For general questions about Library services and resources email library@tcd.ie. You might find and answer to your question in our Frequently Asked Questions section.
Do you know how to spot fake news? Become more adept at evaluating information resources with tips from our Spotting Fake News page.
As well as STELLA search and databases you can also use LEAN library when searching for articles on Google/Google Scholar. This browser add-on quickly finds articles from journals we purchase. Take a look at our video for more details and download the extension from our Off-Campus page on the website. Get searching!
Do some homework on this open (free) textbook on AI for teachers.
Welcome to the Education page which aims to provide you with information about Library resources and services for your study.
All of the Library's search tools are available under Search Collections on the homepage. This includes databases, search engines and catalogues. We have a number of videos to show you how these resources work. We also have recorded library sessions available.
Use the library's main search tool, STELLA search (catalogue), to explore a topic or to find specific books or journal articles. Limit results by using LIBRARY CATALOGUE ONLY or the Books and More tab. Order material from our storage/stacks areas online. Use MY LIBRARY ACCOUNT to keep track of material you requested and reserved.
To access online resources, use your TCD username and password (username=TCD email without suffix @tcd.ie)
Purchased ebooks: use your TCD username and password to access fulltext via the TCD affiliated reader link which generally allows you to read the entire book on screen and print/download a percentage (usually a chapter).
Copyright or Legal Deposit ebooks: These eLD (electronic Legal Deposit) items which we receive freely from UK publishers must be consulted in the Library. These can be identified by this message:
Links to the full article can be accessed from our catalogue (STELLA search), via Databases or by a Google Scholar search using our fulltext finder app. LEAN LIBRARY. Take a look at video on various ways to find journal articles from the Library website. If the article is not displaying it may be outside our online subscription or there may be a technical problem. Try a different browser and if the problem persists, email library@tcd.ie.
If you cannot find material, request items online using our inter-library loans service to get it for you elsewhere. Currently this is a free service. You can request books, book chapters and journal articles. (2024)
Suggest a book purchase: Email me with staff or student recommendations. Priority is given to reading list materials.
Open shelf Education books are located on the lower level of the Lecky library at shelfmark 370-379. Remember, many books are on closed access (Stacks/Storage). These are mainly titles we receive under copyright from UK and Irish publishers and can be borrowed by staff and students. Use the Click and Collect button within a book record to order to the service counter. Full information on storage requests, borrowing entitlements and using STELLA search are available under the Welcome to the Library page. Short online tutorials are also available to view.
Quick link to print books here. Quick link to ebooks here.
Quick link to ebooks (UK copyright) on Library PCs only.
Quick link to Open Access (freely available) academic Ebooks (including education), Open Library, Springer Open Access collection
Selection of quick links for material on :
Dictionary - Social research methods
Handbooks - Education (online)
writing your dissertation/thesis
history of education (Ireland)
litigation in education (Ireland)
Schools management manual -primary
Irish education manual - reference guide (for all sectors - management guide incl. legislation)
Education journals on the open shelves are hardbound and located on the first floor of the (former Berkeley) Library at shelfmark 370. You can copy one article from a journal issue. The majority of print titles are in Storage or Stacks which can be requested on call slips (available in the Library). Many series are now available online. Quick link to print journals here. Quick link to ejournals here.
Use Browzine to search ejournals by subject. Create favourites and get alerts on new content.
Everything you need to know about finding theses as well as relevant links is available at Finding Theses.
Theses are important sources of information and fall into the "grey literature" category. Often not only the content but the structure of other theses can help when you start to tackle your own. Commercial theses databases, such as Proquest's Dissertations and Theses A&I and some databases (e.g. ERIC, Psycinfo. etc.). provide references to theses which you need to source either using our free inter library loans service, visiting the hosting library or in the case of US theses, directly purchase via the Proquest database. In recent years, universities are making entire theses freely available online. See also Open Dissertations(EBSCO) for freely available dissertations and theses. Other useful resources include the British Library's digitised collection eThos and Dart-Europe. N.B. both of these resources currently have reduced access. The latter includes Irish university output. All links available under the Finding Theses page (above).
The library's collection of dissertations and theses from the School of Education include print and online items. Print items can be requested from our Stacks or Storage areas. (Please note that the Library holds print masters theses until 2012). Increasingly Research based theses (D.Ed/ Ph.D/M.Phil/M.Litt) are available online in TARA as well as a selection of taught masters (PME 2017- /M.Ed 2020 - ). To access taught masters you need your TCD login credentials.
Although newer (and some historical) official publications are available online, there is also a print collection shelved at OPUB IE on the first floor of the Eavan Boland library. Each government department is assigned a prefix e.g. material published by the Department of Education is shelved at OPUB IE EDUC. Digitised education reports from the United Kingdom are freely available to consult. A recent addition to our online collections is the consolidated list of Irish government publications, 1929-1968.
