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Best Bets for Starting Your Research in...

:: Bilingual and TESOL Education ::

Finding
Articles

Finding
Books

Reference Tools
(Dictionaries, etc.)

Web
Sites

How Do I?


Finding Articles


Use databases to find articles on your topic. These databases are the best place to start.

  • ERIC
    The ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related journal articles and documents.
    Date coverage: 1966-present.
  • ProQuest Education Journals
    Over 745 top educational publications, including nearly 600 of the titles in full text. Covers not only the literature on primary, secondary, and higher education but also special education, home schooling, adult education, and hundreds of related topics.
    Date coverage: 1988-present.

  • Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC)
    Indexes journals in areas related to communication and mass media. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to the communication discipline.
    Date coverage: 1915-present.

  • PsycINFO
    Nearly 2.3 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business, law and others. speaker icon Listen to a fun podcast "interview" with this database: iTunes RealPlayer
    Date coverage: 1872-present.

  • Databases for K-12 Students
    iCONN provides "Kids InfoBits, InfoTrac Junior Edition, InfoTrac Student Edition, and Student Research Center - History & Science for all Connecticut Residents.

Tips: When searching databases, use AND, OR, and parentheses to focus your search.

The asterisk * symbol will search for all variations of a word. For example: intell* will search for intellect and intelligent and intellectual. Using quotes will search for a phrase.

Combine synonyms with OR and put them inside parentheses, like this:

(esl OR tesol) AND education

Here's another example:

"bilingual education" AND (litera* or read*)

Already have the citation? Find an article with citation linker!

Did you know...

Databases are basically just search engines for articles on specific subjects.

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Finding Books


Find books using the library catalog. Browse these subjects to get general information on your topic.

  1. Education Bilingual
  2. English Language Study and Teaching Foreign Speakers
  3. Language and Languages Study and Teaching
  4. Linguistic Minorities Education
  5. Limited English Proficient Students Education

Search the library catalog! Find books, media materials, and more.

Other searches:
Browse | Advanced Search

Tips: When searching the library catalog with keywords, use the dollar sign ($) to search for a word and all of its variations.

For example: Litera$ will search for literacy or literate

Did you know...

  • WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of libraries around the world!
  • If a book isn't in the Fairfield University catalog, search WorldCat and request the book from another library. Just click on the Interlibrary Loan button.
  • You can search ReQuest to search just the libraries in Connecticut.
  • Contact John Cayer, Interlibrary Services, with questions.

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Reference Tools: Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and more


Reference tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are good places to start your research because they provide an overview of the topic as well as keywords, dates, and facts.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias Guides & Yearbooks

  • Directory of Teacher Education Programs in TESOL in the United States and Canada
    Ref. PE1128.A2 D57 2005-2007
  • Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education
    Ref. LC3707 .E53 1998

  • Mental Measurements Yearbook
    Descriptive information, critical reviews, and list of references accompany entries on commercially published English language tests. Includes the 9th to 16th Yearbooks. The Library owns the print versions of the 1st-15th Yearbooks in the reference collection: Ref LB3051.B87.

  • Teaching English as a Second Language: a Resource Guide
    Ref. PE1128.A2C27 1994

  • World Education Encyclopedia : a Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide
    Ref. LB15 .W87 2002 V. 1-3

Tips: Try looking at the bibliography at the end of the entry for a list of other sources such as relevant journal articles and books.

When you have found books on your topic, look at the books on the shelf nearby to see if they are related to your topic.

 

Did you know...

Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, so make sure you use another source to confirm the information you find there.

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Web Sites


These web sites have been evaluated by librarians (that's a good thing) for your use in an academic setting.

Did you know...

There are billions of web pages and Google only finds a fraction of them (about 15%). The rest is held in what's called the "Invisible Web", which is made up of dynamically generated information, password protected sites, and databases-driven sites!

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How Do I?


Use these short e-learning modules to get quick answers!

Still have questions?

Ramona Islam , Senior Reference Librarian and Instruction Coordinator
By phone at (203) 254-4000 ext. 2138
By e-mail at rislam@mail.fairfield.edu

IM the Reference Desk at FairfieldULib - AOL and Yahoo
FairfieldUlib@hotmail.com - MSN

Ramona Islam, Reference Librarian

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