Using Scout for Research
Scout is UA Libraries discovery search tool. It is a great place to begin your research as it will simultaneously search throughout much of the content that UA Libraries has access to. This includes print books, e-books, periodicals, databases, journals, primary sources, and streaming video. There are numerous filtering tools available within Scout to help you narrow down your results.
To learn more about how to use Scout for research, check out our asynchronous learning module, Navigating and Using Scout for Research. This module includes both a learn-at-your-own-pace series of lessons, as well as a set of short-form video tutorials to help you become more familiar with using Scout.
Using Databases for Research
UA Libraries has access to almost 700 databases. You can access all of these databases from the libraries' home page. When trying to select a database for your topic keep the following in mind:
- Consider what types of literature you are looking for.
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Conference proceedings
- Theses and dissertations
- Evidence-based research or case studies
- Use the database descriptions to guide you toward the databases that index the type of literature you are searching for.
- When using a database take some time to explore the features and tools available within it.
- Look for filters and limiters
- Identify if there is a controlled vocabulary list or a thesaurus
- Identify the different options available for saving search results
How to Find Databases at UA Libraries
This video will demonstrate how to access available databases at through the University of Alabama Libraries' main website.
Selected Educational Databases
Below is a small selection of databases that are typically good sources for scholarly research in the filed of education.
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ERIC EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
ERIC Uses the EBSCO search screen interface. ERIC is the world's largest source of information on education and provides indexing and abstracting for articles and documents from 1966 onward.
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Education Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
The comprehensive full-text research database is designed for education students, professionals, and policymakers, covering all levels of education and specialties like multilingual education, health education, and testing.
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APA PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new window
PsycARTICLES provides full text articles from journals published by the American Psychological Association (APA), the APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association, and Hogrefe & Huber.
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Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new window
The Chronicle, published weekly, is a top source for news, advice, and job listings for academe professionals. Its website offers daily news, advice columns, job listings, articles, discussion forums, and career-building tools like online CV management and salary databases.
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Educator's Reference Complete (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference is a comprehensive collection of journals and periodicals covering various educational levels, specialties, administration, funding, and policy issues.
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SAGE Research Methods Online This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods is an online research tool created to help students and researchers across the social and behavioral sciences to design research projects, understand methods or identify new methods, conduct research, and write up their findings.
