Chicana & Chicano Studies

Tips for researching the Chicano Experience in California

Begin with statistical sources:

• California Latino Demographic Databook 1998 - E 184 .S75 C338x 1998    
• California Quickfacts from the US Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ca/PST045217
   
• Historical Statistics of the United States   (database) Locate database to login using your SJSU login.
  Presents statistical & quantitative history of the United States from the earliest times to the present. Contains more than 37,000 annual time series of historical information covering virtually every quantifiable dimension of American history: population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations.

Conduct keyword searches like Chicano and California or Mexican American* and California to find books on the topic. You will need to focus further on a specific topic given the open nature of these searches.

• You can refine your search by "Resource Type" (show more) to limit by Collection to Theses and Dissertations to find Masters theses that focused on the San Jose area.

Use Library of Congress Subject Headings to find the concept you're searching for: (are also good keyword searches, too)

• Mexican Americans -- California 
• Mexican Americans -- California -- History
• Agricultural Laborers -- California
• Chavez, Cesar, 1927-1993 

Remember to use the databases listed in the previous tab to find articles on a given topic related to Mexican Americans in California. 

See Immigration subject guide for more information

Find Books with keywords like:

• Illegal Immigration
• Migrant Workers
• Bracero

And subject terms like:

• Mexican-American Border Region

A Bracero Resource Guide is also available.