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Women's Studies 187
Senior Research
Seminar:
Women and
Health
Library Research Guide
Ellen Broidy
Librarian for Women's
Studies
825-1324
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This guide is designed as an introduction to print ("real")
and online ("virtual") resources critical for conducting research on topics
related to women and health located the UCLA Library and beyond. It is extremely
selective, both in terms of the sources cited and the research strategies
recommended (or implied). All reference and "finding" sources listed are
available at UCLA, although not necessarily in the same library; however, a
number of these point to materials located at libraries, both real and virtual,
beyond the campus borders.
The guide covers the following areas:
1.
Basic Research Strategies and Tips
2.
UCLA Library Homepage
3.
Finding Books / Monographic Materials
4.
Finding Articles
5..
Finding Book Reviews
6..
Full-Text Journals on the Web
7.
Other Useful Websites
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1. Basic Research Strategies and
Tips |
1.1. Search tips ~Systems and Serendipity: Successful research is
often a combination of systematic approaches and, when appropriate, serendipity.
1.1.1. Topic Identification and Description: Identify a topic of
interest and describe it as narrowly/focused as possible. Consider
subtopics, perspective you wish to take, geographical and/or chronological
focus. Ask: What? Who? When? Where?
1.1.2.Search Vocabulary: Make a list of search terms (keywords)
that describe your topic. Include synonyms, relevant proper names,
etc. Avoid very common words if possible, but also include some general
(e.g., United States) as well as precise descriptors.
1.1.3. Truncation: Use truncation symbols (?, *, or #) building
on the root of a word or within a term to expand your retrieval. Specific symbol
depends on the system you're using (ORION or MELVYL®).
Examples:
wom#n = woman or women
heal? = heals, healing, health
1.1.4. Call Numbers: Call numbers are determined by the
first/primary subject heading of the publication. Thus, most (but not
always necessarily all) books on Indian Captivity Narratives, for instance, will
be classed and shelved together. Once you find a promising call number(s)
for your topic, browse the shelves in this area for serendipitous discoveries of
other items that might be of interest/use.
1.1.5. Search Documentation: Keep careful track of your research
process: sources consulted, date ranges covered, search terms used, as well as
promising citations. Use a notebook, index cards, and/or email messages to
yourself, etc.
1.2. Considerations in assessing the quality and usefulness of an item
(for print and electronic resources):
-
Author:
Credentials? Scholar? Academic Field (e.g. History?) Other
publications?
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Publisher: University
Press? Other scholarly publisher? Trade Press?
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Notes:
Bibliography? Index? Footnotes? Use to refine and/or expand your
research.
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Journal:
Scholarly journal or popular magazine?
-
Date:
Original publication date (unless revised); critically important.
-
Reviewed: If a book, can
you locate (favorable ) book reviews on this item?
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This is the front door to a wide variety of print and electronic resources in
Women's Studies; MELVYL, the union catalog for the University of California
libraries; the California Digital Library; and subject-related webpages
developed at UCLA.
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3. Finding Books / Monographic
Publications: UCLA Library and MELVYL®
Catalogs |
Identifying and locating books on your topic is most conveniently done
through a keyword or subject (heading) search using the UCLA
Library Catalog or the UC systemwide MELVYL® Catalog. Keyword searching (when
available) is the most flexible, usually producing the largest retrieval (often
including "false drops"), while subject searching can often be more precise
since it relies on authorized Library of Congress Subject Headings.
3.1. Library of Congress Subject Headings
Although the advent of online catalogs with keyword search capabilities has
sounded the death knell for rigidly structured subject heading/classification
schemes, it is still worth considering how language is used to organize
materials in a research library. For example, it is possible (and frequently
extremely beneficial) to do a subject search in the UCLA Library Ctalog or
MELVYL® using Library of Congress subject headings.
A subject heading is a word or term that describes, often quite broadly, the
contents of a book, journal article, videotape, dataset, etc. All nonfiction
books and media are assigned one or more subject headings, allowing for multiple
points of access to the same item. "Authorized" headings are found listed in
Library of Congress Subject Headings, a four-volume set with a bright red
cover located in YRL Reference (Z695.Z8 L524a ).
