Educational Policy Studies 310
RACE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
A Guide to Library Resources for Educational Policy Studies 310 (AAS 310, AFRO 310, and LLS 310)
Reference Resources | Articles | Books & Journals | Citing Sources | Research Assistance
Welcome! This site has been created to assist you in exploring library resources related to your EPS 310 class. Our library is one of the largest in the United States and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. We will try to make things a little easier for you, but don't hesitate to ask questions.
REFERENCE RESOURCES
Reference resources are sources of solid background info about both ethnic groups and cultural traditions.
Reference Books
- Countries and their Cultures (Education Reference 306.03C832 or Undergrad Reference GN307.C682001 + online)
- Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures (Education Reference 304.8 En192 + online)
- Encyclopedia of American Folklife (Education Reference 398.097303 En199)
- International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family (Education Reference 306.803 In8212003 or Undergrad Reference HQ9.E522003)
- Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, 2006 (online through the Library Catalog)
- Encyclopedia of African American Education, 2010 (Education Reference 371.82996 En192)
- Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora (History Reference 305.896003 En199)
- Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Undergrad Reference E76.2.W352006)
- Everyday Life: American Social History, 1998 (Education Reference 306.0973 Ev27)
- Asian American Encyclopedia (Undergrad Reference E184.O6 A8271995)
- Encyclopedia of American holidays and national days (Main Reference 394.26973 En193)
- Holidays, festivals, and celebrations of the world dictionary (Education Reference 394.26 H7142010)
- International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Education Reference Q. 304.203 In851)
Online Reference Collection
www.library.illinois.edu/eref
Start by keyword searching larger collections of encyclopedias, dictionary and handbooks.
- ABC-Clio E-Book Collection — Check out Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present
- Credo Reference — Try St. Patrick’s Day as a basic search
- Gale Virtual Reference Library — Check out Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America and Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
- Oxford Digital Reference Bookshelf — Check out The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America and Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
FINDING ARTICLES
Scholarly journal, newspaper, and magazine 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, find the citation to the articles you want. You can use bibliographies or suggested readings lists, or you can 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. Some of our journals are online but most of them are still available only in print format. If the journal article you are looking for is not available electronically, you will need to use the Online Library Catalog to look up the location of the journal for which you have a citation.
Article Databases
Go to Online Journals & Databases and search for the database name or click on the links below.
Searching Article Databases
Experiment with keywords to search article databases or the Online Library Catalog for more info.
- Try words to describe your ethnic group: ________ Americans (“Greek Americans”, “Hispanic Americans”), Jewish diaspora, etc.
- Try words to describe your cultural practice: “social life and customs”, history, folklore, traditions, festivals, marriage, food, dance, music, masquerade, pizza, bar mitzvah, St. Patrick’s Day, etc.
Consider searching for these concepts together. For example, “Polish Americans” and “polka” = some great articles and books.
FINDING BOOKS & JOURNALS
Library catalogs are used for two purposes. First, 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. Second, you can use library catalogs to discover material that might be helpful to you by doing subject and keyword searching.
- Online Library Catalog - Look here to find books, DVDs, magazines or journals containing articles that you need, and many other resources. In addition to the 12 million volumes we have on this campus, you can connect to over 70 other libraries in Illinois and request that 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?
- WorldCat and Interlibrary Loan - The places to verify citations for books and request books and articles you cannot find elsewhere. Ordering books and journals via Interlibrary Loan is free and generally fairly quick.
CITING SOURCES
Guidelines for citing electronic and print resources are available from the Reference Library's Cite a Sourcepage and the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library's Style and Writing Guide.
RefWorks
A great tool for writing papers, RefWorkshelps 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.
For individual help with research, don't hesitate to contact us, or come in and ask one of our energetic and helpful reference assistants.
Nancy O'Brien
Office: Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, SSHEL North (Room 100), Main Library
Email: npobrien@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. We are located in SSHEL North (Room 100) SSHEL South (Room 101) of the Main Library building.
More Help Using the Library
- Resources in Education - A guide to education-related sources.
- Research Process - A step-by-step guide to research that takes you through the entire process, from choosing your topic to citing sources.
