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ED 622: Research in Education: Using References

Finding References

As you find books, articles, eBooks, websites, etc. to support your research, you'll want to take advantage of the research that was used to write those sources. Looking for a Bibliography, Works Cited, or References list is an efficient way to research. In books, you may find the resources listed at the end of the book, at the end of a chapter, or at the end of sections within a chapter.

Using Book Sources

If you are looking for a book:

Usually you will want to conduct a title search, or perhaps keywords from the title and the author's last name, and search in OneSearch to see if SMSU owns the book. If SMSU doesn't own it, use the dropdown menu in OneSearch to search "All MnPALS Libraries."  (See Search Scopes on the OneSearch tab for more information.)

For example, if this is the citation I found:
Karge, B. D. (2023). Watch, listen, ask, learn: How school leaders can create an inclusive environment for students with disabilities. Solution Tree Press.

I would either search by the title Watch, listen, ask, learn: How school leaders can create an inclusive environment for students with disabilities OR I would search for Watch listen ask learn Karge.

Using Articles

If you want to find a full-text article:

There are many options to search for full-text articles:  

  1. Searching in a specific database. This option works great if you are lucky enough to get the correct database that the journal is indexed in. As you've seen by using the databases, not all publications are indexed in all databases. If you choose to do this option, you could either type in the article title into the search box or look for a Publications tab or search option where you can determine if the journal you need is in that database. While you may have luck with this route, it might not be the most efficient.
  2. Searching multiple databases at once. If you look at the A to Z Database List, you'll see entries for EBSCO Database Selection Menu and ProQuest Databases - ALL. From those lists, you can select to search in all of the databases from those vendors at one time. Once you get to the search screen, you could either search by the article title and/or part of the title and the author's name, or you could browse a Publications list (in most databases) to see if the publication is available in the databases.
  3. Searching in OneSearch. If you search for the article title and multiple results are returned (especially if your title isn't unique), you may want to use the filters on the left to narrow your options.  This route is most useful and efficient if you have a unique article title or if you have no idea which database(s) to search in.
  4. Using the Journals search in OneSearch.  When you are in OneSearch, you'll see a Journals option across the top of the page. Using the Journal Search allows you to look by Journal Title or ISSN. After typing in the journal title, you'll get a list of results indicating if SMSU holds the title in print or electronic format. If the journal you are interested in is full-text in a database, it will tell you which database(s) have it. If it is a print title we have at SMSU, it will show you the holdings so you can see the publication date you are interested in. If we don't have it available full-text, it will let you know that as well. (Note that doesn't mean you can't get a copy of the article, but you'd need to request it via Interlibrary Loan.) 
  5. You could also use the eJournals tab on the library's homepage to type in the journal's title or ISSN and follow the trail for that title (if available). 

Unless you have a very unique article title, choosing option 4 or 5 is an efficient way to find if SMSU has a journal article available in full-text.

For example, this is the journal article I'm trying to see if SMSU has full-text access to:

Sermier Dessemontet, R., Geyer, M., Linder, A.-L., Atzemian, M., Martinet, C., Meuli, N., Audrin, C., & de Chambrier, A.-F. (2024). Effects of shared text reading for students with intellectual disability: A meta-analytical review of instructional strategies. Educational Research Review, 44, 100615-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2024.100615

In this example, I do have a unique article title, so I could have success using the OneSearch box on the library homepage. In that case, I'd type in Effects shared text reading students intellectual disability and be able to find the title relatively quickly. However, if the title I'd been looking for was something more generic like Shared Text Reading I may have to sift through more articles to find my specific citation. In that case, I might want to do a search for the title of the Journal (Educational Research Review) first to see if we have it available full text. There are two places to do that:

  1. On the library homepage, click the eJournals tab and do a search for the journal title and click submit. If that journal is available full-text, it should display.

  2. You can go into OneSearch and click the Journals tab across the top and do a search for the Journal title there. Again, if it is available, you see a link in the list.