The process of initiating and negotiating a literature search in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) data base is discussed in laymen's terms. The guide offers suggestions on choosing a data base, deciding whether to use computerized or manual retrieval, defining the search problem, and understanding the Boolean search strategy used in computer searches; it also presents a synthesis of the ERIC indexing guidelines that affect computer searches. Appendixes include a list of data bases of interest to educators, a list of educational level descriptors used in ERIC, a glossary, and a bibliography. (JY)