The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is an internet-based digital library of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC provides access to bibliographic records of journal and non-journal literature from 1966 to the present. ERIC also contains a growing collection of materials in Adobe PDF format. ERIC's mission is to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and information for educators, researchers, and the general public. Activities that fulfill the ERIC mission are broadly categorized as collection development, content authorizations and agreements, acquisitions and processing, database and website operations, and communications.
What's in the collection?
The ERIC collection includes bibliographic records (citations, abstracts, and other pertinent data) for more than 1.2 million items indexed since 1966, including:
Currently, more than 650 journals are indexed in ERIC. About 500 of these journals are indexed comprehensively — every article in each issue is included in ERIC. A small number (about 150) are indexed selectively — only those articles that are education-related are selected for indexing. In addition, contributors have given ERIC permission to display more than 100,000 full-text materials in PDF format - at no charge. These materials are generally part of the recent "grey literature" such as conference papers and reports, rather than journal articles and books. Most materials published 2004 and forward include links to other sources, including publishers' websites. |
Who uses ERIC?
ERIC users include education researchers, teachers, librarians, administrators, education policymakers, instructors and students in teacher-preparation programs, parents, the media and business communities, and the general public. The user community conducts more than six million searches each month through the ERIC website and commercial and non-commercial sites. How can I use ERIC?
You can use the ERIC website to:
How does ERIC work?
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) operates the ERIC Project under contract to the U.S. Department of Education. The ERIC contract supports development and management of the digital collection, website, and associated technologies, as well as outreach to ERIC users. IES has authorized the work of two expert advisory panels to foster ERIC's ongoing development: the ERIC Steering Committee and Content Experts. |