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Encyclopedias
Provide
excellent background/overview information. An excellent place to
begin research. Contain articles written by experts for a general
audience. Provide indexes indicating scope of coverage of a topic
and pinpointing in which articles a concept will be discussed. Provide
bibliographies for further reading.
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Reference
Books
Handbooks,
dictionaries, statistical sources, tables; detailed or procedural
information specific to the subject areas addressed.
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Databases
and Indexes
Magazine,
periodical and journal articles provide information on current developments,
research trends, experiments and hot topics in a discipline. For
every discipline, there are specific databases or indexes that provide
article level information. Once articles are identified through
the database or index search, look up the source journal in Vikat,
PSU Library's online catalog, to locate them in the library. For
a complete list of online databases and indexes, see the Library's
Online Databases pages.
| ERIC
Database (Ebscohost)
ERIC is THE major database for education (including
special education).
Dept. of Education
interface to ERIC
ERIC
Thesaurus online |
Professional
Development Collection
Provides " abstract and index coverage for over 585 well-known
professional development titles, and searchable full text for
504 journals covering the most current topics in the field of
education." |
Health
Source Plus
Provides consumer health information |
PsycINFO
The psychological and related disciplines literature. This database
is particularly strong for human and child development topics
|
CINAHL
(Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
The CINAHL (Nursing & Allied Health) database provides comprehensive
coverage of the English language journal literature related
to nursing and the allied health disciplines. Focus is more
towards clinical and research rather than in school settings.
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Medline
(PubMed interface)
A database providing citations to the medical research literature.
(Ovid
interface) |
Health
and Psychosocial Instruments
Provides citations to journal articles about measures and instruments.
Helpful in identifying instruments and assessing their value. |
Mental
Measurements Yearbook
Primary source for identifying tests and measures. Includes
test descriptions and extensive scholarly test reviews. |
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Online
Journals
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Subject
Headings
Subject
headings allow you to search library catalogs for materials on a
particular topic. Often subject heading searching can be more productive
than searching by simple keywords. Listed here are some major subject
headings of interest for research in special education and
specific disabilities. Copies of the complete set of the
Library of Congress Subject Headings are available at the reference
desks throughout the library.
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Call
Numbers
Browsing
the library shelves by call number ranges is another strategy
for locating information on a topic; call numbers can help you
get to the "right neighborhood" in the library stacks.
| RE
48 Blindness in Children |
| RJ
Pediatrics |
| LC
3950-4806.5 Exceptional Children and Youth, Special Education |
HV
Social Service to:
888-907 Handicapped Children
1421 -1441 Young Adults, Youth,
Teenagers
1551-3024 Persons with disabilities
(including blind, deaf, persons
with physical and mental disabilities) |
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Organizations
Often
the best way to find information on a topic is to look for material
published by a professional society
or an organization.
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Web
Resources
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| Return
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