Competency #6c – Databases – Specific facet first Search

For this next search, I decided to conduct a specific facet search in ERIC/EBSCOhost. I thought I would get pretty good results in this database since ESL is a hot topic in education circles.

My search strings:
S1: Librar*= 59,437 hits
S2: ESL OR EFL OR “English as a foreign language OR “English language learner*” = 10,083 hits
S3: child* OR “young adult*” OR juvenile OR youth OR ya = 294,036 hits

I chose to start with the ESL set since it had the smallest number of results. I decided to restrict it by subject terms, using “Second Language Learning,” “Second Language Instruction,” and “Subject Language Learning.” This narrowed it down to 1,565 hits.

I decided to switch the order of my terms and do a building block search.
S1: ESL OR EFL OR “English as a foreign language OR “English language learner*” = 10,083 hits
S2: S1 AND librar* = 240 hits
S3: S1 AND S2 AND child* OR “young adult*” OR juvenile OR youth OR ya = 57 hits

The best hit was:
Literacy, Access, and Libraries among the Language Minority Population.
By: Constantino, R., 1998. Available through Eric Digest (ED417595)

This book is a collection of scholarly papers on “linguistic minorities and library use” (from abstract).

Some of my other relevant hits were (Periodicals) :
Selecting Books for Spanish-Speaking ESL Students
By Peck, E.
Publication: Library Media Connection, v25 n5 p41 Feb 2007. 1 pp.

Notes from the Teenage Underground: How Audiobooks Helped Us to Listen, Speak, and Earn a Cool Trip.
By: Mardikan, L., Shah, F., Shah, S.
Publication: Voice of Youth Advocates, v24 n5 p345 Dec 2001.

Librarian-Teacher Partnerships: Serving the English-as-a Second-Language Students.
By: Filson, A.H.
Publication: Journal of Youth Services in Libraries, v5 n4 p399-406 Sum 1992.

Embracing Diversity: One with One’s Bold New Partnerships.
By: Van Duyne, M.K., Jacobs, D.
Publication: Wilson Library Bulletin, v66 n6 p42-44,120-21 Feb 1992.

Picture Books and Older Readers: A Match Made in Heaven.
By: Henry, R., Simpson, C.
Publication: Teacher Librarian, v28 n3 p23-27 Feb 2001.

ERIC Digest Articles:
Literacy Acquisition through Literature. Report Series 7.11
By: Langer, J.A., 1997 (ED403587)

Elgin YWCA Family Literacy Project. Curriculum for ESL Parents and Preschoolers.
By, Rickabaugh, S., and others. 1992 (ED348889)

Library Programs, Library Services for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency. Fiscal Year 1987.
By: Neff, E. B.. 1990 (ED330368)

Reflection on Search:
I was very satisfied with this search. I knew that since ERIC was primarily an education issues database, I expected high relevancy and got it. However, the order that search strings are presented in ERIC made a major difference. I found some great articles in my second attempt, the building block search, with citations that I can use for a citation pearl search in another database.