One of the best and most efficient ways to identify subject headings for your
topic is to do a keyword or title search in the UCLA Library Catalog or MELVYL
and then display results in a format that shows subject headings. Note
subject headings for the most promising items, click on subject heading to
execute a search on that subject.
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The UCLA Library Catalog provides quick and efficient access to the holdings
of the UCLA Library. The catalog should be your first stop for books,
periodicals, media and other monographic materials.
- The UCLA Library Catalog is directly accessible from the
UCLA Library homepage; Click on the "search and find" tab. The catalog
is the first item on the drop-down menu.
The UCLA Library Catalog
offers the following unique features:
Circulation status of material
-- the catalog tells you whether a book is available (on the shelf), checked
out (and date it's due back), or missing;
Serials information -- catalog
lists both print and electronic serials publications with UCLA holdings
Personal circulation data -- the catalog allows you to keep track online
of materials you have checked out of the Library. Click on My Account and key
in your UCLA Bruin Card number.
Electronic reserves -- from the Services
button at the top of the page you can go to course reserves and from there
link to a specific course and check to see what, if anything, is "on-reserve"
for the class in electronic format. .
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If your UCLA Library Catalog search does not produce the desired results, you
may want to search the holdings of other libraries, particularly other UC
libraries. The UC MELVYL® Catalog opens doors to worlds beyond UCLA (yes, rumor
has it that there is intelligent life out there!). In addition to providing
bibliographic access to the holdings of other UC libraries through the
MELVYL®Catalog, the California Digital Library (CDL) contains a large number of
indexes to periodical literature, some with abstracts or full-text of articles
available online.
To use the MELVYL® Catalog, click on Search and Find
and the Other Catalogs. To research a topic, you may use either the
default Basic Search screen or click on Advanced in the gold bar at the top of
the page. Subject searches require word(s) from authorized LC subject
headings but word order does not matter. If you are unsure of a subject
heading, try a Keyword search instead.
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4. Finding Articles: Periodical Indexes
and Abstracting Services |
The most convenient direct access to periodical indexes and abstracts is
through the UCLA Libray Homepage. Click on search and find and then on article
databases or electronic resources. If you know a particular title, you can
search for it here.
Women's Studies
International
An interdisciplinary database combined from Women
Studies Abstracts (1984-present), Women's Studies Database (1972-present), New
Books on Women and Feminism (1987-present), Women of Color and Southern Women
(1975-present), The History of Women and Science, Health, and Technology: A
Bibliographic Guide to the Professions and Disciplines (1970-1995), Women's
Health and Development: An Annotated Bibliography (1995), Women, Race, and
Ethnicity: A Bibliography (1970- 1990), WAVE: Women's Audiovisuals in English: A
Guide to Nonprint Resources in Women's Studies (1985-1990).
Contemporary
Women's Issues
The Contemporary Women's Issues database provides
full-text access to global information on women. Journals, newsletters, and
research reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies
are easily accessed through CWI. Information on women in over 190 countries is
compiled in a single collection bringing together such disciplines as sociology,
psychology, health, education, business administration and political science.
Coverage: 1992-present .
GenderWatch
Contains
the full text of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad
spectrum of subject areas from the 1970's to the present. Provides
in-depth coverage of subjects that are uniquely central to women's
lives.
Family and Soicety
Studies Worldwide
Covers popular and professional issues related to
family studies with materials drawn from a wide range of social science
disciplines including anthropology, sociology, psychology, demography, health
sciences, education, economics, law, history, and social work.
CHID: Combined Health Information
Database.
An index to health information and health education
resources produced by health-related agencies of the federal government.
Coverage is 1985 to the present.
National Library of Medicine Population
Information
Provides worldwide coverage of population, family
planning, and related health issues, including family planning technology and
programs, fertility, and population law and policy from 1970 to the present with
selected citations dating back to 1886. In addition, POPLINE focuses on
particular developing-country issues including demography, AIDS and other
sexually transmitted diseases, maternal and child health, primary health care
communication, and population and environment.
