The next step is to use your keywords to build a search within a library database. While each database has a unique collection, and may look slightly different, these general steps will work in every library database.
Below is an example search using the keywords provided in the box above.
1. From the library website, look for the Subject Resources box and click on the Select a subject drop-down:
2. Click the Education option. Now you will see the Education Research guide. This guide has links to the databases used most often for Education research.
3. Select a database. This search example uses ERIC, one of our Education subject databases. Scroll down to the Education Databases box. Click the ERIC link. You may need to log in with your myWalden user name and password.
NOTE: There are many databases you can use for this assignment. You may want to try more than one database, since each database has a different collection of articles.
See the bottom of this box for a list of relevant databases, and more information about each one.
4. Type your keywords into the search boxes. Place keywords for a single concept into one box, using "or" between each one. This tells the database to find articles that have any of those terms.
For example, first search box:
digital divide or technology or internet
Second search box:
academic achievement or student achievement or student success
Third search box:
poverty or poor or low income
Learn more about "or" and other Boolean operators.
5. Add limits to your search. The limits you choose will depend on what you need to find. Check the Scholarly Peer-Reviewed box, if the database you are using includes the option. You can also add a date limit.
Learn more about database limiters
Click to see a larger image of this search page.
6. Click the Search button. See if the articles are relevant by reading titles and abstracts.
Learn about identifying original research studies [the next box down].
7. Refine your search if you need to improve your results.
One way to refine a search is to explore the Subjects [available in ERIC and Education Source] for alternative keywords. Subjects are the official, preferred terms for concepts within a database. If you search using these terms, you will find more precise results. They can also give you ideas for aspects you haven't considered.
Add these terms to your search or use them instead of your original keywords.
Learn more about using subject terms.
Education Databases
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual [i.e., APA 7], which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited periodical sources. For a complete list of how to cite periodical publications, please refer to the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual.
Basic Form
APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. [Year]. Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number[issue number], pages. //doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Article in Print Journal
Scruton, R. [1996]. The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15[3], 5–13.
Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI [if available], even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.
Article in Electronic Journal
As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.
Baniya, S., & Weech, S. [2019]. Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6[1], 11–16. //doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979
DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.
Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. [2018]. "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37[1], 67–98. //www.jstor.org/stable/26537363
Note that, in the example above, there is a quotation in the title of the article. Ordinary titles lack quotation marks.
Article in a Magazine
Peterzell, J. [1990, April]. Better late than never. Time, 135[17], 20–21.
Article in a Newspaper
Schultz, S. [2005, December 28]. Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country Today, 1A, 2A.
Review
Baumeister, R. F. [1993]. Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The self-knower: A hero under control, by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert]. Contemporary Psychology, 38[5], 466–467.