Educator's Reference Complete

Educator’s Reference Complete:How does it compare to ERIC and Education Abstracts?

By Ruth Helwig, Systems Librarian, Central Michigan University

Michigan Academy of Science Arts and LettersAnnual Conference 2009Wayne State University

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to compare

Educator’s Reference Complete with two competing education databases, ERIC and Education Abstracts, both accessed through the OCLC Firstsearch interface. This paper will identify overlapping titles and unique coverage, compare and contrast the results of selected search strategies and examine the percentage of full text availability in the search results. It will examine database features and assess whether database features serve to improve the user’s experience.

HypothesisI began this study with the hypothesis that

Educator’s Reference Complete would prove to be a valuable resource for our patrons by:

•Leading researchers to additional peer-reviewed scholarly research.

•Complementing our current databases.•Comparing favorably with ERIC in its

breadth and depth of coverage.

Data Collection

•From vendor websites:▫Total number of journals covered*▫Journal title lists▫Additional content being covered

•From databases▫Search results

Challenges to Data Gathering•The set up of information on all of the

databases are very different.•Vendors represent title changes differently, in

some instances not identifying them as such.• ISBN numbers not consistently included.•Not all data elements are available from all of

the vendors. (i.e. peer-reviewed content)•Data elements are presented differently from

vendor to vendor. (i.e. representation of full-text.)

Data Gathering Decisions•If a title appeared to be a duplicate listing

(not a title change) but this could not be definitively established, the title was counted as a unique title.

•If a title represented a title change it was counted as a unique title.

•If it appeared to be a duplicate listing based on all of the data present, the title was counted once.

Coverage

Total Number of Journals Covered October 2008

Educator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

1,152 2,111 751

Additional Content CoveredEducator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

•Over 200 reports•Gale electronic handbooks and encyclopedias on education

•ERIC documents• Books• Research syntheses• WWC• Conference papers•Technical reports•Policy papers•REL

•Book reviews•“English-language books relating to education published in 1995 or later. . .”

Journal Title Comparison - Educator’s Reference Complete

ERC Only

ERC, ERIC, EdAbs

ERC & ERIC

ERC & EdAbs Total

488 302 334 28 1152Percent of Educator’s Reference Complete

Titles42.4% 26.2% 29% 2.4% 100%

Journal Title Comparison - ERIC

ERIC Only

ERC, ERIC, EdAbs

ERIC & ERC

ERIC & EdAbs Total

1198 302 334 277 2,111Percent of ERIC Titles

57% 14% 16% 13% 100%

Journal Title Comparison - Education Abstracts Titles

Ed Abs Only

ERC, ERIC, EdAbs

Ed Abs & ERC

EdAbs & ERIC Total

144 302 28 277 751Percent of Ed Abs Titles

19% 40% 4% 37% 100%

Unique Title CoverageCompared to total number of journals in

the database

Educator’s

Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Total 1152 2111 751Unique 488 1205 145Percent 42.4% 57% 19%

Journal Titles Available in All Three DatabasesCompared to total number of journals in

the database

Educator’s

Reference

Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Total 1152 2111 751

Overlap 302 302 302

Percent 26.2% 14% 40%

Ongoing CoverageEducator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

1,117 866 491Total Number of Titles

1,152 2,111 75197% 41% 65%

Other Comparators

•Full- text•Peer- reviewed•Common search features•Journals indexed

Common Limits/Refinements

•Language•Owned by your library•Peer-reviewed•Document type – varies by databases

Coverage and CurrencyEducator's Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Coverage

1965 - Present 1966 - present

Indexing 1983 – PresentAbstracts 1994 - Present

Update Schedule

Updated daily Updated monthly

Updated weekly

Database Strengths - ERIC•Breadth of content•Access to grey literature •Expert Search Option•Able to find other owning libraries•ERIC thesaurus •ERIC documents•WWC•REL•Relationship to the Department of

Education•Reserved search operators

Database Strengths – Ed Abs

•Depth of coverage ▫Every age▫Every article at least one column in

length▫Series, supplements, reviews

•Expert Search Option•Able to find other owning libraries

Database Strengths - ERC• Indexes reports, book reviews, books, case

studies•Cross-searchable with Gale education titles •Some unique searching & limiting options:

▫Range operators Word Count▫Unique fields With images▫Exclamation mark Lexile Reading Level

& Score•Offers a dictionary•Publication search

Subject StrengthsEducator's Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

•Technology•Administration•Adult learning•Certification

•Vocational education•Early childhood•Classroom methodology•Practical applications in the classroom

•Athletics and Physical Education•Prayer in schools•Religious education•Literacy

Search Parameters•Several searches performed – 3 reported•All limited to journals/articles

▫Total results higher in Educator’s Reference Complete for broader searches not limited to peer- reviewed

•All limited to peer-reviewed•All limited by date range

▫First 2 limited to 200 – 2009▫Third limited to 2008 – 2009 to reduce

results set

Search - bullying and disciplineSearch #1

Educator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Total 9 20 8

Unique 8 18 6

Search - “service Learning” & “high school” & curriculum

Search #2

Educator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Total 25 * 25 24Unique 8 16 16

Search - mathematics & “elementary school” & “problem solving”

Search #3Educator’s Reference Complete

ERIC Education Abstracts

Total 6 51 4

Unique

2 28 0

Conclusions

Educator’s Reference Complete contains some unique content, unique search features and continues to add new titles. It is updated the most frequently, contains a high volume of full-text and is easily accessible through MeL.

Although it is not as unique as I had originally anticipated, it is a valuable addition to the suite of education databases and one that I would recommend to researches looking for education content.

Contact Information

Ruth HelwigPark Library 305Central Michigan UniversityMt. Pleasant MI 48859989-774-2404helwi1rm@cmich.edu