GlobalHealth
Provides Web
links to information on global health including the link between domestic and
international health issues. Data resources includes information by country,
world health statistics, and links to fact sheets about each country.
POPLINE : Your connection to
the world's reproductive health literature
Citations from 1970 to
the present on population, family planning, and related health issues.
PubMed
This
search system provides access to the PubMed database of bibliographic
information, which is drawn primarily from MEDLINE, which indexes articles from
about 3,900 journals covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry,
veterinary medicine, and the preclinical sciences, dating from 1966 to the
present.
Sociological
Abstracts
The Sociological Abstracts database 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. Also includes Social
Planning/Policy and Development Abstracts (SOPODA) as a sub-file, providing
additional literature on policy issues topics ranging from violence to aging to
disaster preparedness
Expanded
Academic Index
Both an index and abstracting database as well as a
source for full-text on the web. You can limit retrieval to full-text.
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5.1. On the Web:
Generally best to use the book title as your search term.
1. Periodicals Archive Online (formerly PCI Full Text). Indexes thousands of periodicals in the social sciences and humanities from 1770-1995, and currently offers full text of articles for 200 complete journal runs.
Search Hint: On search page under Scope: Limit to Books
Reviews Only
2. Expanded
Academic
Index
Although there is no separate limit for book reviews, citations to reviews are
clearly marked in the record.
5.2. . Print Resources: Available in the YRL Reference area
1st floor or in the YRL stacks, by call number.
1. Book Review Index. 1965- . YRL Ref. Z1035 A1 B6
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6. Full-Text Journals on the
Web |
Access from either the UCLA Homepage E-Resources site (use dropdown menu;
click on United States History and then on either Electronic Journal Collections
or Electronic Journals) or search by title in the Find Online Materials portion
of the homepage or in ORION2.
Expanded
Academic Index
Includes many full-text journals; click on pdf file for
full-text online or UC-elinks to connect either to electronic version held by
UC or to find out whether UC/UCLA subscribes to the journal in which the
article appears.
JSTOR
Online access to full back-runs of academic journals across
the disciplines. Includes:
Feminist Studies 1972-1997
Signs 1975-2002
Gender and
Society 1987-2001
Journal of Health and Social
Behavior 1967-2002
Sociological Methodology 1969-2002
Project
Muse
Full text of current issues (from
about 1990) of scholarly journals published by university presses, chiefly in
the arts, humanities and social sciences, includes
differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies (fall 1998-2004; archive
only)
Frontiers: A Journal of
Women Studies (2001-)
GLQ: A Journal of
Lesbian and Gay Studies (n.3 1999;2000-)
Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and
Underserved (2004-)
Journal of Healthcare Politics and the Law
(Aug.-Oct. 1999;2000-Dec. 2004; archive
only)
Journal of the History of
Sexuality (2001-)
Journal
of Women's History (1999-)
Women and Music: A Journal
of Gender and Culture (2004-)
Nation Digital
Archive
Full-text of articles from the Nation beginning in 1865. In recent
years, quite a good resource for current views on international issues as well
as major domestic issues of interest to feminist scholars. The Nation has had a particulat interest in
healthcare policy debates.
New
York Times
America's "newspaper of record," this site provides searchable access to the
full-text of the New York Times. Separate links take you the
historical backfile and the current issues (1980- )
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WSS Links: Women and
Gender Studies Web Sites
Produced by the Women’s Studies Section
(WSS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries, provides topical
access to a wide range of women’s and gender studies websites.
Institute for Women's Policy Research
(IWPR)
IWPR focuses on issues of poverty and welfare, employment and
earnings, work and family issues, the economic and social aspects of health care
and domestic violence, and women’s civic and political participation. Site
includes links to many web resources useful in research.
Women's
Studies / Women's Issues Resource Sites
Women's Studies / Women's
Issues Resource Sites is a selective, annotated, highly acclaimed listing of web
sites containing resources and information about women's studies / women's
issues, with an emphasis on sites of particular use to an academic women's
studies program. If you're looking for sites on a specific women-focused topic,
you may prefer to use the following subject sections rather than scroll through
the all-inclusive alphabetical listing (the "last updated" sections are marked
)