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EDUC 5453-Contemporary Issues in Leadership

General Information for Students

Resources - Books, catalogs and databases
Search Tips
Suggested Keywords (search terms)
Evaluating Websites
Following APA style rules

Resources

If you are unfamiliar with the terminology you encounter while searching article databases (or while reading articles in journals) you may wish to refer to sources such as textbooks, dictionaries, and other reference resources in the field of study.

Reference Materials on the Broken Arrow Campus

Digest of Education Statistics Call # Ref. L11 .D48

The Educator's Desk Reference : A Sourcebook of Educational Iinformation and Research (EDR) Call # Ref. LB1028.26 .F74 1989

Encyclopedia of Education Call # Ref. LB15 .E47 2003

Historical Encyclopedia of School Psychology (Electronic book – enter title into library catalog)

Social Work Almanac Call # Ref. HV90 .G53 1995

The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac Call # Ref. LA226 .C55

The HEP ... Higher Education Directory Call # Ref. L901 .H46

Reference Materials on the Muskogee Campus

Teaching for diversity Call # LC1099.3 .G367 1998

Reading engagement : motivating readers through integrated instruction Call # LB1573 .R2787 1997

Student Transfer Matrix Call # Ref. LA349.5 .S85

Reference Materials on the Tahlequah Campus

A Critical Dictionary of Educational Concepts Call # Ref. LB 15.B29

Encyclopedia of Learning & Memory Call # Ref. BF 318.E53

Handbook of School Psychology Call # LB 1051.H2356 (Note that this title is held on third floor)

Historical Encyclopedia of School Psychology Call # Ref. LB 1027.55.H57

The Language of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms Call # Ref. LB 15.M32

Higher Education in the United States : an Encyclopedia Call # Ref. LA225 .H54

Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education Call # Law Ref. KF4225.A68 E53 2010

The Almanac of Higher Education Call # Ref. LA226 .C552

Minorities in Higher Education Call # Ref. LC3731 .M5575 1994

Books (Catalogs for finding)

Print format books are available by searching the NSU online catalog.

Search the NSU Libraries' Online Catalog: http://library2.nsuok.edu/

Searches may be limited to just the Broken Arrow campus for convenience. Books available on the Tahlequah campus may be ordered for delivery to the Broken Arrow campus. It usually takes two to three days for materials to arrive via campus mail.

Electronic books: As an NSU student, you have access to over 42,000 academic e-books 24/7.

Search for E-Books using EBSCO e-books collection: http://library.nsuok.edu/Refdesk/vrdbks.html

If you need an item that NSU doesn't own, you can order it through our ILLiad system.

Journal and Magazine Article Databases

Academic Search Premier - This is a general database, which means it contains article citations and full text articles covering many academic subjects. It is one of the twenty-five databases produced by EbscoHost for which NSU has a subscription. It is probably our most widely used database and is sometimes referred to simply as "Ebsco."

ERIC - This is another database produced by EbscoHost. ERIC stands for the Educational Resource Information Center. It contains more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals. ERIC contains a thesaurus, which can be very helpful in figuring out which search terms to use when looking for information.

Professional Development Collection - Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of more than 550 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This databasealso contains more than 200 educational reports.

Education Full Text - Now a part of EBSCOhost, Education Full Text provides comprehensive coverage of an international range of English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. Coverage includes 79 journals (37 with full text) not covered by ERIC's Current Index to Journals in Education. Index coverage goes back to 1983. Full text articles from 1996 to the present. Contains a thesaurus.

Go to all EbscoHost databases (from there, you can search them all simultaneously by checking the box next to each - then click continue)

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Search Tips

1. Be prepared with synonyms in case your original search produces no results. Use a thesaurus if the database is equipped with one.

2. Pay attention to search tips or help screens provided by each database. Even experienced researchers (like professors and librarians!) can have trouble when dealing with a new interface. Take the time to learn how to use the tool - it will help you to avoid frustration!

3. Remember that most databases allow for Boolean Searching. Use and to narrow, or to expand, not to exlude. Truncation is also useful for bringing back all relevant results. For example, type counsel* to bring back documents containing the words counsel, counseling, counselor...

4. Take advantage of the following sources of help:

- NSU Library Tutorials

- Reference On Call at JVL is staffed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday - Thursday and 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Friday by reference librarians or other experienced library staff members.

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Suggested Keywords to use when searching for information on topics in contempoary issues in leadership

One of the first steps in creating a research plan is to select “key words” which best describe the topic you plan to research.

If you are unfamiliar with the terminology you may wish to refer to sources such as textbooks, dictionaries, and other reference resources in the field of study. Contact your instructor if you are unsure if a particular topic is appropriate. It is usually wise to make sure if you are on target with your topic before you begin to spend much time researching a project.

Use the following terms individually or in combination with one another:

assessment
"Bullying in schools"
"campus violence"
Culture -- Study and teaching
diversity and "higher education"
Education, Higher -- United States -- Finance
"educational leadership"
"federal aid to education"
funding
"higher education" and "political aspects"
"higher education" and "social aspects"
"higher education" and trends
leadership
leadership and issues
minorities and "higher education"
"multicultural education"
"online social networks"
organization and "school management"
Race relations -- Study and teaching
relevancy and "higher education"
"school violence"
"social media"
"student loans"
technology and "social networking"
women and "higher education"

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Evaluating Websites

It's important to remember that publishing on the web is very easy - almost anyone can do it! The problem with that is knowing what's credible (worth your time) and what's not.

Here are some of the thing you want to look at or for:

the URL (.gov, .mil, .us, .edu are usually pretty credible);
links to information about the author or sponsoring organization;
links to other sites that are credible;
how current it is

Ultimately the researcher must be the one to determine whether or not to use information found on a web site. The following information from Cornell University provides some excellent guidelines for evaluating sites:

http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html

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Following APA style rules

The American Psychological Association originally created a publication manual to provide a common structure for all journal manuscripts in the area of the social sciences.

Many other disciplines (including psychology, the behavioral sciences, nursing, personnel administration and many areas within education) have adopted this as their professional writing standard as well.

In an academic environment, you will often be expected to conform to this standard when writing. At this point, you should be mostly concerned with creating an accurate reference list using proper format and providing citations within the text to give credit for an idea or concept to the source from which you got it.

Print:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

The library owns several copies of the style guide; however, only the 5th edition circulates (can be checked out). The NSU libraries have seven copies of the 6th edition in reference and two on reserve. ( BF76.7 .P83 2010)

Websites:

www.apastyle.org

Using APA format (Purdue University) - this comprehensive guide summarizes the print version of the book. Click on Your Reference List to find examples of the proper format to use when listing sources you used.

APA Style.org's Frequently Asked Questions

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Sarah Burkhead


Page maintained by: Sarah Burkhead Whittle
Last Updated: January 29, 2013