ERIC
The definitive free database for education research, policy documents, and grey literature.
OVERVIEW
What is ERIC?
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) is a free online digital library sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education. It provides access to education-related research, including journal articles, reports, conference papers, dissertations, and policy documents from 1966 to the present. Both peer-reviewed and grey literature are indexed, with most documents available in full text directly through ERIC. It is the primary research tool for educators, researchers, and policymakers studying education theory, practice, and policy.
KEY FEATURES
What ERIC does well
Education Focus
The definitive database for K-12 and higher education research.
Completely Free
U.S. Department of Education provides free public access to all content.
Grey Literature
Includes reports, conference papers, and policy documents not found elsewhere.
ERIC Thesaurus
Controlled vocabulary helps you find precisely relevant education research.
60+ Years of Coverage
Records dating back to 1966 across journal articles and grey literature.
Peer-Review Filter
Easily separate peer-reviewed from non-peer-reviewed sources.
Subjects Covered
Media included
Document and content types you can find in ERIC.
- Journal articles
- Books / book chapters
- Theses & dissertations
- Reports / white papers
- Multimedia
- Full text
TOP TOOL COMPARISONS
ERIC Alternatives
| Tool | Coverage | Subjects Covered | Open Access / Pricing | Citation Features | One-line Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERIC | 19,000,000 | Education | Yes · Free | References list (basic) | The definitive free database for education research, policy documents, and grey literature. |
 Academic Search Complete | 13,000,000 | Multidisciplinary | No · Paid | Cited references search, citation export | Reliable general-purpose subscription database for early-stage graduate research across disciplines. |
 Google Scholar | 389,000,000 | Multidisciplinary | Yes · Free | Cited by counts, h-index, i10-index, related articles | Fastest free starting point for any topic. Great for discovery, weak for systematic literature searches. |
 ProQuest | 6,200,000 | Multidisciplinary | No · Paid | Cited by, references, citation export | The go-to source for dissertations, theses, and primary sources alongside scholarly journals. |
 JSTOR | 12,000,000 | Multidisciplinary, Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities... | No · Freemium | References list, related items | Indispensable for humanities and social sciences research with deep historical journal archives. |
 PsycINFO | 5,400,000 | Psychology | No · Paid | Cited reference search, citation tracking | The American Psychological Association's authoritative database for psychology and behavioral science research. |
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