Indexes and Abstracts

Indexes, Abstracts and Related Full-Text Databases

This guide provides a listing of selected electronic resources for education that are provided by the University of Chicago Library. Unless otherwise noted, access to these resources is limited to members of the University of Chicago community.

Contents:
Comprehensive for Education--i.e. covering all levels and types of education
Specialized Education Databases
Multi-Disciplinary Databases --including education
Additional Library Resources

Comprehensive for Education i.e. covering all levels and types of education

Education Abstracts on EBSCOHost: Indexes English-language periodicals and yearbooks published in the U.S. and elsewhere. Citations are included for publications since 1983, and abstracts from 1994 to the present. This source began in print in 1929 as The Education Index and continues publication to the present (Location: Regenstein, Reading Room, Floor 4 ; Call No.: Z5813.E25). Subjects include administration, teaching methods and curriculum, literacy, government funding, and more. Covers every age and sector of the educational community from preschool through college. Provides citations for every article of at least one column in length taken from more than 550 sources. Includes citations to book reviews and selected series and supplements. The database is updated monthly.
ERIC on FirstSearch | ERIC on EBSCOhost (select "available databases" to access it) |: This resource is the largest database of materials for education in world. It contains annotated references to journal articles and to nonjournal documents such as research reports, lesson plans, curriculum guides, information analyses, conferences presentations, bibliographies and more. Coverage begins with 1966 and more than 1,000,000 records are included. More information about the ERIC database is available. Important note: the arrangements for production of this database changed substantially in 2004. As a result, new records only began to be added in July 2005. More details about these changes are available.

Specialized Education Indexes

Child Development & Adolescent Studies

Covers materials relating to the growth and development of children through the age of 21. Included are book reviews and abstracts from hundreds of journals, and a bibliography of thousands of technical reports, books, book chapters, theses and dissertations that cover the biomedical and social sciences worldwide. Over 10,000 new records added each year. Based on Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography for 1927-2001 by the Society for Research in Child Development.

Chinese Educational Resources Information Centre Project (Chinese ERIC) (freely available)

This project aims to establish a free electronic database of citations to educational studies from the Chinese communities of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Coverage begins with 1990 and records are in both English and Chinese. Currently the database includes citations for theses and dissertations from the Chinese University and for articles from 18 leading Chinese education journals.

EBSCOHost's Education Databases

From this EBSCOhost page, select "Available Databases" to access the specific resource. Among the numerous databases available to the Library are several specifically for education including:

EBSCO Animals--Provides in-depth information on a variety of topics relating to animals. The database consists of indexing, abstracts, and full text records describing the nature and habitat of familiar animals.
ERIC--same database as described above
Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)--This free resource indexes more than 600 periodicals plus books, research reports, and proceedings. Coverage dates back to the mid-1960s
MAS Ultra School Edition--Designed specifically for high school libraries, this database provides full text for over 500 popular general interest and current events publications with information dating back as far as 1975 for key magazines. It also includes nearly 550 full text pamphlets, 150 full text reference books, nearly 100,000 biographies, 76,000 primary source documents, and an image collection of 116,000 photos, maps and flags.
Primary Search--Provides full text for more than 50 popular, magazines for elementary school research. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles), and full text information dates as far back as 1990.
Professional Development Collection--Specialized collection of journals designed for professional educators. Full-text is included for approximately 500 titles, with some content dating as far back as 1965. The database includes indexing only for about 100 additional titles.
Searchasaurus--special interface for children. This is available on the main EBSCOhost page.
Teacher Reference Center . This is a free database indexing approximately 260 titles.

Educational Administration Abstracts

Summaries of the latest information, research findings and ideas on management aspects of topics such as personnel, curriculum, school-community relations, supervision, minority group relations and professional education.
Online from SwetsWise table of contents since vol.34, 1999 (full-text not available)
Print copy: Reading Rm, floor 4 Regenstein LB2806.A1E23

Educational Research Abstracts (ERA)

This database consists of the indexing provided in seven different abstracting journals since 1995, with links to the full text when available. You must select a periodical title to search individually within the database and access is determined by whether the Library has a print subscription.. The University of Chicago has access to one section within the database: Sociology of education abstracts (Reading Rm, floor 4 Regenstein LC189.A1S67)

IBEDOCS

from the International Bureau of Education, a UNESCO agency -- freely available

Worldwide references to documents and publications, journal titles and articles, reports, books published since 1971, on the organization and development of education (policies, reforms, etc.), educational innovations, curriculum and content of education, literacy.

