Science Education Research Guide

Conducting Your Search

Our library catalog, Educat+ can show you results for both physical and ebooks in our collection.

When you have found a resource you are interested in, select the link “Available at Gottesman Libraries" to learn more about the item’s location, and the number of copies available in the library’s holdings. The item's location will appear as a call number (i.e. LB 1570 N49 1978) that can help you locate the item within the library in our open stacks. Collection directories are available at the Services Desk. The call number of the item you are looking for will correspond to a certain floor and level within the stacks. Resources from any of the following collections can be pulled from the shelf and checked out at the Services Desk: Cafe, Curriculum, Juvenile, New Faculty, New TC Press, Oversize, and Stacks.

**Materials on Course Reserves can be requested at the services desk. Items located in the Closed Stacks can be requested through placing a hold in Educat+.

Placing a Hold

Items in Educat+ listed as “Not Available” (these items are currently checked out of the library) and items listed as “Available at Gottesman Libraries Closed Stacks” can be requested and placed on hold.

Select the link “Not Available” or “Available at Gottesman Libraries Closed Stacks.” Then, login and complete the form to request a hold.

For more information about navigating Educat+ please refer to A Guide to Educat+ on the library blog.

Using an E-Book

Searching Educat+ will also display results for ebooks that are available. We are a digital first library, meaning we choose to acquire materials in their digital format first before considering a physical copy. You can access the ebook copies of our materials by clicking the link that appears under the heading "Full Text Availability".

Can't find a Book? Try CLIO!

While Gottesman Libraries provides access to books on topics related to our programs in Education, Health, Psychology, and leadership, we also have access to all books throughout the Columbia Libraries System. Search CLIO, Columbia Libraries catalog, to find both physical and ebooks. Results will appear in the first panel for the catalog, but some ebooks will also appear under the panel Articles+.

Print Resources

Encyclopedia of Educational Research, 6th Edition (1992)

The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods (2008) (see also electronic version in E-Resources)

E-Resources

AccessScience from McGraw-Hill [The Online Encyclopedia of Science and Technology] (CU) - Full access to over 8,500 articles, 115,000 dictionary terms, 15,000 illustrations and graphics, bibliographies containing more than 28,000 literature citations, and frequent research updates in all areas of science and technology. Also includes biographies of more than 2,000 well-known scientists.

Encyclopedia of Education (2nd Edition) - The 2003 version of the classic resource in education and related fields.

Encyclopedia of Evolution (CU) - A comprehensive guide to the essentials of evolutionary biology, surveying essential concepts and theories, present methods, models, and findings, and discussing both the history of the field and current controversies; topics include Darwin, natural selection, human origins, behavioral ecology, diversity, mathematical models, and cell and developmental biology.

Encyclopedia of Global Change (CU) - "Encompassing tsunamis, elephant conservation, ocean pollution, mining regulation, and permafrost melt, the 300 authoritative articles in this unique and wide-ranging encyclopedia investigate all types of phenomena that change life on Earth."

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (CU) - "A fully searchable collection of articles by scientists and historians in the fields of biochemistry and physiology, cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, immunology, molecular biology, neuroscience, microbiology and virology, plant science, structural biology, science and society."

Encyclopedia of Science Education (CU) - "Aimed at graduate students, researchers, developers in science education and science education research . . . The topics to be covered encompass all areas of science education and it includes biographical entries on science educators, as well as educators whose work has had an impact on science education as a research field."

The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods (CU) - "Presents current and complete information as well as ready-to-use techniques, facts, and examples from the field of qualitative research."

The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference (CU) - 300 articles describing current knowledge on the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of sensory organs; topics covered include the perception, psychophysics, and higher order processing of sensory information, as well as disorders and new diagnostic and treatment methods.

Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia (CU) - Topics covered in this 9th (2002) edition include animal science, anatomy, astronomy, atmospheric science, chemistry, computer science, earth science, energy sources, information science, life science, mathematics, physics, planetary science, plant science, space science, and a host of other subjects.

Print Resources

Handbook of Research Design in Mathematics and Science Education (2000)

Handbook of Research on Science Education (2006)

Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning (1993)

International Handbook of Science Education (2003)

E-Resources

Handbook of College Science Teaching - The 38 chapters are organized into eight sections dealing with attitudes and motivations; active learning; factors affecting learning; innovative teaching approaches; use of technology; special challenges; pre-college science instruction; and improving instruction.

