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Reading & Literacy Research

ERIC Publication Types

Publication Type*

The type of document or publication medium. In 1974, ERIC began to assign publication types (Pub Types) to each record. A maximum of 3 Pub Types are assigned per record.

Publication TypeScope
Book/Products Reviews Book reviews, product reviews, software reviews.
Books The physical format of the resource, whether hardback or paperback; when this category is used, a second one is always included, such as Opinion Paper, etc.
Collected Works - General Collections of separate works, composite works, materials of mixed or diverse character or multiple focuses.
Collected Works - Proceedings Records/minutes/proceedings/summaries of conferences, meetings, colloquia, symposia, seminars, workshops, congresses, etc. Intended for documents representing entire conferences.
Collected Works - Serials Serial (entire), periodicals, bulletins, newsletters, newspapers, collections of articles, sections of journals. Does not include numbers in a monographic series. For individual journal articles, see Journal Articles, below.
Computer Programs Actual computer programs in any form, e.g., "floppy" disks, tape cassettes, code listings, etc.
Creative Works Poetry, literary works, essays, novels, short stories, children's books, satire and humor, anecdotes, fairy tales, children's stories, fiction, proverbs, facetiae, quotations, maxims, belles lettres, correspondence, etc. Performing arts materials, dramas, plays, scenarios (movies, TV), scripts, theatre pieces, musical scores, ballets.
Dissertations/Theses Used when unable to determine more specific type, e.g., doctoral dissertation
Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations  
Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses  
Dissertations/Theses - Practicum Papers  
ERIC Digests in Full Text ERIC Digests provided in full-text within the database record.
ERIC Publications Documents published by any component of the ERIC system.
Guides - Classroom - Learners Materials intended for direct instruction of the learner; materials presenting the substantive information that forms the content of instruction, e.g., instructional materials, readings, programmed texts, manuals, laboratory manuals, outlines, texts, workbooks, syllabi, study guides, orientation materials, textbooks, handbooks, exercises, learning modules, problems, resource guides.
Guides - Classroom - Teacher Materials intended as guides for the teacher, e.g. curriculum guides, course outlines, units of study, lesson plans, teaching guides, leader guides, statements of behavioral objectives. May contain instructional materials, sample examinations, suggested learning activities, etc. Includes teaching tips, teaching techniques, "How to Teach" materials.
Guides - General Materials designed for immediate and practical use by students, teachers, or administrative or support personnel. "General" is used only when material does not fit a more specific sub-category
Guides - Non-Classroom Techniques for support and administration, e.g., how to conduct a teacher evaluation; how to conduct inservice programs, guides for research methodology, etc. Manuals, guides/guidelines, handbooks - intended to provide substantive information on "What exists" or "How to do it" for the educational support population. Booklets, pamphlets, brochures, circulars, notices treating or explaining various factual matters within the educational community, e.g., types of jobs available. Guides intended for teachers but not directly related to instruction, e.g., tips for better parent conferences.
Historical Materials Histories, historical reviews, historical accounts, oral history transcripts, primary historical source materials and documentation
Information Analyses State-of-the-art summaries (comprehensive treatments, overviews), trend analyses. Information analyses and syntheses, focusing on findings and not simply on bibliographic citations, summarizing the substance of the literature and drawing conclusions from it. Does not include annotated bibliographies.
Journal Articles Indicates individual journal article. For entire journal issues, see Collected Works - Serials.
Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials Legislation, legislative hearings and testimony, legislative reports, congressional documents, state legislature documents, laws, summaries of legislative action, lobbying position papers. Court cases, courtroom testimony, court decisions, legal decisions, legal interpretations. Regulations, regulatory agency materials. Codes, administrative codes, codes of student behavior, agreements, rules, policy statements, master plans, contracts (model), collective bargaining agreements, and other materials governing the behavior of various groups. Standards (e.g., NASI, ISO, FIPS), specifications, accreditation standards, professional standards. Executive orders, Federal Register pronouncements. Does not include documents merely "about" specific court cases or legal issues.
