African American Studies (AFRAM) 101
Review the content on this page before beginning
your project. Feel free to send me an email if you are having difficulty understanding the
information included on this page or difficulty finding resources on your topic:
Harry Murphy, maurice@u.washington.edu .
One of the most important processes in conducting research is designing your search strategy. The following are recommended elements in designing your strategy:
- Assignment: Annotated Bibliography
- Analyze your topic
It is rarely possible to design a research search in only one way using a single vocabulary and expect to find all the materials you will need to complete your project.
- You may need to use more than one database
[ Some examples: America: History & Life | Expanded Academic ASAP | Ethnic Newswatch ]
- You may need to find information in different kinds of sources
[ Books | Journals | Newspapers | Magazines | Media (video, sound recordings) | Primary Sources ]
- You may need to explore a subject over a period of time
[ For example: 5 years | 20 years | 1960s | 19th Century | 20th Century
]
- It is important to clarify what you are interested in finding out about
your topic. In other words, be clear about what do you want to know about the
topic.
- Frame your search and select keywords
It is a good idea to frame your topic in the manner of a question you are attempting to answer. Review the example below. In this example I'm interested in finding information about that period known as the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on African Americans.
Topic Example:
What was the effect of the Harlem Renaissance on African American culture?
Other alternatives might be:
- What factors led to the Harlem Renaissance?
- Why was more made of the renaissance movement in New York City and not similar events in other cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and DC?
- Why were churches influential in promoting cultural and social change in Harlem?
- Create a list of Related Terms. Another way to express this concept is to create a list of synonyms for the important concepts in your topic.
For example: blacks, African Americans, Black Americans, black migration, Harlem, Harlem Renaissance, culture, enlightenment, social change, Manhattan, New York City, black identity, cultural awareness
- Narrower terms: (Good for limiting your search, excluding irrelevant information, or adding focus to your search)
- Population -African Americans or blacks
men, women, children/teens, groups (artist, educators, clergy, etc.)
- Geography - New York City, Harlem, northern cities
- Time Period - 1917-1930s
- Broader terms: (Allow you to explore the broader context of your topic. Good if you're having difficulty finding sources)
- United States, New York State, social history, migration, social conditions, blacks, culture, identity
- Create a Search Query
Use AND or OR to combine multiple terms/keywords in a search.
See examples below:
- Harlem Renaissance AND culture (narrows your search, both terms 'Harlem Renaissance' and 'culture' must appear)
- blacks OR African Americans (broadens your search, one of the terms must appear. Good for use with synonyms.)
- Use a technique called truncation with the * symbol to search additional forms of a word.
Example: cultur* will also find culture, cultures, cultured, cultural, culturing.
African Americans AND cultur*
- Reference
Resources, provide general background information on a subject or topic. Examples include encyclopedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, and some handbooks. They can often be a good place to start your research, especially if you have
a topic with which you are unfamiliar. The link above will provide both electronic and paper reference sources.
- Finding Books: Use the UW Libraries Catalog to find the location of books on your topic.
- UW Libraries Catalog,
(a listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries.)
Recommend searching by Keyword, Enter terms in search box:
Example, racism AND slavery
You can also search for authors and titles.
Use the UW Libraries Catalog to find primary source information like slave narratives, oral histories, interviews, etc. This link describes the process.
Example: Enter slave narratives into the UW Libraries Catalog.
Additional UW Libraries Catalog Search options.
- Summit
Catalog,
(a listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available in
other university and college libraries in Oregon and Washington, including
the UW. You can request books for shipment to the UW with your UWNetID.
- Finding Articles: The following are recommended starting points for finding articles. Enter your keywords into the search box of the database. If you're connecting from off-campus, make sure you click the off-campus access box at the top of this page and log in your UWNetID.
This image identifies resources where off-campus access is limited to UW students, faculty, and staff.
- America: History & Life
[ Good for finding scholarly articles on American and Canadian history. Some links to full-text articles available. Abstract provides summary of articles. Also contains book chapters and dissertations. ]
- Black Studies Center
[ Good for finding information on African American culture and history.
Includes many full-text scholarly, magazine, and newspaper articles; dissertations,
and more... ]
- Expanded Academic ASAP
[ Good for finding full-text scholarly, magazine, and newspaper articles ]
- Literature Resource Center
[ Good for finding literary information, author biographies, criticism, etc. Many articles available full-text. ]
- More…
- Primary
source web sites related to African Americans and other American underrepresented
groups.
Primary sources are generally produced by the first recorders of events or are individuals who experienced the event firsthand.
- Additional Resources
