Research Guides: Educational Studies 280: Intro to Education Policy : Researching the Issues

Getting Started

Need an overview of the issues?
CQ Researcher provides summaries of issues relevant to the American public:

CQ Researcher
Find pro/con essays and background information about current events.

Scholarly Sources

Need a scientific study to back up a claim? Want to impart some academic authority into your discussion?
Find some scholarly literature on these databases

Communication Studies

Communication & Mass Media Complete
Citations to articles from journals covering the fields of communication studies, journalism, and mass media.

English

MLA International Bibliography with Full Text
The Modern Language Association International Bibliography covers scholarship in a broad range of Humanities disciplines related to global literature's and languages.

Educational Studies

ERIC
Indexes articles in over 775 journals as well as reports, conference proceedings, and curriculum guides in education and related areas.

Psychology

PsycINFO
This database contains peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.

Religious Studies

ATLA Religion Database: 1949 - present
Citations to articles, books, doctoral dissertations, and book reviews on all aspects of religion and theology.

Sociology

Sociological Abstracts
Citations to articles in sociology and social and behavioral sciences journals; also indexes reviews, monographs, and conference reports.

Multidisciplinary Databases

ProQuest Research Tools
Multidisciplinary collection of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, e-books, dissertations, and more. Search includes all of the Davidson College Library ProQuest databases.
Ebsco Research Tools
Search across most EbscoHost article databases as well as the Ebsco e-book collection; interdisciplinary in scope. Note: this search excludes America: History & Life, Historical Abstracts, and L'Année philologique.
Includes:
--Academic Search Complete
--Anthropology Plus
--Applied Science & Business Periodicals Retrospective: 1913-1983
--Art Full Text
--Art Index Retrospective
--ATLA Religion Database
--Biography Index Retrospective: 1946-1983
--Biography Reference Bank
--Book Review Digest Plus
--Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1903-1982
--Communication & Mass Media Complete
--EconLit
--Essay and General Literature Retrospective
--Education Index Retrospective: 1929-1983
--Film & Television Literature Index
--GreenFILE
--Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984
--Index Islamicus
--Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
--Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts
--Music Index Full Text
--Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective: 1908-1981
--International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text
--MLA International Bibliography
--eBook Collection
--OmniFile Full Text Mega
--PsycARTICLES
--PsycINFO
--Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982
--RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
--Short Story Index Retrospective: 1915-1983
JSTOR
JSTOR is an online library of journals, academic ebooks, images, and primary sources. Includes ArtStor licensed images.

Find more Article Databases on our Databases by Subject Page

Government Resources

Be sure to look up the local government council and the policy documents and minutes available there.
The Federal Government has a stake in reporting on issues that matter to American citizens. You might find information on your issue here:

USA.gov
The U.S. Government's official Web portal.

Legal Sources

Does your research intersect with legal issues? Consult some of these resources:

Legal Information Institute
The full text of U.S. Supreme Court Opinions (1990 to present), federal and state court decisions, the current U.S. Code, the U.S. Constitution, and state constitutions and codes. Also provides background information on a variety of legal topics allowing users from outside the legal profession to more easily access and understand the laws that govern them.
Nexis Uni
Coverage of news and current events, government, business, medical, and legal topics, as well as general reference information is included.
Use is restricted to current faculty and staff and currently-enrolled students of Davidson College only.
WestLaw Campus Research
WestSearch examines all core legal content for the jurisdiction you choose.
Note: Usage is unlimited however document delivery is limited. Recommended best practice is to bookmark documents in your browser rather than download.

Data Sources

Sage Data
Explore a vast collection of US and international statistics in Data-Planet Statistical Datasets.
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
ICPSR is an archive of behavioral and social science data; most datasets are raw, primary data drawn from surveys, censuses, and administrative records.
To download datasets you must set up an account using your Davidson email. Davidson is a member of ICPSR; use of the data is restricted to Davidson students, faculty and staff engaged in non-commercial research projects.

Educational Studies 280: Intro to Education Policy

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