English (ENGL) 131A9

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 more important processes in conducting research is designing your search strategy. The following are recommended elements in designing your strategy:

  1. 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 | Literature Resource Center ]


    • You may need to find information in different kinds of sources
      [ Books | Journals | Newspapers | Magazines | Media (video, sound recordings)]


    • 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.


  2. Reference Resources

    Odegaard and Suzzallo Libraries have many reference resources--biographical tools, encyclopedias, dictionaries & bibliographies--that are devoted to the topics of American literature, history, and culture. They can often be a good place to start your research, if you have a topic with which you are unfamiliar. These resources provide background information (key historical facts, names of important people/movements) and lists of additional resources on a particular topic. Below are a few that might be useful for your project.

    • The Columbia Guide to Asian American History - E184.A75 C64 2001 (Suzzallo)
    • Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History (6 vols) - E185 .E54 2006 (Available online & in Odegaard and Suzzallo)
    • Asian American Encyclopedia (6 vols) - E184 .A75 A827 1995 (Odegaard & Suzzallo)
    • Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History (3 vols) - E169.1 .E624 2001 (Suzzallo)
      •  
    • Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (4 vols) - HN57 .E594 2004 (Odegaard & Suzzallo)
    • Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture (2 vols) - E184.S75 E59 2004 (Odegaard & Suzzallo)
    • Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups - E184.A1 H35 (Odegaard & Suzzallo)
    • Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America (Available online)
    • The Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture (4 vols) - E169.1 .G7555 2002 (Suzzallo)
    • The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies - HM623 .B374 2004 (Suzzallo)
    • Social Issues in America: an encyclopedia (7 vols) - HN57 .S624 2006 (Odegaard)


      • The following link lists additional electronic and paper reference sources that may be of use to you: Reference Resources.

  3. 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.

      How does your TV show show the relationship between language use and the formation of self- or group- identity?

    • 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.
      • (name of show), self identity, group identity, language, verbal expression, bilingual, visual impact, ethnicity, cultural identity, stereotypes

    • Narrower terms: (Good for limiting your search, excluding irrelevant information, or adding focus to your search)
      • Population -men, women, children/teens, groups (artist, educators, clergy, ethnic/racial groups, etc.)
      • Geography - cities, states, regions
      • Time Period - current, decade, 20th Century

    • Broader terms: (Allow you to explore the broader context of your topic. Good if you're having difficulty finding sources)
      • television, culture, bilingualism, diversity, social history, ethnicity, race, assimilation, language, social condition, identity

      *Evaluate Search Strategy Checklist coming.


  4. Create a Search Query

      Use AND or OR to combine multiple terms/keywords in a search.

      See examples below:

    • Chinese Americans AND language (narrows your search, both terms 'Chinese Americans' and 'ethnic identity' must appear)


    • African Americans OR Blacks (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.

      Chicano AND cultur*

      Be aware that the truncation symbol may vary depending on the database (*,#,?,!) are the most common.


  5. 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. The catalog contains over 1.9 million titles (books, journals, newspapers, videos, etc.) held by more than 20 branches of the UW Libraries. Search by author, title, keyword, or Library of Congress subject headings to find specific titles. Search by journal title to see if the UW Libraries owns a particular journal, newspaper or magazine.)

      Recommend searching by Keyword,  Enter terms in search box:
      Example, Chinese Americans AND language

      *Note the terms listed as subject on the catalog record when you display the item.

      You can also search for authors and titles.

      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. Summit includes over 22 million items. Use Summit if a UW book is missing/checked out, or if the UW does not have a book that you need. You can request books through the catalog and get them in 3 days.


  6. 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.

    UW RestrictedThis image identifies resources where off-campus access is limited to UW students, faculty, and staff.

      Use your search strategy in these databases.
    • UW Restricted 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. ]


    • UW Restricted 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... ]


    • UW Restricted ProQuest
      [ Good for finding full-text scholarly, magazine, and newspaper articles ]


    • UW Restricted Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts: LLBA
      [ Good for finding scholarly articles in all fields of linguistics< ]


    • UW Restricted Expanded Academic ASAP
      [ Good for finding full-text scholarly, magazine, and newspaper articles ]


    • UW Restricted ERIC
      [ Good for finding full-text scholarly articles and research reports in the field of education and broad social sciences ]


    • UW Restricted Literature Resource Center
      [ Good for finding literary information, author biographies, criticism, etc. Many articles available full-text. Includes access to MLA Bibliography. ]


    • UW Restricted Sociological Abstracts
      [ Good for finding Sociology journal articles; also covers conference papers and dissertations.]



  7. Additional Resources
Created by: Harry Murphy, maurice@u.washington.edu
Last modified: Thursday October 18, 2007