GEOG 100: Research the 'Geography of Home'

New to Academic Library Research?

Research 101 is an interactive online tutorial for students who are new to complex academic research. It covers different types of sources, how to select a topic and develop research questions, and how to search for information sources and evaluate what you find.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: / "What do people do for a living in your home?" / "How has that changed over time?" /

Homes in Washington State:
• King County Census Viewer - view maps and tables for more than 100 community census data indicators for 77 defined places throughout King County. Data displayed at census tract or blockgroup level within each place.
• Pierce County Census View 2000 - view 2000 Census data for Pierce County by census tract and block group - definitions of census geography also available on pp 10-13 of Census 2000 Basics[pdf].
• Puget Sound Regional Council - Maps/Data/Publications - a clearinghouse for regional data and publications on population, housing, economy, and transportation in the central Puget Sound region, e.g. Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties.
• Washington State County & City Information - links to data on these topics for each county in WA: population, economy, county government finances, human services, criminal justice.
• Northwest Income Indicators Project - economic indicator data tables and graphs for Washington counties - data 1963-2003.

  Homes Anywhere in the United States:

• American FactFinder - Data from 2000 & 1990 Census and MUCH more from the U.S. Census Bureau
  • 4 Easy Steps to Census 2000 Data [pdf].
  • Census Tract Finder - search using your address.
  • This picture provides a quick review of Census Geography (for areas smaller than County).
  • Census Glossary definitions for Place, Census Tract, and Block Group and Block.
  • The Decennial Census asks a specific range of questions. Everyone answers questions on the short form about people and housing, but 1 in 6 households receive the long form which adds questions on social, economic and housing topics.
• MapStats: United States - view a statistical profile of your state, county, city, congressional district, or Federal judicial district.
• County Business Patterns & USA Counties, from the U.S. Census Bureau - Older editions are available in print at Government Publications, ground floor Suzzallo Library.
• Historical Census Browser, provides census data for states and counties for 1790-1960.
• Scanned Decennial Census Volumes 1790-1980 - sadly the Census Bureau webpage which organized this web directory is no longer available but these pdf documents are - you'll have to hunt to find things of use.
• Geographic Info reference tools - a mix of links to maps, place name information (gazetteers), country profiles, etc.
• Statistics reference tools - a mix of links to local, state, national and international resources.
• Local & County government web pages, regional councils, public libraries, planning offices, port authorities, etc. - search them out on the web, check "government listings" sections of the local phone book, or visit them in person.
• State & Local Government on the Net - start here to find official websites for U.S. states, counties, and local governments.

  Homes outside the United States:

• Europa World Online - Presents political and economic information on countries and territories as well as international organizations. Features statistical data and directories
• EIU.com country reports - Economic and political information about individual countries worldwide - see particularly the sections Country Report & County Profile.
• Country Studies / Area Handbooks - each easy to browse book provides description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions for 101 countries around the world.
• Portals to the World - Library of Congress guide to authoritative websites, browse by country name.
• National statistical agencies - an alpha listing by country of official web sites.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY: "What are the major political conflicts in your hometown- be they at the local, regional or national scale?"

All Homes:
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe - Newspaper articles from across the United States and around the world, with an emphasis on English-language news.
• NewsBank Retrospective - Back issues of U.S. newspapers, 1970-1991, including various regional papers. Check here for a state-by-state list of newspapers covered.
• NewsLink - current online newspapers; most won't have a searchable archive of older papers.
• Country Studies / Area Handbooks - each easy to browse e-book provides description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions for 101 countries around the world.
• Alt-Press Watch - full text newspaper, magazine and journal articles from alternative and independent presses.
• Ethnic Newswatch - Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic and minority press in America.

  Homes in Washington State:

• Washington State Newstand
• Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index
• Access Washington - Washington State agencies' home page
• HistoryLink - Seattle, King County, & Washington state history
• WebTowns - a guide to Puget Sound neighborhoods, from the Seattle P.I.
• Puget Sound Regional Council

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: / "How does 'nature' take on cultural meaningfulness in your hometown?" / "What landscape is most symbolic of your hometown?"

• UW Libraries Digital Collections - digital selections from the photography collections with emphasis on the PNW region.
• Early Washington Maps - digital images of maps which date rom the earliest explorations of WA to the mid-20th century.
• American Memory Project - digital selections from the Library of Congress collections - photos, videos, maps, etc.
• Google Images Search - search for images of your home on the web.
• British Library - Images Online - from these collections of global scope.
• Alt-Press Watch - full text newspaper, magazine and journal articles from alternative and independent presses.
• Ethnic Newswatch - Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic and minority press in America.

Not finding anything useful?

Need help finding Geography concepts?

• UW Libraries Catalog
  Search for books, videos, documents, and journal subscriptions at all of the UW Libraries at once.
• Summit Catalog
  A catalog of libraries at university & college in Washington and Oregon. You'll need the barcode on your Husky card and a Libraries PIN to request items - they arrive at the library of your choice in 3-5 business days.

• Expanded Academic Index
  Academic and popular articles in many disciplines; about 60% of the articles are in full text. Limit to scholarly material by checking the box next to "Refereed publications".
• Research Library Complete
  Academic and popular articles in many disciplines; about 60% of the articles are in full text. Limit to scholarly material by checking the box next to "Scholarly journals".
• GeoBase
  Citations and abstracts for scholarly articles in Geography, including urban, political and economic geography.
• PAIS
  Articles and documents in the fields of public policy, political science, and international relations.
• Web of Science This database includes the Social Science Citation Index of citations and abstracts in the social science fields.

• Lexis Nexis Academic Universe
  Although not academic, newspapers can be a good source for analytic news articles on local issues. Lexis-Nexis indexes U.S. and world newspapers, in full text; most coverage is for 1990 and later. Sample search: washington and (wheat or apples) and econom!, limited to Washington state newspapers.
• NewsBank Retrospective
  This database indexes back issues of U.S. newspapers, 1970-1991, and includes various regional papers. Check here for a state-by-state list of newspapers covered.
• Alt-PressWatch
  Full text database of selected newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press

Evaluate your search strategy

Citation/Writing Help

• Harvard System for documenting sources
• Additional Citation & Writing Guides

• Anthropology & Geography Writing Center
• Odegaard Writing & Research Center

• EndNote Imports - EndNote is software that helps you manage bibliographic citations and is available in the computer labs in Mary Gates Hall, Odegaard Library, Access+ computers provided in several campus libraries, and the computers in the Geography Collaboratory, Smith 415.

• Evaluating Credibility of Sources - from the Research 101 tutorial