ANTH 439C: PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGYLIBRARY RESEARCH

TIPS AND TRICKS

Jeremy Floydanthropology liaison librarian

jfloyd@unr.eduhttp://guides.library.unr.edu/anth439c

TODAY’S PLAN

The Research ProcessReview ArticlesScholarly SourcesDatabase SearchingNews, Media, & Popular SourcesEvaluating Sources

THE RESEARCH PROCESS(IT GETS MESSY)

3. Search for and evaluate information.

4. Takes notes on sources, write your

paper, and cite in AAA style.

2. Choose databases and other research

tools.

1. Choose topic and keywords.

Formulate a research question.

REVIEW ARTICLES (THEY ARE YOUR FRIENDS)American Anthropologist: Each year since 2010 (usually issue 1)

The Annual Review of Anthropology

Presents concise review of the topicWritten for anthropologists (rather than general audience like other reference sources)

Extensive Bibliorgaphy

FINDING SOURCES PART 1: SCHOLARLY LITERATUREAnthropology Library GuideDatabasesAnthropology Plus – most comprehensive index of anthropological journals

AnthroSource – searches across all 15 AAA journals

OneSearch and the Library Catalog

EFFECTIVE DATABASE SEARCHING

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)Wildcards (*)Thesauri and Subject Term searching

Citation MiningBibliographies to move backwards (sources cited by your source)

Web of Science or Google Scholar to move forward (sources that later cite your source)

FINDING SOURCES PART 2: NEWS AND MEDIASearching the open web: Google, BingNews databases LexusNexus AcademicAccess World News

Documentaries and FilmsKanopy StreamingFilms on Demand

Anthropology Blogs such as Savage Minds

EVALUATING SOURCES: QUESTIONS TO ASK Who is the author?

What is their background? What is their point of view?

When was the information published? What is the context? Is it a reaction to recent events, or a analysis long after the fact?

What is the intended audience? What does that audience share with the author, or how are they

different? What is the purpose of the piece?

What argument is being made? Is it trying to persuade you to a point of view? Is it try to maintain a neutral stance on the issues?

Questions? Need Help? Contact me:

Jeremy Floydanthropology liaison librarian

jfloyd@unr.edu

http://guides.library.unr.edu/anth439c