Research Guides: Education: Reference Resources

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Using Reference Resources

Reference sources are a great starting point for starting research on a new topic because they provide general information on a topic. They often include the following types of information to help you get started:

Get an overview of a new or complex topic
Find out the names of key players in a given area
Locate terms that you can use in your research
Help narrow (or expand) your topic
Locate a bibliography of sources to help you start your research

Reference sources include encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and other sources like them. Some reference sources for education-related topics are listed below.

Annual Reviews

Review of Research in Education
Pubilshed annually, this journal provides a forum for analytic research reviews on selected education topics of significance to the field. Each volume addresses a topic of broad relevance to education and learning, and publishes articles that critically examine diverse literatures and bodies of knowledge across relevant disciplines and fields.

Reference Resources

Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window
Provides access to numerous reference works, including multi-volume encyclopedias, specialized handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias on a wide range of subject areas, including the social sciences.
SAGE eReference This link opens in a new window
A social sciences platform for SAGE and CQ Press resources. Access eBooks, debates, dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias with an easy search by subject discipline or collection options.

Learning Theories
Summarizes numerous learning theories in psychology, education, business and design.
Social Theory
This database brings together a range of influential writings representing the most important trends of sociological thought from the eighteenth century to the present day.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (2018)
Covers the basics of traditional theories and methods, as well as important sociopolitical issues and trends influencing the future of that research and practice.
The SAGE Handbook of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (2016)
Focuses on examining how curriculum is treated and developed, and its impact on pedagogy and assessment worldwide.
Sociology of Education: An A-to-Z Guide (2013)
The sociology of education is a rich interdisciplinary field that studies schools as their own social world as well as their place within the larger society. The field draws contributions from education, sociology, human development, family studies, economics, politics and public policy.
Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education (2012)
Covers the full spectrum of diversity issues, including race, class, gender, religion, language, exceptionality, and the global dimensions of diversity as they relate to education.
The Sage Handbook of Educational Leadership (2nd ed.,2011)
Offers an overview of the practical and theoretical issues facing educational leadership. Addresses the most fundamental and contested issues in the field, including culturally relevant and distributed leadership; critical policy and practice issues predicting the new century’s conflict; the paradox of changes; and the promises, paradoxes, and pitfalls of standards for educational leaders.
The SAGE Handbook of Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education (2019)
Explores a range of issues in early childhood development and education, including an overview of current and future direction for the field. The Handbook combines research and practice to investigate emotional and social development, well-being and mental health, language, cultural environments, as well as the role of parents in a child's development.
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education (2008)
An encyclopedia crossing several disciplines, including applied linguistics, politics, civil rights, historical events, and classroom instruction.
Encyclopedia of education law
Handbook of the Economics of Education (2006-2023)
A multi-volume series that explores various branches of economics related to education. Each Handbook provides self-contained surveys of the current state of a branch of economics and summarize not only received results but also newer developments, from recent journal articles and discussion papers.
Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed., 2003)
Offers a complete view of the institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies in educational practice in the United States and throughout the world. Features biographies of influential educators; profiles of historic colleges and universities and of organizations active in the field; and an appendix of full text source documents, including education related legislation, international treaties, and testing methods.
World education encyclopedia : A survey of educational systems worldwide*
Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE)
A freely accessible website created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE). It is intended to give educators and researchers fair and useful information about the strength of the evidence supporting a variety of programs available for students in grades K-12. It mostly consists of systematic meta-analyses of research on effective programs in reading, mathematics, writing, science, early childhood education, and other topics. It also contains articles on review methods and on issues such as special education policy and evidence-based reform.
The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research (2015)
Provides an overview of the field of early childhood research and sets an agenda for early childhood research into the future.

Oxford Dictionary of Education (2015)
A UK-focused dictionary that provides definitions for the terms that anyone studying education or working in the field is likely to encounter – from A* to zero tolerance. Coverage includes all sectors of education: pre-school, primary, secondary, further and higher education, special needs, adult and continuing education, and work-based learning. It also includes major legislation, key figures and organizations, and national curriculum and assessment terminology.
Glossary of Instructional Strategies
Shambles Glossary
Acronyms in education
Glossary Compilation - Fall 2009 National Library of Education U.S. Department of Education
This compilation gets at terms that educators and researchers use. Use in conjunction with such resources as those listed above, especially the ERIC Thesaurus.

America's Best Graduate Schools (U.S. News & World Report rankings)
The abbreviated online version of Best Graduate Schools. Provides rankings of graduate schools in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and more.
Best 361 College Rankings on The Princeton Review
Search rankings by school or category.
College and University Rankings
Links to many different sources of college rankings -- from the most wired colleges to the most disability-friendly
U.S. News and World Report College Rankings
A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States
Dataset to assess the quality & effectiveness of doctoral programs based on multiple. Data from 2005/6 from more than 5,000 programs at 212 universities. Published by National Academies Press from the National Research Council.
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Covers faculty publications, grants, and awards; student GRE scores, financial support, and employment outcomes; and program size, time to degree, and faculty composition. Measures of faculty and student diversity are also included.
To download the Excel on campus, choose the Mac 2008 version even if you are using Windows operating system. See also, http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/psychology for searchable data (site not related to National Research Council, but using their data). You must register your email to download from NAP.

This is not a comprehensive list. Most rankings do not do a good job of indicating the value of niche publications and must be viewed critically. A common weak point is categorization of journals by subject prior to analysis. Take into account: titles indexed by databases, circulation or library subscribers, acceptance/rejection rates, specialization, longevity of publication, prestige and reputation, and (related) affiliation with associations.

ISI Journal Citation Rates (JCR)*
Eigenfactor
Based on ISI journal impact factor.
H-Index
Based on Google Scholar. Requires download and installation of software to use.
Google Scholar author citations and profiles
The link is to directions for setting up a profile. A few faculty have profiles that you can see.
Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) journal indicators
"Source-Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) measures contextual citation impact by weighting citations based on the total number of citations in a subject field. The impact of a single citation is given higher value in subject areas where citations are less likely, and vice versa."
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from http://www.journalmetrics.com . Uses Scopus data.
AltMetrics Tools
A listing of alternative metrics applications for measuring scholarly impact.