AMS221: Pacific Empires of the 19th and 20th Centuries and the A/P/A Communities



	Research > Library Research Guides > AMS221: Pacific Empires of the 19th and 20th Centuries and the A/P/A Communities

Spring 2005 - R. Chu
reference contact: Pamela Skinner x2961

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Use scholarly encyclopedias and handbooks, such as those below, for an overview of your topic and a list of suggested readings:

Reference Source	Reference Call Number
Asian American Encyclopedia. 6 v.	ref E 184 .O6 A827 1995
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History. 3 v.	ref E 169.1 .E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American Immigration. 4 v.	ref JV 6465 .E53 2001
Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 v.	ref HN 57 .E58 1993
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. 3 v.	ref E 169.1 .E626 2001
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 5 v.	ref E 740.7 .E53 1996
Encyclopedia of Nationalism. 2 v.	ref JC 311 .E52 2001
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 3 v.	ref E 184 .A1 G14 2000
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. 1 v.	ref E 184 .A1 H35

FIND BOOKS

5 College Library Catalog

Note that the "correct" subject heading isn't always obvious. If a subject search doesn't work, try a keyword search to find a few relevant titles. Then click on the subject headings on those relevant titles to conduct a more comprehensive subject search. Remember that the catalog is split into two databases: 4-College and UMass. Sample subject headings:

Examples:

Topic:	Subject searches--online catalog:
Indian migration to the U.S.	Brain drain Asia emigration and immigration Asian Americans Asians United States East Indian Americans East Indians California East Indians United States Labor mobility Professions developing countries
Intermarriage	Asian Americans legal status, laws, etc. Intermarriage United States Interracial marriage law and legislation [place] Miscegenation

WorldCat
Use WorldCat to expand your search for books, theses, etc. beyond the Five-College area. Watch for items that are owned by only one library: such unique material is often not obtainable via interlibrary loan. If you plan to use interlibrary loan to request books and theses, please allow at least 2 weeks for delivery.

A SAMPLING OF BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Bibliographies list published research (and sometimes primary source material) on a topic. Watch for the words "bibliography," "indexes," or "abstracts" as you search by subject in the 5-College Library Catalog. (Example: Women-Employment-United States-Bibliography.):

Reference Source	Reference Call Number
American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. v. 2 (If you're overwhelmed by the number of books on your topic, use this to help you identify the best ones!)	ref D 20 .A55 1995
Asian American Studies: An Annotated Bibliography and Research Guide.	ref E 184 .O6 K56 1989
Discrimination and Prejudice: An Annotated Bibliography.	E 184 .A1 D57 1992
Immigrant Experience.	ref E 184 .A1 M334 1991
Women Immigrants 1945 to the Present: A Bibliography.	click here
[For bibliographies on individual countries, check the online catalog by subject, entering your country name followed by "bibliography," e.g. Japan bibliography]	ref DS . . .

FIND ARTICLES

The major databases for history:

America, History and Life. Covers U.S. & Canadian history. Lists articles, book reviews, collections, and dissertations.

Historical Abstracts Covers history excluding the U.S. and Canada. Lists articles, books, collections, and dissertations.

Other possibilities (for current issues):

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) [Great interdisciplinary resource]

Contemporary Women's Issues

Ethnic News Watch

GenderWatch

International Bibliography of the Social Sciences [Covers economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology]

Lexis-Nexis Academic [For laws, cases, legal news and analysis, and full-text articles from national and regional newspapers]

PAIS International [Especially good for public policy issues]

Social Sciences Abstracts [Covers core economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology journals; some full-text]

Sociological Abstracts

Women's Studies International

Recommended Aggregators/Full-Text Sources:

J-STOR
Full-text articles from major history journals, among other disciplines. Coverage lags ca.3 years behind printed version of the journal.

Project Muse
Full-text articles from major history journals, among other disciplines. Coverage limited to issues from the past 4-5 years.

19th- and 20th-Century Newspapers and Periodicals:

Neilson Library has many nineteenth-century magazines in two call number areas, if you want to browse: periodical AP 2 (level 2 south) and 050 (level 3 south). Many of these titles are indexed in PCI--Periodical Contents Index.

Reference Source	Reference Call Number
American Periodical Series. 1740-1900.	click here
Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retrospective. 1907-1984.	click here
London Times Digital Archive. 1785+	click here
New York Times Historical. 1851+.	click here
PAIS Archive. 1915-1976.	click here
PCI--Periodical Contents Index. 1770+	click here
Readers' Guide Retrospective. 1890-1982.	click here
Washington Post Historical. 1877-1987.	click here

LOCATING PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL AND INTERNET LINKS

In addition to the primary source material available in the Sophia Smith Collection and College Archives, there is an abundance of primary source material in Neilson Library.
Use secondary literature for leads on primary sources.
The form your primary source material takes will vary from topic to topic. It may be a diary, correspondence, or personal writings; newspaper accounts or editorials; or the records of an organization or religious body. It may be a law, court case, treaty, or other legal document. For some topics, there will be compilations of significant documents.
As you search the online catalog; watch for the words "diaries," "personal narratives," "interviews," "correspondence," and "sources" as part of the subject headings. Other clues may be buried in the title, authorship, date of publication, etc.

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

Source	Call Number
America's Working Women : A Documentary History, 1600 to the Present.	HD 6095 .A662 1995
The Chinese in California, 1850-1925.	click here
"Chink!" A Documentary History of Anti-Chinese Prejudice in America.	Amherst E 184 .C5 W74 1972
Hohri, William Minoru. Resistance: Challenging America's Wartime Internment of Japanese-Americans.	D 810 .C82 H64 2001
Marriage Laws and Decisions in the United States: A Manual. 1929.	396.2 M451
Papers of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Part 1, Numerical file archive	AC microfilm 379
Press Releases Relating to the Restriction of Movement and Internment of Japanese Aliens and Japanese-Americans, Issued by the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command.	AC Archives D 769.8 .A6 A39 1942
Roots in the Sand (VHS). [Through extensive archival material and personal interviews, this documentary examines the lives of the Sikh, Moslem and Hindu immigrants of the early 20th century who farmed California's desert regions.]	AC Media VHS F 870.A1 R66 click here to request

INTERNET LINKS

Immigration [part of Library of Congress's American Memory project]

India Abroad Center for Political Awareness

India Daily

Indian American Center for Political Awareness

INDOLink

News India-Times

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

USA Indians

EVALUATING AND CITING SOURCES

Remember to cite your souce, when either quoting directly or paraphasing.
Cite your source whenever you present an idea that isn't your own.
Websites must be cited in your notes/bibliography, too; if you cut and paste--or paraphrase--from a website, cite the webpage.
When in doubt, cite your source.

Evaluating internet resources (Univ. of Maryland)

Jacobsen Center: Writing Services

Chicago Style (University of Wisconsin) - This webpage covers the basics. Consult the print edition for more complicated questions - ref desk Z 253 U69 2003

Turabian Style (University of Southern Mississippi) - This webpage covers the basics. Consult the print edition for more complicated questions - ref desk LB 2369 T8 1996

REFERENCE DESK HOURS

Weekdays:
Monday - Friday: 9 am - 5 pm (reference librarian)

Weekday evenings:
Monday - Tuesday: 7 pm - 10 pm (reference assistant w/ reference librarian on-call)

Weekends:
Saturday - Sunday: 1 pm - 5 pm (reference librarian)

CONTACT THE REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

Contact Pamela Skinner, the instructor for your library session: pskinner@email.smith.edu

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Last Updated: November 20, 2006