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Contents:
For more assistance in researching your topic, contact Margaret
Schaus.
Gathering Background Information
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
The following sources provide overviews of ideas in anthropology.
When using an article in an encyclopedia or handbook, always check the
bibiliography for further reading at the end of the article. It will provide
a selective list of the books, articles, and, frequently, Web resources
considered to be the most up-to-date and reliable. This is a good start
for your research as well as a good corrective later on, providing a broader
perspective than your research on one specific topic.
- Biographical Dictionary of Social and Cultural
Anthropology (print
location via Tripod)
- This new volume provides close to 600 intellectual sketches
of anthropologists, both living and dead. The Index of Interests is
a good way of finding major scholars who have worked in your topic area.
- Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology
(print location
via Tripod)
- This set, at four volumes, has space for fairly lengthy
treatments of topics.
- Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology(print
location via Tripod)
- This single-volume encyclopedia from the publisher Routledge
is particularly good for recent developments and methodologies. See
the Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Humanity, Culture,
and Social Life(print
location via Tripod) also published by Routledge. It has much longer
entries, written in the form of essays.
- Encyclopedia of World Cultures (print
location via Tripod)
- Describes cultural groups around the world. Since it
is 10 volumes in length, some attention can be given to even little-known
peoples. Includes useful bibliographic citations for further research.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social and
Behavioral Sciences (print
location via Tripod)
- A very large and totally new synthesis of social science
thought. Especially good for the varied focuses that it gives each topic.
- Routledge Dictionary of Anthropologists
(print location
via Tripod)
- "This detailed and comprehensive guide provides
biographical information on the most influential and significant figures
in world anthropology, from the birth of the discipline in the nineteenth
century to the present day. Each of the fifteen chapters focuses on
a national tradition or school of thought, outlining its central features
and placing the anthropologists within their intellectual contexts."
Publisher's description.
The following sources provide overviews of ideas in other
disciplinary fields. They have been selected because they relate to your
theses topics.
Cambridge Historical Dictionary of Disease
(print location
via Tripod)
Contemporary American Religion (print
location via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice (print
location via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood
(print location
via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of Globalization (print
location via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of Homelessness (print
location via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
(print
location via Tripod)
Encyclopedia of World Environmental History (print
location via Tripod)
Grove Dictionary of Art Online (Access
via Tripod)
New Encyclopedia of Africa (Access
via Tripod) On Order as of Sept. 23, 2007
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women
(print
location via Tripod)
Handbooks
Handbooks are intended as guides to procedures and types
of research. Below are a small selection that may prove useful in your
fieldwork and writing.
The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography
print
location via Tripod
"In this book Luke Eric Lassiter charts the history
of collaborative ethnography from its earliest implementation to its
contemporary emergence in fields such as feminism, humanistic anthropology,
and critical ethnography. On this historical and theoretical base, Lassiter
outlines concrete steps for achieving a more deliberate and overt collaborative
practice throughout the processes of fieldwork and writing." "A
comprehensive and highly accessible handbook for ethnographers of all
disciplines, The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography will become
a fixture in the development of a critical practice of anthropology,
invaluable to undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty alike."--BOOK
JACKET
Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct (print
location via Tripod)
"This is the first in the ASA Research Methods series.
This volume is about ethnographic research, the production of data,
and the practical aspects of research practice. It is general and introductory
in scope. Designed as a handbook, it is suitable for rapid reference.
It provides basic outlines on general practical matters of concern to
all those engaged in ethnographic research, introduces the series as
a whole, and serves as a guide to existing literature on issues not
specifically covered by the more specialized volumes which follow."
Handbook of Ethnography (print
location via Tripod)
"How do you collect and analyze social data in the form
of texts (interviews and documents), images (photographs, film and television
footage), and sounds (noise and music)? This text shows students which
methods are most suitable for particular research problems and what
is good practice for each method." "Focusing on the pursuit of quality
in social research, the authors: explore different ways of collecting
and analyzing data; introduce the main analytical approaches for text,
image and sound; cover computer-based analysis; and address problems
in interpretation and quality criteria for qualitative research." "The
book has been extensively tested with prostgraduate research methods
students at the London School of Economics."--BOOK JACKET
Handbook of Methods in Cultural Anthropology (print
location via Tripod)
"This Handbook establishes a new benchmark for understanding
anthropological field methods of the past 100 years. Avoiding the divisive
debates over science and humanism, the authors contributing to this
volume draw upon both traditions to define and describe fieldwork in
practice."--BOOK JACKET. "Authored by 27 leading anthropologists, these
chapters provide the reader with comprehensive, contemporary descriptions
of the methods that anthropologists use, the logic behind their use,
and of the complex problems involved in conducting research on people
in their natural setting."--BOOK JACKET. "This is an essential reference
tool for all scholars, professionals, and advanced students in anthropology
and in other disciplines using fieldwork."--BOOK JACKET
Handbook of Visual Analysis (print
location via Tripod)
"The Handbook of Visual Analysis, which demonstrates the
importance of visual data within the social sciences, offers an essential
guide to those working in a range of disciplines including: media and
communication studies, sociology, anthropology, education, psychoanalysis,
and health studies." "It offers a wide range of methods for visual analysis
- content analysis, historical analysis, structuralist analysis, iconography,
psychoanalysis, social semiotic analysis, film analysis and ethnomethodology
- and shows how each method can be applied for the purposes of specific
research projects; exemplifies each approach through detailed analyses
of a variety of data, including newspaper images, family photos, drawings,
art works and cartoons; and includes examples from the authors' own
research and professional practice."--BOOK JACKET
Handbook
on Ethical Issues in Anthropology
This guide,published by the American Anthropological Association
on the Web, is intended to help teachers explore ethical issues with
their students. From the introduction--"To improve the ethical adequacy
of anthropological practice, we must consider not only exceptional cases
but everyday decisions, and reflect not only upon the conduct of others
but also upon our own actions. "
Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative
and Quantitative Methods. (print
location via Tripod)
This is the fourth edition of a standard textbook
for students. It teaches field methods with many examples from actual
field experiences.
