When searching for articles or books in our databases, the best research method is using KEYWORDS.
When conducting research on any ethnic group you must consider the range of labels we use to identify ethnic groups in the United States. Given the numerous ethnic groups that define "Asian American" you might also want to consider using specific ethnic labels like: Hmong, Japanese, Korean, etc. Sometimes certain historical events are specific to certain ethnic groups like: Japanese American relocation, Chinese Exclusion and Immigration, Hmong refugees, etc. Using the range of terms will make for better searching results.
Also remember to review the Subject indentifiers for possible keywords in your book and article searching.
OneSearch will provide you with articles but be aware that the actual article databases provides better control for better results. If you are seeking just in general OneSearch might be find for what you need. But if your research is for an upper division course that requires greater research depth, going to one or more article database could provide for better results. Contact me if you need assistance.
Reference tool for U.S. and Canadian history and culture. With full-text coverage of hundreds of journals and books, and selective indexing for journals from 1863 to present.
Web of Science is a citation database that covers three major tools: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. The complete database covers thousands of scholarly journals from 1975 to the present across a broad range of disciplines. Included in the subscription: Journal Citation Reports and Essential Science Indicators (ESI). Use the ESI Help Guide and JCR Help Guide to learn more.
There are many databases and print indexes to choose from for your research. Depending on your topic and time period you may have to use an array of resources. Given the inter-disciplinary nature of this area, there is no one source that will give you everything in one. So you will need to be creative. While article databases have grown to include older materials, some important historical period materials may only be accessible in a print index and not available online. Print indexes are located in the Lower Level of King Library. An often overlooked resource is the bibliography found at the end of related journal articles or in books on your topic.
Some Databases
Academic Search Complete (General Social Sciences/Humanites)
ERIC (education)
MLA International Bibliography (literature)
Sociological Abstracts (Sociology)
JSTOR (all disciplines can have complete historical coverage of resources but not recent articles)
PsycINFO (Psychology)
America History and Life (History – current and older publications)
Where to Start?
Academic Search Complete provides an excellent coverage of popular and scholarly articles, mostly full-text, in the Social Sciences and Humanities areas. A good place to start on most topics. For just scholarly/peer review articles, you will need to "Limit your results". See image to where to limit
Multidisciplinary full text, peer reviewed academic journals that support scholarly research in key areas of academic study.
ERIC is the education database. It has great depth of resources. Be aware that this database includes more than just articles - it also includes books, book chapters, government reports, conference papers, and school district reports (all states not just California). Remember to limit your search only to journal articles. See image. View other Education resources for your research.
In addition to ASP, MLA is the database for this area. See guide on English & Comparative Literature for additional resources.
America: History & Life is the database to use. It is an advance tool - meaning your searches will give more than just articles but also dissertations, books, book chapters, and conference papers. If you only want articles limit to Peer Review. See image. If you want an article that covers a specific time period, limit to Historical Period. See image. Make sure to also review the Library Catalog for books. See guide on History for additional resources.
Reference tool for U.S. and Canadian history and culture. With full-text coverage of hundreds of journals and books, and selective indexing for journals from 1863 to present.
The advance tool in the area of Sociology is Sociological Abstracts. NOTE: This is not a full-text database but it does offer links to articles that we have online journal subscriptions to. This database includes more than just articles. Click on "Advance Search" to allow you to limit just for scholarly articles. Another excellent databases are SocINDEX and JSTOR. Both are full-text database, however, JSTOR does not offer recent publications. Chances are that after searching Academic Search Premier and Sociology Abstracts you will have located most of the materials you need. See guide on Sociology for additional resources.
The journals archive consists of older (at least 2-5 years) issues of core scholarly journals across a wide range of subjects including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The eBook collections are DRM-free and allow for unlimited concurrent use and unlimited chapter downloads and printing.
PsycInfo is an excellent database for pychology literature. However, this database too includes more than just articles, it also includes books, book chapters, conference papers, and more. Apply the limit to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals. See image. For additional databases in the area of Psychology see guide.