links to author identification information in the summer of 2016, when available. The links are embedded in the author’s name, and they go to third-party sites (e.g., ORCID) that provide information about the author, including additional publications. Access our video to learn about the kinds of author information you can find using these links. </p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mKQ9iIRbD88?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> <div class="toggleBlock"> <h3>The ERIC record I was viewing has a link to a What Works Clearinghouse study page. What does that mean?</h3> <p>The <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/">What Works Clearinghouse</a> study pages break down all the information in the study, such as the setting, who was studied, how the study was conducted, and the findings, and puts it into a user-friendly website. Access the following video for more information on linking from ERIC to the study pages on the What Works Clearinghouse website:</p> <iframe width="444" height="250" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IXDopo35ioE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="divFooter"><div id="ftrPadding"><div id="ftr"><div id="ftrSocial"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SearchEduResources" id="facebook" style="padding-bottom:5px"><img src="img/icon_facebook.gif" alt="Facebook" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ERICinfo" id="twitter"><img src="img/icon_twitter.gif" alt="Twitter" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a></div><div id="ftrLogos"><a href="http://www.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ed.gif" alt="Department of Education"></a><a href="http://ies.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ies.gif" alt="Institute of Education Statistics"></a></div><div id="centerLinks"><a href="?privacy">Privacy</a> | <a href="?copyright">Copyright</a> | <a href="?contact">Contact Us</a> | <a href="?selection">Selection Policy</a> | <a href="?api">API</a> | <a href="metrics">Metrics</a><div><a href="?journals">Journals</a> | <a href="?nonjournals">Non-Journals</a> | <a href="?download">Download</a> | <a href="submit">Submit</a> | <a href="?multimedia">Multimedia</a> | <a href="?widget">Widget</a></div></div></div><script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/js/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?pga4=55622235&agency=ED&subagency=ERIC"></script></div></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">//<![CDATA[ if(self!=top) {top.location=self.location;} //]]></script> </body> </html>