Anthropology / African American Studies 261
INTRODUCTION TO THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
A Guide to Library Resources for Anthropology 261 (ANTH 261) and African American Studies (AFRO
261)
Articles |
Books & Journals |
Citing Sources |
Research Assistance
Welcome! This site has been created to assist you in finding and using library resources for the
topics you are researching in your senior seminar. Our library, one of the largest university
libraries in the U.S., can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is truly a treasure trove for
scholars. All of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library's resources are available
to you as you do your research, so explore, have fun, and don't hesitate to ask questions!
FINDING ARTICLES
Scholarly journal articles are one of the primary means of communicating research ideas. They
are an important component of academic research and give you some insight into ongoing debates and
scholarly conversations about your topic. You can find articles through database searches.
Finding articles is a two-step process:
- First, search for the topic you are interested in by using one of the article databases listed
below. If you get stuck, ask your professor or a librarian for help getting started.
- Next, find the actual text of the articles you want by clicking on the Discover button in a
database. Many of our journals are online, but some of them are still available only in print. If
the journal article you are looking for is not available electronically, you can use the
Online Library Catalog to look up
the location of the journal for which you have a citation.
OR
- If you know the citation of the articles you want, from bibliographies or suggested readings
lists, you can use
Journal and Article Locator to determine
if we have full-text online or in print.
Which databases will work best for this class?
-
SocINDEX
(1985 to date)
Identifies articles in all areas of sociology including anthropology, criminology, ethnic
& racial studies, gender studies, politics, religion, rural sociology, social psychology, and
urban studies. Indexes over 620 core journals dating back to 1895, over 500 priority journals as
well as selective coverage for over 1,390 additional journals.
-
Women's
Studies International (1972 to present)
Provides citations to journals, books, book chapters, proceedings, NGO reports, and gray
literature. Over 2,000 periodical sources are represented.
-
GenderWatch
(1974 to present)
This full text database indexes journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, pamphlets, and
reports. Covers business, education, literature and the arts, health sciences, history, public
policy, and contemporary culture.
-
Historical
Abstracts (1955 to present)
Identifies international articles and books on history since 1450, excluding the U.S. and
Canada. Includes topics from the Renaissance to Tiananmen Square. A targeted selection of hundreds
of journals in the social sciences and humanities is also provide.
-
JSTOR
Provides the full text of over 100 journals in the areas of African American studies,
anthropology, area studies, botany, general science, music, business, ecology, economics,
education, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, sociology, and
statistics. Most include full texts of complete journals from their inception up to a "moving wall"
of from 2 to 5 years.
-
Art
Full Text (1984 to present)
Provides access to over 450 art publications covering a broad range of topics including
advertising, archaeology, crafts, folk art, graphic arts, interior design, video, film,
architecture and art history.
-
MLA
International Bibliography (1921/1925 to present)
Identifies articles, books, dissertations on literature, languages, film and folklore.
FINDING BOOKS & JOURNALS
-
Online Library Catalog - Look here to find books, magazines
or journals containing articles that you need, DVDs, and many other resources. In addition to
the 10 million volumes we have on this campus, you can connect to over 70 other libraries in
Illinois and request books be sent to you.
When you find something you want in the catalog, write down the following:
Location - in which library the item is kept (or libraries, if we have multiple
copies)
Call Number - this number is essential for finding the item on the shelf
Status - is it available for you to check out?
Hint: Catalogs are used for two purposes: (1) If you know exactly what you are looking for
- an exact title or author - you can use the catalog to locate your material (this works for book
titles and journal titles); (2) You can also use catalogs to discover material that might be
helpful to you by doing subject and keyword searching.
-
WorldCat
and
Interlibrary Loan - The places to verify citations for books and
request books and articles you cannot find elsewhere.
CITING SOURCES
Guidelines for citing electronic and print resources are available from the Reference
Library's
Cite a Source page and the Social Sciences,
Health, and Education Library's
Style and Writing Guide.
RefWorks
A great tool for writing papers,
RefWorks helps you export bibliographic records from
databases, change the citation styles as needed, and import the citation directly into a Word
document so you can create bibliographies on the fly.
RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
Ask-A-Librarian for Help with Your Research
Use our
Ask-A-Librarian Service to IM, chat, email, phone or find a reference librarian.
Cindy Ingold, Women & Gender Studies Librarian
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, 100 Main Library
Phone: 217-333-7998
Email:
cingold@illinois.edu
Contact a librarian to request an appointment for an in-depth
Research Consultation.
Finding Your Way Around
There are over 25 departmental libraries on our campus, and sometimes it may be difficult to
determine where to find the resources you need. For your class, the library that you will be
using most is the
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL). We
are located in SSHEL North (Room 100) and SSHEL South (Room 101) of the Main Library
building. Do no hesitate to come in and ask one of our energetic and helpful information desk
assistants.
More Help Using the Library
