Search the ERIC Database
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world's premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. The ERIC online system provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database going back to 1966.
Search Options
The ERIC Web site offers the following two interfaces for searching the database online:
Basic Search
This interface allows you to search by entering a word or phrase into a single search box. You can search by title, author, or ERIC document number. When searching for a phrase, place the term within quotation marks.
Advanced Search
This interface allows you to combine fields when searching for more specific results. It also provides additional fields for limiting your search including: Identifier, ISBN, ISSN, Journal Name, Source Institution, and Sponsoring Agency identifier. Additionally, this interface allows you to limit your search by ERIC descriptor(s), publication type, and/or years of publication. These options are available in the lower half of the search screen.
Search Tips
To Search for a Phrase
When searching for a phrase, select 'Keywords' from the drop-down menu, enter the phrase, and enclose it within quotation marks. This applies to both basic and advanced searches.
To Search for an Author
When searching for publications by an author, select 'Author' from the drop-down menu and use the format "Last name, First name" (enclosed within quotation marks) to enter the name.
To Search Using Descriptors
Descriptors are the subject terms used to index all citations in the ERIC database. Searching with these terms will make your searches more effective. However, they aren't always intuitive. Descriptors are gathered together in the online ERIC Thesaurus.
To use ERIC descriptors in your search, select 'Descriptors (from Thesaurus)' from the drop-down menu. Then type in the descriptor you wish to use. You can combine descriptors by going to the Advanced Search interface and entering descriptors into more than one search box connected with the 'AND' boolean operator.
More Search Tips
For additional information on searching the ERIC database see ERIC Help and Tutorials.
