Women's Studies 187
Senior Research Seminar: Feminist
Methodologies
Fall 2007
Library Research Guide
Ellen Broidy
Librarian for Women's Studies and
LGBT Studies
Getting
to this page:
Go to the
UCLA Library's webpage (www.library.ucla.edu)
and follow these simple steps:
Introduction
This guide is designed as
an introduction to print ("real") and online ("virtual") resources
critical for conducting research on feminist methodologies against 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;
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
3. Finding
books/monographic materials
5. Full-text
journals on the web
6. Other
useful websites
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.
1.2 Topic identification
and description: Identify a topic of interest and describe it in as narrow and
focused a way as possible. Consider subtopics, perspective you wish to take,
geographic or chronological focus. As the four "W" questions: What" Who? When?
Where? If you are so inclined, asked Why?
1.3 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 terms (e.g., violence) as well as precise descriptors
such as genital mutilation.
1.4 Truncation: Use
truncation symbols (?, *, or #) to build on the root
of a word or, if the system permits, within a word to expand your retrieval.
The specific symbol depends on the system you're searching.
Examples:
femin? = feminist, feminism,
feminine
wom#n = woman or women
1.5 Call numbers: Call
numbers are determined by the first/primary subject heading assigned to the
publication. Thus there is an excellent chance that most, although by no means
all, books on feminist methodologies will be classed and shelved together. Once
you find some promising call numbers for your topic, browse the shelves in that
area for serendipitous discoveries of other items that might be of interest or
use.
1.6 Search documentation:
Keep careful track of your research process and progress: sources consulted,
date ranges covered, search terms used, as well as all promising citations. Use
a notebook, index cards, e-mail messages to yourself, or an online system such
as EndNote.
1.7 What to keep in mind
when assessing the quality and usefulness of print and electronic resources:
Author: Credentials? Scholar?
Academic field? Other publications?
Publisher: University press? Other
scholarly publisher? Trade press?
Notes: Bibliography? Index?
Footnotes?
Date: Original publication date?
Date of revision, new edition?
Reviewed: If a book, can you locate a
(favorable) book review?
This is the front door to a
wide variety of print and electronic resources in Women's Studies; MELVYL, the
union catalog for the
3. Finding
books: UCLA Library and MELVYL Catalogs
Identifying and locating
books on your topic is most conveniently done through a keyword or subject
search in the UCLA Library Catalog or the UC systemwide MELVYL Catalog. Keyword searching is the most flexible, usually
producing the largest retrieval (but also including "false drops" or unintended
results) while subject searching can often be more precise (but limited)
because it relies on an authorized list of subject terms called 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.
A subject heading is a word
or term that describes, often quite broadly, the contents of a book, 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 listed in Library of Congress Subject Headings, a
four-volume set with a bright red cover located near the reference desk in YRL.
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 catalog and then check the subject headings assigned to
the book. Note the most promising heading(s) and click on the live link to
execute a subject search.
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
library materials.
The UCLA Library Catalog is accessible via the link on this
webpage and from the Library's homepage. Click on the Search and find" tab. The
catalog is the first item on the drop-down menu.
The UCLA Catalog offers the following features:
Circulation
status of materials - lets you know whether a book is available (on the shelf),
checked out (and the date it's due back), or missing.
Serials
information - catalog lists both print and electronic serials, with UCLA
holdings.
Personal
circulation data - allows you to keep track online of materials you have
checked out of the Library. Click on My Account and type in your UCLA Bruin
Card number.
If your UCLA Library
Catalog search does not produce the desire results, you may want to search the
holdings of other libraries, particularly other UC libraries. The UC MELVYL
Catalog opens up doors to worlds beyond UCLA (yes, the rumor is true. There is
intelligent life out there).
To get to the MELVYL
Catalog, use the link on this website or click on the Search and find and then Other catalogs. MELVYL is the first in this list. To
research a topic, you may use either the default Basic search option or click
on Advanced in the gold bar at the top of the page.
4. Finding
articles: periodical indexes and abstracting services
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. Publications include academic and scholarly journals,
magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and
pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, non-governmental
organization, and special reports. The complete text of journal articles is
available on the database for all or some of the journals indexed.
Women's Studies International
Covers the core disciplines in Women's Studies to the latest
scholarship in feminist research. Women's
Studies International supports curriculum development in the areas
of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy,
international relations, arts & humanities, business and education. Nearly
800 essential sources include: journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins,
books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, NGO studies,
important websites & web documents, and grey literature. Over 2,000 periodical
sources are represented and include ISSNs.
