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English 100W: Interdisciplinary Academic Writing - George Gadda |
| Librarian: Deborah Costa |
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This library resource page was designed specifically for students in GE Cluster 20. If you can't find what you're looking for, there are many ways to get help.
The Research Process |
Campus Resources |
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Step 1: Exploring Paper Topics
Want background
information and an overview of themes discussed in class? Subject
encyclopedias and handbooks are great for quick facts, definitions,
timelines, general background information, exploring ideas
for paper topics and brainstorming search terms. The following resources can be found in
the College Library Main Reading Room (2nd floor Powell Library) unless otherwise
noted.
Selected Resources
(browse call number area to find more!) |
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• Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights New York: Greenwood Press, 1992.
Location: Wall Collection E 185.6 E54 1992
• The Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History. New York: Macmillan
Library Reference, c1996
Location: Wall Collection E 185 E54 1995 (5 volumes)
• The Encyclopedia of African American Religions. New York: Garland Pub.,1993.
Location: College Library Reference Case/YRL Reference Reading Room, BR563.N4 E53 1993
• The Encyclopedia of African and African American Religions. New York: Routledge, 2001. Location: YRL Reference Reading Room: BL2462.5 .E53 2001
• The Encyclopaedia Britannica - Online
• Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, c1989.
Location: College Library Reference Wall Collection/YRL Reference Reading Room: F 209 E 53 1989.
• The Harvard guide to African American History. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 2001. Location: College Library Reference Wall Collection/YRL Reference Reading Room: E185 .H326 2001.
• Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1997.
Location: College Library Reference Wall Collection and YRL Reference Reading Room: HT861 .H57 1997 (2 volumes)
• A Historical Guide to World Slavery.New York: Oxford University Press,1998.
Location: Reference Wall Collection and YRL Reference Reading Room: HT861 .H59 1998
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Step 2: Searching for Books and Articles
searching for books
Use an online catalog to find books. The three catalogs most often used by students at UCLA are listed below. You can search online catalogs more effectively (and save time) if you use the right Library of Congress Subject Headings.
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Catalog
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What
Can You Find?
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Using
It
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UCLA Library Catalog
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Books
and other materials (not articles) owned by UCLA libraries
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Let's you know if the book is checked out |
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Melvyl
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Books and other materials (not articles) owned by UC libraries
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Lets you know if the book is checked out
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If UCLA
does not own the book, request an interlibrary
loan. Free of charge, but allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
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WorldCat
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Books
and other materials (not articles) owned by libraries worldwide
(most in North America)
•Does
not let you know if the book
is checked out at UCLA
•If
UCLA does not own the book, request an interlibrary
loan. Free of charge, but allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
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searching for articles
To find relevant articles efficiently, be sure to choose a database that will have information on your topic, have the type of article you need (peer-reviewed? popular?), and try multiple searches using a variety of search terms.
Selected Databases for English 100W
You
can access the UCLA Library databases from off-campus by using
the BruinOnline Proxy Server. Since you may be exploring multidisciplinary topics, it's probably a good idea to search in more than one database.
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America History & Life |
Indexes and abstracts journal articles on the history, social life and customs of the people of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. This extensive database also covers books, chapters in books, media reviews, and dissertations.
• Use It Now [click on "America: History and Life."] |
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Black Studies Database: Kaiser Index to Black Resources
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BSD includes more than 170,000 citations drawn from significant and influential journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, pamphlets and reports relevant to the Black experience from 1948-1986. No other electronic index has been compiled from these important primary sources of this time. This valuable resource covers events critical to the study of Black life and culture outside of Africa including notable figures in Black history, culture, and sports; the Civil Rights Movement, the growth of the NAACP and the National Urban League; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; jazz and soul music; and much more.
• Use It Now |
Ethnic Newswatch |
Contains the complete text of articles published in select publications of the ethnic, minority, and native presses (1990-present). Includes archival material dating back to the mid 1980's. Covers news, culture, and history, and is searchable in both English and Spanish.
• Use It Now |
Expanded Academic ASAP |
General database that covers most disciplines. Gives you access to magazine articles, peer-reviewed journal articles and some newspaper articles. Includes many full-text articles.
• Use It Now |
Periodicals Archive Online
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Index to millions of articles published in 4,547 periodicals in the humanities and social sciences from 1802 to 1995, including full text for 200 complete journal runs.indexed.
• Use It Now |
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Covers January 1887-present. Citations for articles in professional journals, conference proceedings, books, reports, and dissertations in psychology and related disciplines, most with abstracts.
• Use It Now |
Sociological Abstracts |
Covers 1974-present. Contains citations for articles from over 2,600 journals, books, conference papers, and dissertations in the sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Journal articles after 1974 contain abstracts.
• Use It Now |
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Contains the content of 3 different databases: Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and Science Citation Index: These are multidisciplinary databases of bibliographic information indexed so that you can search for specific articles by subject, author, journal, and/or author address. Because the information stored about each article includes the article's cited reference list (often called its bibliography), you can also search the databases for articles that cite a known author or work.
• How to Use It (video)
• Use It Now |
search tips
figuring out search terms |
Finding useful search terms is sometimes tricky. Often, the language that seems the most natural to us isn't the most effective language to use when searching a database. It's a good idea to brainstorm search terms before you start searching. You'll also want to explore search terms throughout your research process, remain flexible, and try several searches--it may take several tries before you start finding the type of resources that you're really interested in.
