Welcome
This research guide is designed for students taking Dr. Gurstelle's FYS: To Curate. If you need more help, please don't hesitate to schedule a research consultation.
Database Search Tips
Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to narrow or broaden your search and to exclude terms in your search.
- AND – narrows a search (ex. media AND violence – both terms have to appear in articles for database to retrieve)
- OR – broadens a search (ex. college OR university – articles with either term will be retrieved by database)
- NOT – excludes terms in search (ex. bulimia NOT anorexia – articles with only the term bulimia will be retrieved by database)
Truncation - Use the * (asterisk symbol) to search for variations of the root of a word (e.g. wom* - will retrieve search results with woman, women, womanly, womanhood)
Exact phrase - Use quotation marks around a phrase to retrieve results that include the exact phrase (e.g. "Nazca lines" or "Kennewick Man".
Use the built-in database filters to limit your search results! - Most interfaces let you limit by publication date, subject, format and more. These features will help you hone your search strategy to find the most relevant sources!
Finding Background Information on One's Research Topic
Anthropology Encyclopedias & Reference Works
Subject specific encyclopedias are a good starting point for researching a topic. Articles in subject specific encyclopedias are typically written by scholars or experts in the field. Using them at the beginning of one's research can help in determining key terms to use in searching the library's catalog and databases. A bibliography containing citations for books and/or journal articles can often be found at the end of articles in subject specific encyclopedias, and these citations can be used to identify other sources on one's topic.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowSearchable full text of reference books in many subjects. Books can be searched together or individually. Coverage: varies
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780195108156Publication Date: 2001-06-07
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780199735785Publication Date: 2012-10-12
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the near East by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780195065121Publication Date: 1996-11-28
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearch across hundreds of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. A great place to find background information on almost any research topic. Includes a topic finder for help with narrowing or broadening your research topic. Coverage: varies
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowSearch across hundreds of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. A great place to find background information on almost any research topic. Includes subject trees, pro/con resources, links to scholarly articles and more.
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new windowIncludes a collection of scholarly handbooks in History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion. Great starting point for background research.
The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780199675616Publication Date: 2017-06-13
The Oxford Handbook of History and Material Culture by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780199341764Publication Date: 2020-05-15
The Oxford Handbook of the History of Consumption by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780199561216Publication Date: 2012-06-16
Databases -- General & Subject
- ZSR Library Catalog This link opens in a new windowData about the books, journals, films, manuscripts, and other materials owned by the ZSR Library. Coverage: 14th century-
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowProvides access to periodicals, journals, and edited works, with an emphasis on archaeology, anthropology, and linguistics. Coverage: Late 19th century-present
- eHRAF World Cultures This link opens in a new windowContains information on present and past aspects of cultural and social life for a worldwide sample of societies. Provides descriptive information on cultures and ethnic groups. Includes citations, abstracts, and full text of ethnographic and other materials, indexed by culture and subject. Ideal for both exploratory, in-depth cultural research, and cross-cultural comparisons. Coverage: 1991-
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowProvides access to journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, and more. Good general-purpose database for researching most topics. Coverage: 1985-
- ProQuest Social Science Database This link opens in a new windowContains hundreds of academic journals, providing extensive coverage across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work and sociology. Coverage: 1987-
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA full-text database of archived issues of academic journals. Since JSTOR is a backfiles project, a typical coverage range is the beginning of a journal until three or five years ago. Artstor images are now integrated into JSTOR. Supported in part by the Dail Endowment Fund. Coverage: Varies
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowProvides images for use in academic papers and presentations, covering a broad range of subjects beyond art history. Images have been contributed by major museums, institutional archives, personal collections. Artstor is now integrated into the JSTOR platform.
- Art Full Text This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text and citations for scholarly journals articles, magazines, exhibition reviews, and trade publications. Also indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in periodicals. Topics covered include antiques, archaeology, art, art history, architecture, folk art, graphic arts, interior and landscape design, movies, and television. Also includes an image collection. Coverage: 1929-
- America: History and Life This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles about the history and culure of the United States and Canada. Publications include peer-reviewed journals, magazines, dissertations, books, and more. Access is limited to six simultaneous users. Note: For world history topics, use the Historical Abstracts database. Coverage: 1964-
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowProvides indexing and abstracts for journal articles, books, and dissertations covering the history of the world from 1450-- except the U.S. and Canada. For similar coverage of the U.S. and Canada, use America History and Life. Access is limited to six simultaneous users. Coverage: 1954-
Anthropology Liaison
Hu Womack