LGBT life
A resource for literature regarding
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. Contains indexing and abstracts
for more than 120 GLBT-specific core periodicals. Also contains data mined from
over 40 priority periodicals as well as data mined from over 1400 select
titles. Includes over 50,000 records relevant to all areas of GLBT studies
selected from Sexual Diversity Studies database.
Alt-Press Watch
Alt-PressWatch is a
full text database comprising the newspapers, magazines and journals of the
alternative and independent press. It is a source of coverage, viewpoints and
perspectives that complement and challenge the coverage of the mainstream
media. The magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press
provide in-depth coverage of a broad range of critical issues including ecology
and the environment, grassroots organizing, labor, indigenous peoples, public
policy, genetics, etc.
Ethnic NewsWatch
Contains the complete text
of articles since 1990 from 200 publications of the ethnic, minority,
and native press, along with archival material dating back to the mid 1980s.
Covers news, culture, and history, and is searchable in both English and
Spanish.
Family and Society Studies Worldwide
Family & Society
Studies Worldwide is a comprehensive, systematic, and non-evaluative resource
of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science,
Human Ecology, Human Development and Social Welfare.
The
Sociological Abstracts database contains citations for articles from over 2,600
journals, books, conference papers, and dissertations in 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.
Coverage: 1963-present.
Citations
and abstracts for articles in 1300 professional journals, conference
proceedings, books, reports and dissertations in psychology and related
disciplines. Most citations include abstracts. The producer, the American
Psychological Association, offers a list of journals indexed for the database.
PsycARTICLES
Provides full text
access, citations and abstracts to articles from journals published by APA, the
APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association
and Hogrefe & Huber. Coverage for most journals begins with 1985, others have only more recent years. Covers general
psychology and specialized basic, applied, clinical, and theoretical research
in psychology in areas including animal behavior, cognition, memory,
neuroscience, perception, physiological psychology, psycholinguistics,
psychometrics, social and personality psychology.
Expanded Academic Index
Provides selected
full-text articles and images from 2,600 scholarly journals, magazines, and
newspapers, with the earliest citations dating back to 1980. Spans all academic
disciplines from arts and humanities to social sciences, science, and
technology.
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Full-text news, business, legal, medical, and
reference information. Also useful for finding full text of
current performing arts and media industry news in major newspapers.
Web of Science: Arts & Humanities
Citation Index; Social Sciences Citation Index
A multidisciplinary database, with
searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social
sciences and arts & humanities. Indexes major journals across disciplines
with all cited references captured. Through the Web of Science, users can
access the Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities 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. Cited reference searching, unique to ISI, lets you use a given
work as if it were a subject term.
WorldCat
OCLC FirstSearch
catalog of books, web resources, and other material worldwide. Includes citations for books, journals, manuscripts, maps, music
scores, sound recordings, films, computer files, newspapers, slides,
videotapes, etc., in a variety of languages.
Google Scholar
See Google Scholar,
Search Engines and the Research Process for some sage advice on how
best to use these mega-indexes.
5. Full-text
journals on the web
Expanded Academic Index
Full-text in either HTML or pdf.
JSTOR
Full text of core scholarly journals from their beginning to approximately five
years ago. Disciplines include botany, business, ecology, general
science, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, statistics.
Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines.
Includes the following Women's Studies titles:
Feminist
Review 1979-2001
Feminist
Studies 1972-1999
Frontiers:
A Journal of Women Studies 1975-2001
Gender
and Society 1987-2003
Signs 1975-2002
(plus links to recent content 2003-2006)
Full text
of current issues (from about 1990) of scholarly journals published by
university presses, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Browsable
by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. 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 Middle East Women's Studies (2006-)
Journal
of the History of Sexuality (2001-)
Meridians:
feminism, race, transnationalism (2003-)
Social
Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society (2003-)
Full-text
of articles from the Nation beginning in 1865. In recent years, this has
turned into quite a good source for current views on major domestic and
international issues of interest to feminist scholars.
New York Times (Historical)
The New
York Times historical (1851-2003) offers full page and article images with
searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital
reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
New York Times (Current)
The New York Times
Current offers fulltext coverage of national and international news, plus
coverage of important speeches and documents, Supreme Court decisions and
presidential press conference transcripts, from 1995 to the present.
WSSLinks: Women and Gneder
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.
Women's
Studies/Women's Issues Resource Site
A selective, annotated, highly
acclaimed listing of websites containing resources and information about
women's studies/women's issues, with an emphasis on sites of particular
interest to academic women's studies.
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