Education Resource Information Center (ERIC) Documents

ERIC additionally provides a Thesaurus feature on its toolbar. ERIC has a standardized list, or “controlled vocabulary,” of education-related terms called descriptors. Descriptors are used to organize ERIC records by subject. Using descriptors in your search can help you locate materials of greater relevance to your topic.

Planning your search using the ERIC thesaurus:

1. Describe your topic
2. Divide the topic into major concepts
3. Use the Thesaurus to find descriptors for each concept
4. Search using descriptors

Step 1. Access ERIC via EBSCO from Rice University's Fondren Library Website. Either search "ERIC" in the search bar or scroll down to find ERIC (via EBSCO).

Step 2. Executing your search using the ERIC EBSCO host thesaurus

1. Type your search term in the Browsing ERIC box
2. Click Browse. Select the term that best matches your criteria from the list below (if you do not find a term, try browsing another term)
3. Select your connector (AND, OR, or NOT) and click ADD
4. Your term will appear in the Main Search box. Either continue adding terms (using steps 1-4) or select Search.