Early Childhood Education Research Guide

Finding Articles

Finding journal articles on a particular topic involves selecting a database, executing a keyword search, and then determining if the article is available at the Ryerson Library, either in print or electronic.

Using ERIC to find Journal Articles (video tutorial)

Selecting a Database

To find an appropriate database, choose the Articles and Indexes page, and then view the suggested databases for your subject area under Find an Article/Index by Subject. If your topic is interdisciplinary or not subject-specific, you may also want to look at the databases under All Purpose Indexes/Databases.

Executing a Keyword Search

Once you've chosen a database, you can enter the keywords you wish to search, using the same Boolean logic used to search the catalogue. You may wish to review use of the Boolean connectors 'and' and 'or' before you begin searching. For example, if you were looking for articles on early intervention for children with autism, a keyword search could be:

early intervention and autism

Databases often contain large numbers of records spanning a number of years, and you may find that you retrieve too many records. Databases are extremely flexible, and will allow you to limit the amount of items you retrieve through a number of ways, such as applying a date range, allowing you to specify the material type, and limiting to peer reviewed articles only. Make use of these limits when appropriate.

Determining Article Availability

When you are searching a database or an index, sometimes only the journal citation, which includes the article title, author(s), journal title, volume, issue, year and abstract, is available. A sample journal citation is below:

In most cases, the full text of the article will be available in the database, either in HTML or PDF format. Where it is not available, you will see the Get It! Ryerson button. When you click on Get It! Ryerson, a search is done of the Library's holdings to determine if we have access to the journal, either in print or electronic. If the journal is available in print, a link to the catalogue record is provided. If it is available electronically, a link to the full text of the journal is provided. If the journal you are looking for is not available at Ryerson, you can submit an Interlibrary Loan request via RACER.

Need help?

Remember to ask for Reference help when you are experiencing difficulty. Assistance is available in-person, over the phone, via e-mail and on-line chat.