ERIC Database: How to use it

Welcome to the ERIC Database Research Guide.  Each page contains helpful instructions on how to search in ERIC.

About ERIC: ERIC is an acronym for the Educational Resources Information Center, which is a U.S. Department of Education clearinghouse of education-related publications and materials. ERIC is a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable, Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and information.

If you need assistance with navigating ERIC, librarians can help:

• Ask a Librarian
  • 386-747-9028 (call or text)
  • libref@stetson.edu
  • Stop by the library and ask for a Librarian
• Request a Research Consultation
  • Set up a one-on-one appointment with a librarian for personalized research assistance

Question: What is the difference between EBSCO's ERIC and ERIC through the ED.gov portal?

Answer: ERIC is produced by the United States Department of Education and can be searched by anyone through the ED.gov portal. The same search results are presented to anyone doing an ERIC search in ED.gov and EBSCO, but in the ED.gov version of ERIC, there will be fewer full text links to documents or articles.

Question: What is the difference between an ED number and an EJ number in ERIC?

Answer: ERIC contains citations to both documents and journal articles, and each type is identified by a unique accession number. ED numbers represent ERIC documents, and EJ numbers represent ERIC journal articles. More information about ED and EJ numbers can be found below. 

Other ERIC publications are assigned an ED number.  These documents include:

• conference papers and proceedings
• technical and research reports
• government documents
• legal materials
• bibliographies
• teaching guides
• lessons plans
• dissertations
• speeches
• U.S. Congressional hearings
• unpublished manuscripts
• books  

Education-related articles in journals are assigned an EJ number; for a list of the journals included in this database

• click on the "Indexes" link along the top part of the search screen
• highlight "journal title" from the drop-down menu
• click Browse