A few ways to investigate the language of the database:
• start with a keyword search, find a title that looks like it's on target, look at the full record for that title, then look at the words in the "subject" or "descriptor" section
• use the database thesaurus or subject guide if available to identify effective search terms quickly
• try searching on synonyms--like, "gender roles" or "sex roles" or "gender" or "masculinity" etc....
• identify useful dates (e.g., searching on "Nat Turner and rebellion" versus "Southampton Insurrection 1831")
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| using databases |
• use the database truncation or wildcard symbols, like...
if you typed .... |
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child* |
the database would look for... |
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child or children or childhood etc. |
The symbols vary from database to database, so investigate the "help" screens.
• use the advanced search screens--they give you more control over your search
• learn how to dissect a database
• use "quotation marks" if you want to search an exact phrase
• use connectors (boolean operators) like "and" "or" and "not" to combine ideas and construct effective searches
"And" - Narrows your search
"Or" - Broadens your search
"Not" - Excludes something from your search
| if you were doing a keyword search.... |
| don't type in a question, like: |
how is race socially constructed? |
| instead, type in main concepts : |
social construction and race
OR
race awareness and social aspects |
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| keeping track of your research |
• email citations to yourself
• if the full-text of the article is available online, email it to yourself
• if you use full-text online articles, record when you accessed it--you'll need that info when you write your bibliography
• if you're not emailing citations to yourself, be sure to write them down someplace
• if you photocopy journal articles, write the citation down on your photocopy, or photocopy the page that has the publication info
• if you photocopy portions of books, photocopy the page that has the publication info (place of publication, publisher, year, etc.)
for more info on keeping track of your research, see "avoiding disaster" from Bruin Success with Less Stress |
explore search terms
The words used to catalog information
on groups of people reflect the customs, opinions and race relations
during specific moments in history, so explore different
words used for ethnic groups, concepts, and issues--even if the language seems archaic. Also, different
databases might respond better using different words so try
several searches until you find the right terminology for that
database. TIP: Use the database thesaurus or subject
guide if available to identify effective search terms quickly.
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Ethnicity/Race
Examples: |
African Americans:
• African Americans
• Afro
Americans
• Afro-Cuban
or Cuban
• Americans
• Blacks
• Cape
Verdean
• Americans
• Haitian
Americans
• Negroes
...
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Slavery in the United States |
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Slavery - United States
• Slavery - United States - History
• Slaveholders
• Plantation life
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Step 3: Getting Books and Articles
Materials are arranged at the library by call number (the first letter of the call number usually indicates which floor the book/periodical is on). The first letters of a call number represents the subject area, so you can usually find books on the same topic next to each other on the shelf. At most libraries, recent periodicals and books are kept in different locations. At College Library, recent periodicals are arranged in alphabetical order in the East Rotunda, and bound periodicals (older) are arranged in call number order in the Main Reading Room. Be sure to make note of the call number and the library that owns the item you need. Your Bruin ID is your library card. At College Library, you will find:
Where |
What |
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computer classrooms (open as drop-in labs when classes not in session) |
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Main Reading Room: reference books & bound (older) journals, Reference Desk;
East Rotunda: unbound (recent) periodicals, newspapers, Circulation Desk, and Reserves Desk
Recent Fiction Alcove |
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Night Powell (late night study area), group study rooms, laptop check-out, CLICC lab, library books beginning with call numbers A-G |
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library books beginning with call numbers H-Z, and oversized books |
Step 4: Evaluating Resources
Try to use high quality sources. Evaluate the books, articles, websites, etc. that you have found to make sure the information is relevant, up-to-date and coming from a reliable source. You can use the guides below to help you:
• How to Evaluate Books
• How to Evaluate Journal Articles
• How to Evaluate Web Sites
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Step 5: Writing & Revising
Ready to start writing? You might want to take a look at these links...
• Resources for UCLA Students (guide to campus resources--tutoring, online guides, etc.)
• Tips on quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing
• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
Step 6: Citing Resources
Yes, the details of citation format can be tedious, but it's pretty much an accepted fact that these conventions must be followed in academic writing. Be sure to consult with your instructor regarding which documentation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) he or she prefers and always refer to the most recent handbook or manual. For a general overview of the why's and how's, see "Citing & Documenting Sources" in the Bruin Success with Less Stress web site. For an online guide to APA, MLA, Chicago and CBE citation styles, see Research and Documentation Online.
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Style |
Get
the Manual |
Online
Help |
American Psychological Association (APA)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. 2001 |
• Biomedical Library, PE1475. P976 2001 (stacks, reference and reserves)
• College Library, BF76.7.P83 2001 (reference—2nd floor, bookcase behind reference desk)
• Law Library, BF76.7.P83 2001 (stacks)
• Young Research Library, BF76.7.P83 2001 (reference)
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• APA Style Tips (Official Site)
• APA Research Style Crib Sheet
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Modern
Language Association (MLA)
Gibaldi,
Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2003.
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College Library Main Reading Room (6 copies): LB2369 .G53
2003 |
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Purdue University Writing Lab
•Modern Language Association [click on MLA Style] |
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Chicago/Turabian
The
Chicago Manual of Style.
15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Turabian,
Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1996.
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College Library Main Reading Room (1 copy): Z253 .U69
2003 |
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Chicago Notes and Bibliography
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Chicago Manual of Style (official site)
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College Library Main Reading Room (1 copy): LB2369 .T84m
1996
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College Library Stacks (4 copies): LB2369 .T84m 1996
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Created by: Deborah Costa
Last updated: January 26, 2007 |
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