International Bibliographic Database on Higher education (HEDBIB)--freely available

Available in English, this is a bibliography of more than 30,000 citations to worldwide literature on higher education since 1988. The coverage emphasizes higher education systems, administration, planning and policy, costs and finances, evaluation of higher education, issues related to staff and students, cooperation, mobility and equivalences of degrees, curricula, teaching methods and learning processes. Several organizations participate in the production of this source which is coordinated by the International Association of Universities (IAU). Also available from IAU are databases providing descriptions of educational systems and a list of universities.

International ERIC

International ERIC is an indexing and abstracting resource for non-U.S. writing about education, particularly in developing countries. Covering 1976 to the present, International ERIC consists of two separate databases: the Australian Education Index (1978 to present) and the British Education Index (1976 to present). In addition to significant literature in the fields of British and Australian education, these indexes provide citations to Master's and Doctoral Theses in the field.

Mathematics Education Database = MATHDI

This database provides the indexing contained in the documents section of the publication Zentralblatt für Didaktik der Mathematik (ZDM) / International Reviews on Mathematical Education, published by the European Mathematical Society. The database, beginning with 1976, provides indexing for materials in mathematics education and computer science education at all levels, from pre-school to teacher training and adult education. Topics range from research and practice of mathematics education to the basic pedagogical and psychological issues affecting mathematics education. Approximately 50% of the citations are to journal articles taken from more than 500 journal titles. The remainder of the citations are to a wide array of materials: textbooks, research reports, conference papers, dissertations, curriculum guides, audiovisual materials, software, and monographs including citations for individual chapters. The database utilizes a specialized Mathematics Education Subject Classification (MESC) scheme that includes a digit representing the grade or difficulty level of the material. A list of serial titles indexed by ZDM and MathDI is available.

