ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) API

Overview

ERIC is the world's largest digital library of education research, sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences (IES). It indexes 2M+ records including journal articles, reports, conference papers, and dissertations covering all aspects of education. The API provides free, unauthenticated access to metadata and links to full text where available.

API Endpoints

Base URL

https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/

Search

bash
# Basic keyword search
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=online+learning&format=json&rows=20"

# Search in specific fields
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=title:\"blended learning\"&format=json"

# Filter by publication date
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=STEM+education&start=0&rows=25&\
publicationdatestart=2023-01-01&publicationdateend=2026-12-31&format=json"

# Filter by publication type
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=formative+assessment&\
publicationtype=Journal+Articles&format=json"

# Filter by descriptor (ERIC thesaurus term)
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=descriptor:\"Higher Education\"&format=json"

# Peer-reviewed only
curl "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/?search=metacognition&peerreviewed=true&format=json"

Query Parameters

| Parameter | Description | Example | |-----------|-------------|---------| | search | Free-text or field search | search=adaptive+learning | | format | Response format | json or xml | | rows | Results per page (max 200) | rows=50 | | start | Pagination offset | start=50 | | publicationtype | Document type | Journal Articles, Reports, Dissertations/Theses | | publicationdatestart | From date | 2024-01-01 | | publicationdateend | To date | 2026-12-31 | | peerreviewed | Peer-reviewed filter | true or false | | descriptor | ERIC thesaurus term | descriptor:"Distance Education" | | educationlevel | Education level | Higher Education, Elementary Education | | subject | Subject area | subject:"Mathematics Education" |

Search Fields

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | title | Article title | | author | Author name | | descriptor | ERIC controlled vocabulary term | | source | Journal/source name | | abstract | Abstract text | | id | ERIC document ID (e.g., EJ1234567) |

Publication Types

| Type | Description | |------|-------------| | Journal Articles | Peer-reviewed journal articles | | Reports - Research | Research reports | | Reports - Descriptive | Descriptive reports | | Reports - Evaluative | Program evaluations | | Dissertations/Theses | Graduate research | | Speeches/Meeting Papers | Conference presentations | | Books | Books and book chapters |

Response Structure

json
{
  "response": {
    "numFound": 8450,
    "start": 0,
    "docs": [
      {
        "id": "EJ1389012",
        "title": "Effects of AI Tutoring on Student Learning Outcomes",
        "author": ["Smith, John", "Chen, Wei"],
        "source": "Journal of Educational Technology",
        "publicationdateyear": 2024,
        "description": "This study examines the impact of AI-powered tutoring...",
        "descriptor": ["Artificial Intelligence", "Tutoring", "Academic Achievement"],
        "educationlevel": ["Higher Education"],
        "peerreviewed": "T",
        "url": "https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1389012",
        "publicationtype": "Journal Articles",
        "issn": "1234-5678"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Python Usage

python
import requests

BASE_URL = "https://api.ies.ed.gov/eric/"


def search_eric(query: str, rows: int = 25,
                peer_reviewed: bool = True,
                pub_type: str = None,
                from_year: int = None) -> list:
    """Search the ERIC education research database."""
    params = {
        "search": query,
        "format": "json",
        "rows": rows,
    }
    if peer_reviewed:
        params["peerreviewed"] = "true"
    if pub_type:
        params["publicationtype"] = pub_type
    if from_year:
        params["publicationdatestart"] = f"{from_year}-01-01"

    resp = requests.get(BASE_URL, params=params)
    resp.raise_for_status()
    data = resp.json()

    results = []
    for doc in data.get("response", {}).get("docs", []):
        results.append({
            "id": doc.get("id"),
            "title": doc.get("title"),
            "authors": doc.get("author", []),
            "source": doc.get("source"),
            "year": doc.get("publicationdateyear"),
            "abstract": doc.get("description", "")[:300],
            "descriptors": doc.get("descriptor", []),
            "level": doc.get("educationlevel", []),
            "url": doc.get("url"),
        })
    return results


def search_by_descriptor(descriptor: str, rows: int = 50) -> list:
    """Search using ERIC thesaurus controlled vocabulary."""
    return search_eric(f'descriptor:"{descriptor}"', rows=rows)


# Example: find recent AI in education research
papers = search_eric("artificial intelligence classroom",
                     from_year=2023, rows=10)
for p in papers:
    print(f"[{p['year']}] {p['title']}")
    print(f"  Descriptors: {', '.join(p['descriptors'][:5])}")

# Example: search by ERIC descriptor
papers = search_by_descriptor("Gamification")
for p in papers:
    print(f"{p['id']}: {p['title']} — {p['source']}")

ERIC Thesaurus

ERIC uses a controlled vocabulary of 12,000+ descriptors for consistent indexing. Key descriptors include:

| Descriptor | Coverage | |------------|----------| | Distance Education | Online/remote learning | | Educational Technology | EdTech tools and methods | | Higher Education | University-level education | | STEM Education | Science, technology, engineering, math | | Teacher Education | Teacher training and development | | Assessment | Testing and evaluation | | Curriculum Development | Curriculum design | | Special Education | Inclusive education |

References

• ERIC Website
• ERIC API Guide
• ERIC Thesaurus