Contact our staff in Official Publications. Some useful websites are available from our official publications page.
An important resource for historical education series up to the establishment of the Irish State is the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. A useful companion guide to this is Susan Parke's Guide to Sources for the History of Irish Education, 1780-1922. You should also consider exploring the National Archives (Ireland) for selected documents relating to Irish education in addition to the collections in the National Library of Ireland.
Quick link to print library sources on the history of Irish education.
Quick link to Hayes' bibliography online: Sources.
View a selection of official documents in EDepositIreland
Consult the Dorothy Heathcote drama in education DVD series which is shelved in the Education section of the Lecky library, lower floor. Dvds can be viewed in the Multimedia room located on the second floor of the Ussher library. (image taken from DH archive).
University of Limerick recommendations on other ways to find open access articles. (ignore UL- specific links to services and resources)
List of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Practices (OEPs) from the National Forum for Teaching and Learning (2021)
Why not try this online course on Open Scholarship?
AskAboutIreland (promotional video approx. 3 mins.) - AskAboutIreland is an open online resource on Irish culture including Education.
Whether you are being asked to review the literature for an assignment, thesis or for a standalone "systematic review", you need to know where to find authoritative resources, what the process involves and where to get support. A good starting point is your course handbook which outlines reference style and review criteria. Education students are generally not required to do systematic reviews but to be systematic or structured in their approach to conducting the review. Look at the Useful Links tab to read more about the different types of reviews.
General Library supports include training throughout the year, online and print resources on literature reviews and one to one or small group sessions with subject librarians. Please contact me for help using my email opposite. You should also take a look at the Student Learning and Development website for complementary resources in this area (e.g. time management, academic writing etc.)
We have just published two new library guides on Literature Reviews and Systematic Literature Reviews.
Quick link to ebooks on doing literature reviews (requires College ID to access off-campus).
Some of the information on other institution's pages may be useful but please note that their links to local resources will not apply.
What Works Clearninghouse (US) Video on Systematic Literature Searches in ERIC (1:04)
Video on systematic searching (Part 1) Part 2 (courtesy of Liz Dore, UL Library, 2019)
Evidence based education
Campbell systematic reviews(education)
Economic and Social Research Institute-Education (Ireland)
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Education Research Centre (Ireland)
EPPI Centre (systematic reviews Education, UK)
See Reference Management for information on how to reference using APA style.
If you decide to reference manually, the main Publication manual of the APA is available in the Library. There are print copies of the most recent 7th edition in the Library. There are particular websites which are useful for APA support:
Academic Writer Tutorial - basics of 7th edition APA style
University of South Caroline Aiken APA library support pages (7th ed)
Excelsior College APA support pages
Remember that in most databases you can use the cite feature within a record to copy the citation into your reference list. However, you will still need to manually create the intext citation within your document. See a quick clip here on how this works (EBSCO) (min 1:12 -1:52)
You may decide to use a reference manager software to automatically reference your material. Examples include Zotero, Mendeley, Refworks and Endnote. The Library supports Endnote. Please see our Endnote pages for download instructions and support information.
The Library tutorial on Endnote is available to view here
Additional links to proprietary guides from Endnote.com (Clarivate Analytics)
See these links to troubleshoot problems you may encounter using APA style in Endnote (courtesy of AUT university librarians).
Curtin Library Endnote pages are also very comprehensive.
Take a look at our Endnote pages to understand how the program works within the context of the literature review process.
Recent Library recorded webinars on Endnote are available to view here (versions X9 and 20).
Additional links to proprietary guides from Endnote.com (Clarivate Analytics)
See these links to troubleshoot problems you may encounter using APA style in Endnote (courtesy of AUT university librarians).
Curtin Library Endnote pages are also very comprehensive.
Take a look at this overview of the software from University of Victoria, Canada. Includes links to the Covidence Youtube channel and much more. Official Covidence videos and supports are also
Trinity has an institutional licence for Covidence. Access it from our databases page, sign up and get started. You can export search results from databases to Endnote and from there forward them as xml files to Covidence . You can invite other reviewers to collaborate with you (including from other institutions) or work on your own. See our library guide for more information. Take a look at the resource pages from the University of Victoria, Canada for an overview of the product.
Listen to short podcasts from the OECD including timely themes in Education. Avg. 15 mins duration.
See what's happening internationally in the annual Review of Research in Education.
Search Education Arena for updates in your field.
Evidence based Education is encapsulated in the US What Works Clearinghouse initiative.
Interested in IT in Higher Education? Take a look at EDUCAUSE resource pages.
For students researching material from our Special Collections e.g. manuscripts and archives, things have become simpler!
The records are now part of STELLA search, our main catalogue. There is a guidance document on the webpage that covers how to navigate the collections through both pathways (click here).