Multi-disciplinary Databases including Education


Academic Search Premier--via EBSCOHost: This multi-disciplinary database contains full text for 3,350 scholarly publications as well as indexing and abstracting for many additional titles. EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier includes PDF images for the great majority of journals; many of these PDF's are native (searchable) or scanned-in-color. This database provides full text journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study - including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, etc.
Ageline--via CSA: AgeLine, produced by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), is an indexing service for the field of social gerontology--the study of aging in social, psychological, health-related, and economic contexts. The database covers materials published from 1978 forward. References are included to books, journal articles, videos, dissertations, and other materials.
Anthropology Plus via Eureka: Includes the complete contents of the print Anthropological literature (Z5112.A53 Regenstein RR2) from Harvard University's Tozzer Library and Anthropolical Index from the Royal Anthropological Institute of the UK. Describes articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology, including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies, in works published in English and other European languages from the late 19th century to the present. For education, the database is particularly useful for historical and contemporary research on customs and practices in countries and societies around the world. More Information
ArticleFirst: This FirstSearch database indexes periodical articles from 1990 forward for thousands of titles. The records include minimal abstracts and few subject headings.
Contemporary Women's Issues-- via FirstSearch: Indexes books, journals, newsletters, research reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies, and fact sheets. Includes links to full-text for many articles. Subjects covered include sociology, gender studies, psychology, health, education, human rights and more. Coverage dates back to 1992. The database provides access to information on women in more than 150 countries.
CQ Electronic Library: From Congressional Quarterly Press, this database includes a wide variety of resources about American government, policy, and law. Education is among the major topics treated in the various components of the library. The Public Affairs Collection includes primary documents, court opinions, legislative information, bibliographies and related websites. The CQ Researcher provides in-depth analyses of policy issues.
Current Contents--available through ISI's Web of Knowledge: Lists tables of contents for thousands of journals with bibliographic data for each article. Abstracts are also available. Searchable by journal title, article title, authors, keywords, and corporate source.
Dissertation Abstracts--now known as ProQuest Digital Dissertations: Covers the dissertations accepted at accredited institutions in the U.S. since 1861. Author- provided abstracts are included since 1980 for Ph.D. dissertations and for masters theses since 1988. University of Chicago has full-text access to dissertations included in the database since 1997.
Facts On File via FirstSearch: This is a full-text database providing current news analysis with an emphasis on public policy topics. Records consist of narrative summaries, links to related topics, and when possible, links to the full-text of the original reports, speeches, and legal materials. It has a regular section for Education: News in Brief and also covers in more depth topics such as new education legislation, high-stakes testing, and privatization. For example, a search for "schools and vouchers" will retrieve many reports of legislative actions, court decisions, and news analyses.
FRANCIS (International Humanities and Social Sciences)--via RLIN's Eureka: FRANCIS covers a wide range of multilingual, multidisciplinary information in the humanities (67%), social sciences (30%), and economics (3%). FRANCIS is strong in religion, the history of art, psychology, and literature, with particular emphasis on current trends in European and world literature. Is also useful for citations to educational topics ranging from history and philosophy to current European affairs. FRANCIS represents a wide range of materials, including serials, journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, French dissertations, exhibition catalogs, legislation, teaching materials, and reports. Updated monthly, FRANCIS covers 1984 to the present.
GPO on FirstSearch: This database corresponds to the GPO Monthly Catalog, a listing of U.S. government publications by the Government Printing Office (GPO). It includes citations for all reports and hearings of Congressional committees, Congressional debates and records, judiciary materials, documents issued by executive agencies such as the Education, State and Labor Departments, and documents issued by the Office of the President. Coverage is for publications issued from July 1976 to the present. A version of this database is freely available on the web from GPO Access. The FirstSearch version provides indexing for more years, whereas the free version includes links to more full-text of official government publications.
International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ), 1983--: Corresponding to the Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur : IBZ, this is the most international index for foreign-language publications that covers all academic disciplines. It does not include full-text. The coverage of the electronic version begins with 1983; the print title (and its variants) goes back to the 1890s (AI9.I6 Reading Room 1st floor Regenstein).
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe: Academic Universe provides full-text access to a wide range of news, business, legal, political, and reference information from major trade journals, business and financial publications, and general magazines. Indexing and selected full-text is provided for a very large number of news sources, including the Chicago Maroon (1997--, within 24 hours of publication), the Chicago Sun-Times (1992--, within 2 weeks of publication) and the Chronicle of Higher Education (1997--, one month following publication). The database is especially useful for political and legal information. It includes court cases, federal regulations, federal and state codes, and materials for international law, as well as legal news and law reviews. The education law category includes selected law cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal, all U.S. Federal District Courts, and from the state courts of all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Library Literature on FirstSearch: Beginning with 1980, this index includes records for selected library journals, books (more than 600 a year), conference proceedings, library school theses, pamphlets, and book reviews. Covering the full range of librarianship and information science, example subjects are education for librarianship, school libraries and media centers, information literacy, use of the internet, children's literature collections and reference sources and more. Both English and non-English records are provided and the index covers more than 360 sources.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)--via CSA: LLBA indexes and abstracts journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, technical reports and conference papers on all aspects of theoretical and applied linguistic research in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Coverage includes psycholinguistics, semantics, discourse analysis, interpersonal communication, hearing and speech physiology, psychopathology, nonverbal communication, psychometrics, child language acquisition, computational and mathematical linguistics, language therapy, dialectology, artificial intelligence, bilingualism and other related areas. Coverage begins with 1973 and includes materials from all countries and in all languages of the world (but with limited coverage of dissertations).
Mental Measurements Yearbook--via OVID: This searchable database includes extracts from the full-text of the reviews and descriptive information about tests and measurement instruments that are contained in the print title of the same name (Z5814.P8R91 Regenstein 4th Floor Reading Room). Coverage begins with the 9th edition (1980) and continues to the present. The database is updated every six months. The producer of the database, the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, removes older entries from the database when a new edition of a test is published. Buros offers a free service, Test Reviews Online, that provides excerpts from reviews for more than 4,000 commercially published tests.
