ERIC Search Strategies

ERIC is also known as the Education Resources Information Center. This is a comprehensive database of articles, journals, conference papers and research work and is accessible to all. It is of particular importance to academicians, educators, students and librarians. However, searching for relevant material in the right manner can be a tricky thing and this is where ERIC search strategies come in handy. The search could be by keyword, author, publication, or topic.

You could start off ERIC search strategies by typing in the key words or phrases in the topic you are researching. For example, if your are seeking information on classroom activities for adult education then “adult education” and “teaching methods” would be your search terms. Enter this information in the appropriate search box and select the options such as “title”, “author” and so on. You will also have the option to limit your searches by publications or the year of publication.

Keep in mind that there are not many full texts available in the ERIC database. Hence, while entering the criteria during your ERIC search strategies make sure you do not choose the “full texts” option, since this will severely limit the useful results you will obtain. After you click on the search option, a list of possible matches will be displayed, usually in the order of relevancy.

Some of the results displayed using ERIC search strategies might give you the option of saving or printing, at times both. At times you may find an option redirecting you to the site where the queried article may be found. Using standardized subject terms from the ERIC thesaurus might help simplify the search process on this extensive database to a certain extent. These are but a few of the ways in which the ERIC search strategies can be applied to make research and assistance easier.