GLOSSARY : The dramatic increase in scientific and medical publications over the past three decades makes it imperative that scientists and clinicians have a focused and defined strategy for searching the scientific and medical literature. DEFINATION: The creation of computerized databases has provided increased access to the literature and has facilitated organized approaches to searching the literature. The majority of relatively simple and small searches can be performed directly on-line without the need to leave the office or the home. This is in sharp contrast to the long, tedious hours spent in the library searching Index Medicus-a practice quite common less than two decades ago. This chapter outlines the basic sources of online scientific and medical literature and provides generalized guidelines for planning and executing computer-based searches. The appendices (10-1 through 10-6) provide lists of major North American and international providers of on-line scientific data and sites of interest on the world wide web. The history of education is largely a story of gradual evolution, but education has also had its revolutions. The first use of writing as a tool in teaching transformed education many centuries ago when it freed teachers from the constraints of oral tradition. The invention of printing in the 15th century made books widely available and had a similarly dramatic effect on the history of education. Now, in the 20th century, the invention of the computer may have an equally profound impact on education.