PAIS International on FirstSearch: Published by OCLC Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS), this database indexes materials covering global public policy and social issues. It provides selective bibliographic access to periodicals, books, hearings, reports, gray literature, government publications, Internet resources, and other publications from 120 countries. The database contains more than 480,000 records, each with bibliographic information and brief, descriptive abstracts. Includes materials in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish with English language abstracts and subject headings. More than 3,600 sources are selectively included in the PAIS index, which provides coverage since 1972 and is updated monthly. This database is especially valuable for education policy matters, covering the range from federal-state relations and education finance to innovations and reforms. For example, a subject search for educational tests retrieves references to journal articles, news magazines, monographs, and reports from government commissions and think tanks. Links to full-text journal articles are provided as well as to available online research reports . Another valuable feature is that every citation is linked to a publisher record that includes contact information and web address. Also available on FirstSearch is the PAIS Archive that contains approximately 1,000,000 records, originally published in the PAIS Bulletin, 1915-1976.
PapersFirst: This is an OCLC index of papers presented at selected conferences worldwide since 1993. It covers every published congress, symposium, conference, exposition, workshop and meeting received by The British Library Document Supply Centre. The index is derived from the conferences listed in Proceedings First.
Periodical Abstracts on FirstSearch: Indexes and and provides short abstracts for significant articles from more than 2,400 general and academic periodicals. Full-text is available for approximately one-half of the titles. Topics covered range from business, current affairs, and cultural events, to academic disciplines such as economics, history, literature, sociology, psychology, religion, and women's studies. It also contains records for transcripts of significant segments of more than 80 news- and lifestyle-oriented television and radio programs. Indexing coverage is from 1987 to the present; the full-text content varies but is generally for more recent years.
Periodicals Contents Index (PCI): Indexes the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues (some going back to 1770) up to 1990/91. Offers full-text for the backfiles of a few hundred titles.
PsycINFO on Ovid: PsycINFO corresponds to the American Psychological Association's Psychological Abstracts. It contains non-evaluative summaries of selected journal articles, technical reports, dissertations, and chapters and books in psychology and related disciplines, such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology and linguistics. Coverage is international in scope. The database includes references to materials from 1887 to the present. More information about this database is available.
Sexual Diversity Studies: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Abstracts-- via NISC's Biblioline: Sexual Diversity Studies (formerly Gay and Lesbian Abstracts) primarily indexes publications addressing social, legal, economic, political, cultural, historical, literary, and health concerns. It indexes a variety of materials including non-fiction, reviews, and essays, excluding only fiction and erotica. Sources include journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, dissertations, studies, websites & web documents, and multi-media publications.
Social Services Abstracts--via CSA: Social Services Abstracts, since 1980, provides bibliographic coverage of research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,600 serial publications and includes citations to dissertations and book reviews.
Social Work Abstracts--via Ovid: Social Work Abstracts, produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), contains information on the fields of social work and human services from 1977 to present. The database provides coverage of more than 450 journals in all areas of the profession, including theory and practice, areas of service, social issues, and social problems.
Sociological Abstracts-- via CSA: Provides access to research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It includes citations since 1963 (and abstracts since 1974) for articles in over 1,500 journals. Draws information from an international selection of journals, serials, conference papers, books, and dissertations. Tthere are some links to full-text available in other databases to which the Library subscribes.
SPORTDiscus--via EBSCOhost: The SPORTDiscus database provides bibliographic citations to research literature from around the world for sport, physical fitness and physical education topics. It offers bibliographic coverage of literature discussing sport, sports medicine, biomechanics, psychology, training, coaching, and other related topics. Citations to theses and monographs date back to 1949, and journal coverage back to 1975. The database producer, SIRC, is the Sport Information Resource Centre of Canada, and many countries contribute to the central SportDiscus database as "indexing partners." While SportDiscus is primarily an indexing database, there is some full-text available.
UNESBIB | UNESDOC -- both freely available: These databases are made freely available by UNESCO. UNESDOC includes the full texts of official UNESCO documents (about 20,000). Contents include speeches of Directors General since 1987, Executive Board documents since 1992, the General Conference since 1991, and Resolutions and Decisions since 1946. UNESBIB includes citations to all documents and publications issued by UNESCO since 1972. Documents include conference papers, reports, Executive Board and General Conference documents, and speeches of the Director General. Publications include books and articles in UNESCO periodicals. Both databases utilize the controlled vocabularly of the UNESCO Thesaurus for indexing. It is trilingual (English, French and Spanish) and synonyms are listed for the English terms. The most recent print edition of the UNESCO Thesaurus is 1995 and the Library has a copy: Reading Rm, floor 1 Regenstein fZ695.U35 1995. The first edition, 1977, is 2 volumes and locates in Regenstein bookstacks: fZ695.U35 1977. The UNESCO Information Service provides access to many additional databases; additional information is available.
Web of Science: The Web of Science, now one component of the ISI Web of Knowledge, is a unique citation database that indexes thousands of research journals in many languages. It corresponds to the print indexes Science Citation Index Expanded (1945--), Social Sciences Citation Index (1956--), and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1975--). The Web of Science is most useful when you have identified a key author or paper and wish to trace who has since cited the work in the scholarly journal literature, or when you wish to trace the articles that your key author cited in his or her footnotes.
Wilson Select Plus on FirstSearch: This database provides access to full-text articles in science, humanities, education and business from more than 1400 sources. It includes a core selection of US and international professional publications, academic journals, and trade magazines. Titles included range from the Nation and Christian Century to Black Issues in Higher Education and USA Today. Coverage begins with 1994.

Additional Library Resources

The Library offers hundreds of additional databases ranging from those that cover broad categories of information to very specialized ones.
* This page describes a variety of options the Library offers for accessing its major electronic resources.
* Records are also included in the the Library's online catalog.
* Many of the subject pages maintained by bibliographers also include descriptions of important electronic sources.
* Also see Keeping Current from the Crerar Science Library that describes several alerting services for scholarly literature.