Course-Related Guide:
Research Methods--School Administration
These links provide
information, texts, and other resources to serve as starting
points in your research on topics in school administration. Questions or suggestions may be sent to
Benjamin Harris, the
library's liaison for the Education Department.
Reference Resources
Use reference resources to help focus on a topic, develop keywords
for searching, and to locate subject-specific bibliographies.
The following texts can all be found in the library's Reference
department on the library's third floor.
Dictionary of Multicultural Education. REF LC 1099 D53 1997
Encyclopedia of Education. REF LB 15 E47 2003
Encyclopedia of Educational Research. 6th ed. REF LB 15 E48 1992, 4
vols.
Encyclopedia of Special Education, 2nd ed. REF LC 4007 E53 2000, 3
vols.
Gatti, Daniel
Jon. Educator’s Encyclopedia of School Law. REF KF 4114.5 G37 1990
Mitchell, Bruce M. Encyclopedia of Multicultural Education. REF LC
1099.3 M58 1999
Philosophy of Education: An Encyclopedia. REF LB 17 P485 1996
Unger, Harlow G. Encyclopedia of American Education. REF LB 17 U54
1996, 3 vols.
Databases
Use databases to find journal articles, magazines articles, and
newspaper articles on your topic. When you find useful keywords
in your search, make note of these and use the same words and
combinations of words in other search situations.
The following databases may be particularly
helpful for this course.
Academic Search Complete
Designed specifically for academic institutions, this is the
world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly,
multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300
full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed
journals. In addition to full text, this database offers
indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a
total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports,
conference proceedings, etc.
CQ Researcher
Full text coverage, including search capability, of CQ Researcher, which
provides in-depth analysis of contemporary issues. May not focus
specifically on education but will deal with topics relevant to educators.
Education Abstracts
Index and abstracts to leading publications in education. Coverage includes
classroom computers, comparative education, educational technology, language
and linguistics, literacy, multicultural/ethnic education, PE and athletics,
psychology, religious education, special education, teacher evaluation, etc.
Indexing is more thorough in this database than in ERIC.
ERIC
Citations, abstracts and some full text articles in education periodicals and
other publications. Also includes full text versions of education documents
published after 1991. Coverage includes most aspects of education.
Many good studies, research projects and unpublished material available in
this database.
Professional Development Collection
Index to professional literature in the field of education. Some full text
is available and as always, use the "Find Full Text at TOUR" feature to locate
the text online in a different database.
Books
Use Quest, the library's online catalog, to find books on your
topic. The following titles were located using the keyword
"action research" in a search of the catalog. Keyword
searches are the most effective way to locate resources in the
library when you do not know the title or author's name. Several
of the titles in the following list are electronic books
available online. If you're not
sure how to access electronic books, ask me, or
visit the Help Desk on the library's third floor.
Action Research: Teachers as Researchers in
the Classroom (2006)
Action Learning and Action Research: Improving the Quality of
Teaching and Learning (2002)
Enlightened Educator: Research Adventures in the Schools
(1996)
Fieldwork in Educational Settings: Methods, Pitfalls, and
Perspectives (2002)
Teachers Investigate Their Work: An Introduction to the
Methods of Action Research (1993)
Journals
While researchers will use databases to search the contents of
journals, reviewing the current contents of a journal related to
a particular topic during the writing and research process may
assist a writer's invention, arrangement, style, or delivery.
While browsing journals may not be useful for your assignment in
this class, please remember that these professional and
scholarly publications are available for your use.
The following are just a few examples of
journal titles available from the library. We also have
many more, and a good number available in print format.
You can access articles in full-text online for the following
journals by clicking on the
Journals
link at the library's homepage:
Action in Teacher Education
American Educational Research Journal
Educational Leadership
Educational Research
Educational Research Quarterly
History of Education
Journal of Research in Childhood Education
Research in Education
Research Papers in Education
Review of Educational Research
Statistics Education Research Journal
Internet Resources
Internet resources should be evaluated before
they are included in a scholarly project. For standard
criteria developed to evaluate internet resources, visit the
library's page on
Evaluating Web Sites. In addition, web resources are not always
helpful to students and scholars because
(1) website addresses and contents change, making it difficult for a
reader to verify or refer to the source;
(2) websites are difficult to evaluate, often due to missing
information related to authority, currency, and accuracy;
(3) and website authors do not always use materials with
consideration to copyright law.
The following sites have been evaluated and selected for use by your
Trinity librarian, but you should consult with your instructor
before using web resources in your projects or essays.
American
Educational Research Association
Website of the AERA, "a national research
society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to
encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote
the use of research to improve education and serve the public
good."
National Education
Association (NEA)
It can be easy to get lost in this site, the credentials for which
should be obvious. Take note of the "Issues in Education"
link in the toolbar at the left of your screen.
National School Boards Association: School Law Issues
NSBA's School Law Issues pages provide resources, news, and court
decisions on a range of legal issues for public schools. Most news
items and recent cases are from NSBA's free school law
e-newsletter, Legal Clips.
Texas Education Agency
Use the links at the left hand side of the screen to be guided
toward information on many topics relevant to this class.
Also visit the library's
Resources by Subject page for Education.
Cite Your Sources
Refer to the
library's pages for citing sources.
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