Handbook of Research on Science Education, Volume II - This 2014 publication "builds on the foundation presented in Volume I" (see print version above) and is divided into six key sections: Theory and Research of Science Education Research; Science Learning; Diversity and Equity in Science Learning; Science Teaching; Curriculum and Assessment in Science; and Science Teacher Education.

Handbook of Research on Science Education Teaching - This 2022 "handbook offers a contemporary and thorough review of research relating directly to the preparation, induction, and career long professional learning of K-12 science teachers. Through critical and concise chapters, this volume provides essential insights into science teacher education that range from their learning as individuals to the programs that cultivate their knowledge and practices."

Handbook of Sustainability Science in the Future : Policies, Technologies and Education by 2050 (CU) - Published in 2023, "The Encyclopedia of Sustainability Futures will involve the contributing authors in line with the principle of co-generation, from across a wide range of disciplines, e.g. education and social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, the arts, languages etc, with papers adopting a long-term sustainability perspective, with a time horizon until 2050. The focus will be on themes which are felt as important in the future, and the chapters are expected to interest and motivate a world audience."

Handbook of research on STEM education - Published in 2020, this handbook "draws on a rich and growing research base and constitutes the first comprehensive synthesis of the field. Organized into six sections-The Nature of STEM; STEM Pedagogy, Curriculum, and Assessment; Critical Issues in STEM; STEM Teacher Education; and STEM Policy and Reform, the handbook addresses the cutting-edge and fast-growing interdisciplinary nature of STEM education from a global perspective."

International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching (CU) - Published in 2014, "this inaugural handbook documents the distinctive research field that utilizes history and philosophy in investigation of theoretical, curricular and pedagogical issues in the teaching of science and mathematics. It is contributed to by 130 researchers from 30 countries; it provides a logically structured, fully referenced guide to the ways in which science and mathematics education is informed by the history and philosophy of these disciplines, as well as by the philosophy of education more generally."

International Handbook of Multicultural Science Education -  Published in 2022, "This handbook gathers in one volume the major research and scholarship related to multicultural science education that has developed since the field was named and established by Atwater in 1993. Culture is defined in this handbook as an integrated pattern of shared values, beliefs, languages, worldviews, behaviors, artifacts, knowledge, and social and political relationships of a group of people in a particular place or time that the people use to understand or make meaning of their world, each other, and other groups of people and to transmit these to succeeding generations." 

Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (CU) - This 2014 publication "presents a comprehensive and student-friendly overview of the field of qualitative research and is intended for students of all levels, faculty, and researchers across the social sciences. It provides strong focus on methods instruction with coverage of theoretical approaches, analysis, writing, evaluation, and the politics of research."

Sage Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis (CU) - "The handbook includes chapters on traditional analytic strategies such as grounded theory, content analysis, hermeneutics, phenomenology and narrative analysis, as well as coverage of newer trends like mixed methods, reanalysis and meta-analysis. Practical aspects such as sampling, transcription, working collaboratively, writing and implementation are given close attention, as are theory and theorization, reflexivity, and ethics."

Science Education Initiative Handbook by Chasteen and Code - Published in 2019, this handbook is " A practical guide to fostering change in university courses and faculty by embedding discipline-based education specialists within departments, this book seems to be aimed at discipline-based education specialists (DBES), including those administrators (initiative leaders, PIs, department chairs and institutional leaders, etc.) who supervise and sponsor them."

The Science Education Initiative Handbook - This 2018 handbook "is based on the Science Education Initiative (SEI), a transformative initiative aimed at changing STEM teaching practices in university settings. The SEI was successfully implemented in two institutions (University of Colorado Boulder and The University of British Columbia) over a period of 10 years."

Second International Handbook of Science Education (CU) - In this 2012 research handbook more than 100 leading scholars from the global science education community contributed 96 chapters in 11 sections focusing on sociocultural perspectives and urban education; learning and conceptual change; teacher education and professional development; equity and social justice; assessment and evaluation; curriculum and reform; argumentation and nature of science; out-of-school learning; learning environments; literacy and language; and research methods.

Annual Reviews (CU) - Reviews of topics in biomedical, physical, and social sciences published as annual journals; see series for Astronomy and Astrophysics; Biochemistry; Cell and Developmental Biology; Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics; and many others.

Review of Educational Research - A publication of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the RER publishes quarterly critical, integrative reviews of research literature bearing on education, including conceptualizations, interpretations, and syntheses of scholarly work.

Review of Research in Education - A publication of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the RRE provides an annual overview and descriptive analysis of selected topics of relevant research literature through critical and synthesizing essays.