Machine-Readable Data Files Bodies of data encoded in magnetic, optical, or other storage media that are directly readable by computer. The data may be numeric, statistical, bibliographic, textual, etc. ERIC announces education-related data files (e.g., NCES files) that are available from third parties.
Multilingual/Bilingual Materials Materials whose contents include equivalent or near-equivalent information in two or more languages.
Non-Print Media Audiovisual aids, films tapes, recordings, cassettes, phonodiscs, videotapes, slides, illustrations, portraits, caricatures, cartoons, photographs, posters, models, flip charts, engineering drawings, flow charts, designs, plans, etc. Graphic/pictorial and other non-print representations, conveying meaning primarily through symbols other than words. Non-print items usually appear in ERIC only as supporting or collateral material to a printed document.
Numerical/Quantitative Data Numerical data, quantitative data, statistics, statistical compilations, data aggregations, tables. Used only when quantitative data is present in large aggregations, e.g., as in NCES documents.
Opinion Papers Opinion papers, points of view, position papers, recommendations, "blueprints" for proposed action. Debates, interviews, panel discussions, questions and answers, dialogues, transcripts. Essays, short expository/speculatory papers, "think" pieces, philosophical pieces, criticism, interpretation, editorials, pros and cons.
Reference Materials - Bibliographies Bibliographies, filmographies, discographies, annotated bibliographies, book catalogs, book lists, collections of abstracts, indexes (locators) to bibliographic materials, topical listings of various media materials. Includes bibliographic essays, literature searches (output of), guides to or descriptions of the literature in a field.
Reference Materials - Directories/Catalogs Directories of persons, organizations, institutions, etc. Membership lists. Tables of Contents. Includes reference works dealing with organizations/institutions. Catalogs of products, lists and arrays of "things", e.g., pseudonyms, job descriptions, sources, acronyms, abbreviations, etc.
Reference Materials - General Materials for reference use, as contrasted to materials designed for cover-to-cover reading and study. "General" is used only when material does not fit a more specific sub-category.
Reference Materials - Geographic Atlases, gazetteers, geographic charts, cartographic materials, maps, zoning charts, school district maps.
Reference Materials - Vocabularies/Classifications Dictionaries, vocabularies, nomenclature, terminology, glossaries, thesauri, word/term lists, phrase books. Taxonomies, classification schemes.
Reports - Descriptive (i.e., Project Descriptions) Project descriptions, program descriptions, reports of organizational activities. Descriptions of systems, procedures, or practices in actual cases. Descriptions of significant events, personal narratives/experiences, journalistic accounts of actual activities and occurrences. Descriptive works of various types. Includes annual reports (of organizations), yearbooks.
Reports - Evaluative Studies evaluating research, alternative courses of action, or the merits of a particular process or program. Studies of feasibility of a given course of action. Evaluations of programs. Studies oriented toward decision-making and concerned with judgments rather than generalizations.
Reports - General "General" is used only when material does not fit a more specific sub-category.
Reports - Research Original research, technical research, reports, studies, empirical results, experimental statistical studies, surveys, case studies, theory testing, systematic scientific investigations, seeking facts and/or generalizable principles. Emphasis on materials utilizing a formal research design, but may include informal reports and verbal presentations of such efforts. Includes proposals for needed research.
Speeches/Meeting Papers Individual addresses, lectures, papers presented at conferences, meetings, colloquia, symposia, seminars, workshops, congresses, etc.
Tests/Questionnaires Questionnaires, tests, examinations, evaluation and measurement devices, test specifications, compilations of tests, opinion polls (instruments), assessment tools, reporting booklets, rating scales, test manuals, etc.
Translations Applied to any document translated from its original language into a second language, usually an English translation from a non-English text, but other translation situations also apply.

 

Source: ERIC Help Topics, http://eric.ed.gov/