Highlighted Databases: Special Education

March is recognized as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month -- dating back to February 26, 1987 when Ronald Regan through presidential proclamation sought to increase public awareness of and needs for persons with impairments in physical, learning, language or behavior areas. In the preceding two years, the U.S. Employment Initiative resulted in job opportunities for more than 87,000 people with developmental disabilities, allowing them brighter prospects, fuller potential, and more productive lives, while efforts also addressed needs in schools.

This month we highlight research resources that cover the field of special education, defined by ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) as "educational programs and services for disabled individuals who have intellectually, physically, emotionally, or socially different characteristics from those who can be taught through normal methods or materials."

 APA PsycNET is the single search interface for PsycARTICLES, PsycBOOKS, and PsycEXTRA. It is the only search platform designed specifically to deliver APA content.

Academic Search Premier is a multidisciplinary database provides active full text for more than 3,100 journals, including active full text for nearly 2,750 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 8,500 journals. The collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.

ComDisDome is an indexing and abstracting tool covering the communications disorders literature, with a focus on speech-language pathology and audiology. In one convenient location, the database will quickly identify and connect you to reliable information from multiple sources in your field, including journal articles and books, along with access to profiles of researchers working in this area.

e-Books on EBSCOHost, formerly known as Netlibrary, is a searchable collection of current electronic books from university and commercial publishers, as well as electronic books in the public domain.

Ebook Central - Academic Complete provides authoritative, full-text e-books in a wide range of subject areas along with powerful tools to find, use, and manage the information.

Education Full Text (Wilson) provides full text of articles from over 350 journals as far back as 1996, in addition to indexing of over 770 periodicals dating back to 1983. Content includes in-depth coverage of special education, with over 50 journals dedicated to this important topic, and more than 100,000 controlled and cross-referenced names of educational tests. Subject coverage includes adult education, continuing education, literacy standards, multicultural/ethnic education, teaching methods, and much more.

Education Index Retrospective: 1929-1983 indexes more than 800 periodicals and yearbooks, and cites approximately 850,000 articles, including book reviews. The database provides information on societal trends affecting education, including segregation, multiculturalism, feminism, and economic developments. Subject coverage includes adult education, continuing education, literacy standards, multicultural/ethnic education, teaching methods, and much more.

Education Research Complete is the definitive online resource for education research. This massive file offers the world's largest and most complete collection of full-text education journals. It is a bibliographic and full-text database covering scholarly research and information relating to all areas of education. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing.

 ERIC (EBSCO): ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and research. The database provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. Content includes journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations and theses, and books dating back to 1966.

OmniFile Full-Text Mega enables a search of major EBSCO databases simultaneously; these include the key education databases (ERIC, Education Full Text, Education Index Retrospective, Education Research Complete, and Professional Development Collection), in addition to Medline, Academic Search Premier, Humanities Full Text, Social Sciences Full Text, and Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print.  Also included are Art Index Retrospective, Book Review Index Retrospective, 1903-1982, Business Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCO eBook Collection, General Science Full Text, GreenFILE, Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984, Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective: 1908-1981, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, Readers' Guide Full Text Mega, Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982, Sports Illustrated Magazine Archive, Time Magazine Archive, and the EBSCO Audiobook Collection.

Professional Development Collection is designed for professional educators and provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 520 high-quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports. Professional Development Collection is the most comprehensive collection of full-text education journals in the world.

Education Week [Journal] is America's most trusted resource for K-12 education news and information. 

Emerald Education eJournal Collection provides access to over 300 journals in 13 subject areas: accounting, finance, and economics; business and management; education; engineering; health and social care; HR, learning and organization studies; information and knowledge management; library and information science; marketing; operations, logistics, and quality control; property management and built environment; public policy and environmental management; and tourism and hospitality management.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) is the world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses. As the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and as the database of record for graduate research, PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. It also includes PQDT UK & Ireland content.

SAGE Education Full-Text Collection is a subset of the SAGE journals collection that can be accessed through the Browse feature by selecting Social Sciences & Humanities as a Discipline and then Education as a Subject.  The SAGE Education Full-Text Collection comprises the contents of 139 education-related journals, from About Campus to Young Exceptional Children, and includes major research-based journals,  including the Review of Educational Research and the Review of Research in Education, in addition to prestigious scholarly and practice-oriented education publications across disciplines.

Taylor & Francis Education Collection is a component of the Taylor & Francis Online collection provides access to over 385,000 journal articles and the contents of 270 education-related Taylor & Francis journals. 

 TeachingBooks comprises “263,909 [and counting] resources about children’s and young adult books, including print and media resources for children and teens and in-depth information and analysis for educators and adults.”

 WestlawNext Campus Research Law + News + Business is a database for legal research, providing case summaries and studies, regulations, and more.  It includes cases, statutes and court rules, regulations, administrative decisions and guidance, secondary sources, briefs, proposed and enacted legislation, and proposed and adopted regulations.  In addition, the database provides access to Federal materials, state materials, and a variety of practice areas (from admiralty and maritime, antitrust, and bankruptcy to real property, securities, and tax).