BONNIE RYAN
RM. 210, BIRD LIBRARY
315-443-4674
bcryan@syr.edu

---

Choosing Key Terms

When you have chosen your research statement or question, take some time to break the statement down into key terms or phrases. You will use these terms in the various databases to find sources on your topic.

Example: Transnationalism among workers from the Caribbean.
Key Terms: Transnationalism, Workers, Caribbean

Some hints for choosing key terms:

Be flexible: After dividing you statement into key terms, think of alternative terms, such as synonyms, or broader, narrower, or related terms. Each database may use different keyword or subject terms to describe a topic.

Example: Transnational immigration, laborers, (specific Caribbean country) Jamaica; or, immigration, foreign workers, Latin America

Think globally and chronologically: Consider terms that contain a geographic area, or a broad or specific time period.

---

SUMMIT Catalog -  Use this to find books, journals, videos or other type of media the Library owns.  You can search by keyword, author (last name first), title, boolean or subject heading.  Remember to use subject headings to find more relevant resources on a topic.

The following list provides some relevant subject headings for related topics:

Developing Countries	Transnationalism
Industrialization	Environment
Economic Development	Environmental policy
Tourism	Environmental justice
Tourism Developing Countries	Environmental protection
Capitalism	Sustainable development
Globalization	Democracy

Core Print Resources
Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology 4 vols. Ref GN 307 .E52 1996
Encyclopedia of Community 4 vols. Ref. HM 756 .E53 2003
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences 26 vols. Ref H41 .I58 2001
Introduction to Research in Anthropology Ref GN 42 .W44 1998
Qualitative Research Practice Ref H62 .Q3546 2003

Databases - These are electronic indexes that you can search to locate journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and conference or proceeding papers.  Some databases provide full text access; others only provide you with the citation.  The Library owns over 300 databases.  Some are very subject specific (e.g. Anthropological Literature, America: History and Life); others are interdisciplinary (e.g. Expanded Academic, Wilson Select).  To access any of the databases from off campus, you will be prompted for a user name and password.  Your user name is your ten digit ID # (make sure that you use all ten digits) and your password is your last name in lower-case letters.  For additional assistance with this, please go to the instructions for remote access to databases.

Recommended Databases

AnthroSource
Full-text of journals published by the American Anthropological Association.

Anthropological Literature
Index to articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology, including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Updated quarterly; 1984 - present.

Anthropological Index
Bibliographic citations from the journal holdings the Library of the British Museum Department of Ethnography (now known as the Anthropology Library), which incorporates the former Royal Anthropological Institute library.

GenderWatch
Full-text publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas.

PAIS International
Provides indexing and abstracting of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs.

Popline
Index with abstracts of the worldwide literature on population, family planning, and related health issues.

JSTOR
Full-text archive of scholarly publications in mathematics, science, and the social sciences.

Social Science Abstracts
Index with abstracts in sociology, social work, aging, gerontology, child and family studies, marriage and family therapy and other social sciences.

Web of Science
Citation index to 8700 authoritative, high impact journals, including 200 open access journals, covered by Science Citation Index ExpandedTM, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Backfile data to 1995.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.

Locating Journal Articles
1.    Go to the Database Main Menu to locate a relevant database.  You can choose a database by using the general subject categories of Social Sciences, Humanities, Science & Technology, Newspapers, etc. or you can choose an interdisciplinary database.  Remember, some of the databases offer full text of the articles online, but others you will need to locate the journal article either through one of the e-journal packages or in print. 

2.     If the database is not full text, write down the full citation of the article that you want.  Full citations include:  author’s name, journal name, title of article, dates, volume & issue # (if available) and page numbers.

        Example:  Morris-Roberts, Kathryn. 2001. “Intervening in Friendship Exclusion? The Politics of Doing        
        Feminist  Research with Teenage Girls.”  Ethics, Place and Environment 4.2 :147-153.

3.    With this information go to the full text journal locator (you can access this through the E-Journals link on the  Library web page) to see if we have the article available full text through another database.  If we do, use an advanced search in the database to locate the article.

4.     If the article is not available full text online, go to the Summit online catalog, to find a call # for the journal that you are looking for.  Using the call # and the article citation, go to the relevant floor and locate it. However, current issues (from the last year) are kept on the 2nd floor in the Current Periodicals area.

5.  If the Library does not own the journal that you need, you can request it through interlibrary loan. This is a free service that you can use as often as you like.  Generally, you can borrow a book for 4-6 weeks and a journal article is photocopied and yours to keep.  Please note:  It can take 7-14 days to receive materials through interlibrary loan.

Searching the Web

Evaluating Internet Sources
Here are some criteria you should consider when reviewing any website:

Authority * Is the article signed? * Who is the author? * What are the author's credentials? * With which institution(s) are they affiliated? * Is the publication scholarly or popular? Are there footnotes?A bibliography?	Objectivity * Who is the audience? * What is the purpose of this site? * Does the author state the goals for this web page? * Does the site inform, educate, persuade or act as a soapbox? * If the author is affiliated with an institution, does this affiliation bias the information presented?
Accuracy * Is the web site well organized? * Has the author used good grammar? Are there spelling errors? * Are the graphics appropriate for the content? * Is the information complete and accurate?	Currency *When was the web site created? If it has been updated, is there a revision date? * Do the links work? * Is the page maintained regularly?

What is Google Scholar?
Google Scholar is a search tool that offers researchers links to a wide selection of materials that may be scholarly in nature. It indexes these materials that are taken from a variety of sources: academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as articles and papers available on the web. When using Google Scholar, refer to SU Library's databases or e-journals for full-text access to periodicals you find. Through Google Scholar, you may be prompted to pay a fee as an individual searcher.

Some relevant web sites for your to consider:

Human Rights Library - Univ. of Minnesota
World Bank
Academy for Educational Development
United Nations

For Your Information
To make Copies - 1st Floor, where you can purchase a VendaCard.  You will need one of these to print out or photocopy materials in the library.  There are copiers usable with a vendacard, on floors 2-4 of Bird Library. There are two copiers in the extended use area outside of the Library on the first floor that are coin-operated, but the copies are .15 with coins, rather than .08 with the card. You cannot take periodicals outside to the extended use area to copy.

Reserves –1st floor at Circulation desk; be sure to have your call number first before going to get the material at the Reserves desk.

Media Services – Lower level – access to Microsoft Word and other graphics-type of software (Adobe products, etc.).  Also, video collection and microforms.

Current Periodicals - 2nd floor - Journals, magazines and newspapers from the last 6-12 months are shelved here in alphabetical order.

Style Guides
Citation Style Guides - This page links to various style manuals available online: A.P.A. (American Psychological Association), M.L.A. (Modern Language Association), Turabian, and general guides.

AAA Style Guide