Metasites
The following Web sites select and organize sources useful
for the study of anthropology. From them you can find many more specific
resources.
Anthropology Resources on the Internet (Access
via Tripod)
A carefully selected group of links from the American
Anthropological Association.
WWW Virtual Library Anthropology (Access
via Tripod)
A much more extensive listing of links.
Return to Overview
Finding In-depth Information and Analysis
Finding Books
Tri-College Collections
Use the Tripod
Library Catalog to look for relevant books owned by Haverford, Swarthmore,
and Bryn Mawr.
The following suggested subject searches are only a sampling
of possibilities. To find materials on a topic not listed below, try doing
a keyword search in
the Tripod Library Catalog to find relevant materials and then using the
subject headings assigned to those materials to find more.
Sample Searches
- Subject Headings
- Keyword Searches
WorldCat (access
via Tripod)
An important place to look for many materials not owned
by the Tri-College Libraries. This combined library catalog contains
more than 49 million records describing items owned by libraries around
the world. Many of these items are available to you though interlibrary
loan.
Anthropology
Review Database (ARD)
An excellent place to look for anthropology books on particular topics.
The reviews posted provide both descriptive and evaluative information
which will help you decide which books will be most helpful.
EZ
Borrow and Interlibrary Loan
Request items that are not available in Tripod on this page. Note that
E-Z Borrow is the first place to look for books not in Tripod. It usually
takes just three days for E-Z Borrow books to arrive. Books not in E-Z
Borrow can come from Interlibrary Loan (ILL) which may take up to 10
days to arrive.
For journal articles not available in the three colleges, use the Article
Delivery form. Most will come in digital form. You will receive a PIN
number by e-mail to access the articles.
Please double-check the Tripod
Library Catalog before you submit an interlibrary loan request to
make sure that the item is not there.
Dissertations
Doctoral students go through an exhaustive literature search when writing
their dissertations. They also tend to work on new questions, sometimes
ones that have received very little attention from scholars before.
You can sometimes obtain these dissertations and benefit from all the
bibliographic treasues and new ideas. Check Dissertation Abstracts
Online (Access
via Tripod) to identify dissertations on your topic. Then request
them through the Interlibrary Loan page. Some dissertations are not
available in multiple copies and cannot be loaned.
Return to Overview
Finding Articles
Journal articles and similar periodical publications provide
current information on anthropological research. The following indexes
are the best ways to find journal articles.
Good Starting Points
Proquest Research Library (access
via Tripod)
ProQuest indexes over 3800 journals, magazines, and
news sources in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences starting
with 1971. About two-thirds of the journals include the full-text
of the article.
Anthrosource (access
via Tripod)
Electronic access to journals published by the American
Anthropological Association. Includes the most recent issue from 5
titles as well as an archive of all AAA journals.
Discipline-specific Indexes
These indexes are particularly good for accessing the
scholarly literature of specific disciplines, i.e., articles written
by anthropologists, educators, etc.
African Studies, use Africa-Wide (access
via Tripod)
Anthropology, use Anthropological Plus
(access via Tripod).
It combines Anthropological Literature from Harvard
with Anthropological Index from the Royal Anthropological
Institute. Some anthropological publications are indexed also in Sociological
Abstracts (access
via Tripod).
Art, use ARTBibliographies Modern (access
via Tripod)
Economics, use EconLit (access
via Tripod) and PAIS (Public Affairs Information
Service) ( access
via Tripod)
Ethnic groups in the United States, use Ethnic
Newswatch (access
via Tripod)
Latin American studies, use HAPI (Hispanic American
Periodical Index) (access
via Tripod) and Handbook of Latin American Studies (access
via Tripod)
Medicine, use PubMed (access
via Tripod)
Political issues, use Worldwide Political Science
Abstracts (access
via Tripod)
Religion, use ATLA Religion Database
(access via Tripod)
Social work, use Social Services Abstracts (access
via Tripod)
Sociology, use Sociological Abstracts (access
via Tripod)
Women's Studies, use Women's Studies International
(access
via Tripod)
Once you have found citations to journal articles, do a
journal title search in Tripod to see if the Tri-College libraries own
the title. If the journal is not held by the Tri-Colleges, use the Interlibrary
Loan Request Form on Tripod to request a copy of the article from
another library.
A Few Important Journals
Watch for these journal titles when you are searching
indexes and scanning footnotes.
Annual Review Of Anthropology (access
via Tripod)
American Anthropologist (print
location via Tripod). Older issues are available online (access
via Tripod)
American Ethnologist (print
location via Tripod). Older issues are available online (access
via Tripod)
Cultural Anthropology (print
location via Tripod) . Older issues are available online (access
via Tripod)
Current Anthropology (access
via Tripod). Older issues are available online through JSTOR (access
via Tripod)
Return to Overview
Contacting Organizations
and Individuals
Scholarly organizations frequently offer useful material
on their Web sites. You may also want to start with the Worlwide E-Mail
Directory of Anthropologists in order to get in touch with a researcher
whose publications you have read.
American Anthropological Association (access
via Tripod)
The membership organization for all branches of anthropology.
The sites has many useful features and a well organized group of links.
Worldwide E-Mail Directory of Anthropologists
(access
via Tripod)
A searchable database of address and research information
about anthropologists from around the world.
Return to Overview
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