Virtual Education Research Assistant 

The Virtual Education Research Assistant is a guide to education resources available through Nova Southeastern University's Electronic Library. Books, journal articles, practicums, MARPs, dissertations and research documents can be searched electronically via a number of online databases. 

Users can search NovaCat, the Nova Southeastern University Libraries' online public catalog to find books, periodicals and other items located in NSU's libraries. WorldCat allows users to locate material in other libraries outside of NSU.  In addition, users can also search individual library catalogs throughout the world via the Internet using either Hytelnet through Inter-Links or the World Wide Web. 

 The most popular program for research in education is the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC.)  Researchers can use ERIC to find citations and abstracts for periodical articles and research documents in education. Additional databases that provide citations and abstracts for topics in education include WilsonWeb Education Full Text and Library Literature, and PsycINFO. 

Several other databases that  include selective citations and abstracts for education material are Sociological Abstracts and Social Sciences Abstracts. 

Users interested in full text access can find educational material on WilsonWeb Education Full Text.  Some education material is available full text on ProQuest Direct, JSTOR, and  Wilson Select and Expanded Academic ASAP.  Use the Full-text Journal Seach to find a journal that you need in these databases. EDRS E* Subscribe Full Text is available for full text ERIC Documents (ED) from 1996 on. 

Many NSU graduate students in Education need to prepare a Major Applied Research Project (MARP), Practicum or Applied Dissertation. NSU's Distance Library Service maintains a collection of MARPS and Practicums on microfiche that students can use.  Users can search the Marps, Practicums and Applied Dissertations Database using keyword or an author search.  Researchers may also wish to work with dissertations and can search Digital Dissertations. 

• Locating Books
• Locating Periodicals
•    1. What is the Difference between Periodicals, Magazines, Journals, and Serials?
•    2. Locating Peer Reviewed or Refereed Journals
•    3. Locating Primary Research 
• ERIC 
•    1. What are ED and EJ?
•    2. A Beginner's Step-by-Step Instructions for Searching ERIC (in FirstSearch)
•    3. Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors
• Databases in the Social Sciences
• Full text Databases in the Social Sciences
• Locating Dissertations, Theses, Practicums, Etc.
• NSU Marps, Practicums and Applied Dissertations 
• Reference Sources in Education 
• Electronic Journals and Newsletters in Education 
• Locating Lesson Plans via the World Wide Web 
• Internet and World Wide Web Sites in Education 
• Listservs 
• Tests and Measurements
• Education Libraries
• Using the APA Style Manual