library research

Library Catalog Search ISU's Library Catalog to find out what the Library owns (or provides access to) on your particular topic. Includes books, videos, cd-rom's, videos, cataloged websites, journals, and more.

finding STARTING POINTS

Asian American Encyclopedia (REF E184 .O6 A827 1995) Six-volume set covers Asian American groups, individuals, histories, organizations, and topics important to an understanding of Asian American realities.

Asian American Studies Library Research Guide Annotated list of reference books and other resources held by Parks Library and relevant to Asian American information and research topics. Very useful as a guide to materials in the ISU Library collection; includes ISU call numbers.

Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts (REF PS153.A84 A87 1999) Signed literary and descriptive essays on a broad variety of cultural topics, such as "Asian Naming Systems," "Japanese American Life in the 20th Century," "Southeast Asian Food," "Filipinos and Religion," "The "Model Minority" Discourse," and "Fengshui, Chinese Medicine, and Correlative Thinking." Also includes numerous essays on cultural identity as it pertains to specific Asian American groups, plus whole sections on traditions and cultures, literature and authors, the arts and film. Includes illustrations, short bibliographies, and a "cultural lexicon" for Asian American terms. Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (REF E184 .A1 H35) Authoritative one volume encyclopedia provides lengthy signed entries that describe the history and presence of over 100 racial & ethnic cultural groups in the United States, including numerous Asian heritage groups such as Chinese Americans, Filipinos, Hawaiians, and Japanese Americans, plus chapters on peoples from South Asia and Pacific Islanders. Also includes thematic essays on topics such as "American Identity & Americanization," "Language maintenance," and "History of Prejudice & Discrimination," among many others. Includes maps, tables, and bibliographies for further reading. Now a bit dated in places (for example, specific information on Southeast Asian groups will not be found here), but still a classic for groups with a long historical presence in the United States.

Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America's Multicultural Heritage (REF E184.A1 N2866 1999) Authoritative, signed essays profile 27 major racial & ethnic groups in the U.S. and their respective histories. Includes individual chapters on Chinese Americans, Filipinos, Hawaiians, Japanese Americans, and Korean Americans, plus chapters on South Asians (including peoples from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan) and Southeast Asians (specifically including Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, Hmong, and ethnic Chinese with historical roots in Southeast Asia). Includes statistics, and bibliographies for further reading. A useful companion to the Harvard Encylopedia of American Ethnic Groups.

finding ARTICLES

America: History & Life (ISU only) Online history database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts on research journal articles relevant to the study of United States and Canadian history dating from prehistoric times to the present, from more than 2100 journals. Also includes citations for dissertations, book, film and video reviews. Coverage is publications from 1964-present. Sample topic: Japanese American internment during WWII

Ethnic NewsWatch (ISU only) Unique and versatile source provides bibliographic citations and full-text articles from U.S. racial and ethnic minority newspapers, newsmagazines, and some journals. The database focus is on African American, American Indian, Asian American, and U.S. Latino newspapers, though publications from many other minority groups are included. (Click here for a current list.) Also includes a publishers' directory, circulation figures, advertising rates, and histories of individual newspapers. In English and Spanish. Coverage is from 1990 to the present. Updated monthly. Sample topic: specifically Asian American perspectives on the presidential campaign

Expanded Academic ASAP (ISU only) Multi-disciplinary database contains citations and many full-text articles on current events, social sciences, and humanities. Journal coverage is from 1994 to the present, and backfiles (1980-1993) are available for some journals. Better than average selection of U.S. racial & ethnic minority publications. Sample topic: Filipino immigration to the U.S.

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) (ISU only) Provides access to journal articles, government documents, reports, statistics, and other resources dealing with domestic and international public policy materials on business, government, demographics, law, political science, public administration, education, and other areas, 1972-present. Sample topic: political participation of Asian Americans Project MUSE: Journal of Asian American Studies (ISU only) Volume 1 (1998- ) to the present of the Journal of Asian American Studies, a new scholarly research journal in the field, is available to read and search online, via Project MUSE (an electronic text collection of journals in the humanities). Articles and reviews are full-text. In addition, all MUSE journals can be searched for specific Asian American topics. Sample topic: artist-poet Theresa Hak-Kyung Cha

selected web resources

A. Magazine Online version of the well-known Asian American pop culture magazine, with opinions, fashion, news, and entertainment. Only selected articles are available online; print version of the magazine is available in Parks Library (Current issues in Periodical Room; back issues in General Collection: E184 O6 A17 for either location)

American Memory Library of Congress website of "Historical Collections for the National Digital Library" includes many historic photographs of Asian Americans, and over 70 collections and "learning pages" on topics such as "Immigration in American Memory." Website tends to load slowly; includes search engine. (Note: Many images on this web page are accessible from the American Memory website.) Asian Pacific American History & Culture Smithsonian's brief list of links to relevant sites hosted by their own museums and organizations. Currently includes links to exhibits and information on Japanese Americans, native Hawaiian and Philippine customs, Hmong embroidery, and more. (Note: Many images on this web page and their accompanying text are accessible from the APA History & Culture list.) Hardboiled: Asian Pacific American Media Juggernaut The subtitle says it all. In the words of its editors, this irreverent political webzine from UC Berkeley strives "... to bring you the best in political rabblerousing, community muckracking, and pop culture machinations in the Bay Area and the world." Includes search engine and back issues.

Japanese American National Museum Online exhibits and much information on artists, relevant topics, exhibits, and events from this Los Angeles museum. South Asian Diaspora Archives documenting South Asian peoples' lives and cultures in the US, particularly in California, and throughout the world. Includes photographs, bibliographies, essays, and other electronic resources. From UC Berkeley.

UCLA Asian American Studies Center Links Long unannotated list of Asian American links; especially useful because many different Asian American groups are represented. Includes links to resources and online journals such as Little Saigon Net (from Huntington Beach, California), Hmong Studies Journal (from St Cloud, Minn.), organizations such as the South Asian Journalists Association, and cultural resources such as the Museum of Chinese American History in Los Angeles, and the Korean American Historical Society, from Seattle. No search engine on the UCLA page, but many individual resources linked there do include search features. Videos: National Asian American Telecommunications Association Listing of important Asian American videos available for rental and purchase; searchable by title, theme, and by ethnic group. Also includes information on Asian Americans in the media, interviews with selected filmmakers, and cultural information.

research tips

How to Critically Analyze Information Sources Comprehensive online tutorial in the form of questions to consider when evaluating both print and Web materials, written by reference librarians at Cornell University. Also includes a section on Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from other Periodicals.

Library Research Process Online guide explains how to do research, from beginning point of defining your topic, through finding information, evaluating it, and documenting your sources. Useful especially for beginners; includes links to other research and evaluation guides, such as Thinking Critically about WWW Resources, by librarian Esther Grassian at UCLA.

Online Citation Manuals List of popular style manuals (such as the MLA and the Chicago) and links to their Web versions. Call numbers are also given for their print counterparts in ISU's Parks Library.

Researching Online Exhaustive and authoritative online textbook provides much useful information on when and how to use the Internet for scholarly literary research. URLs to sample sites and listserv addresses are provided, along with instructions on how to make use of numerous Internet services. Includes links to other helpful sites. From Literature Online, a website supplement to Kennedy & Gioia's textbook, Literature (7th edition).

Evaluate the librarian

Comments: savega@iastate.edu
Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011
URL: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~savega/las325.html
Last updated: 05 April 2001.
Created: 18 January 2000.