ETHS 215: Introduction to Asian American Studies

Library Access from Off Campus
View instructions and get help with troubleshooting.

Ask a Librarian -- old
Type your question into the box to get live, online research help 24/7. Be sure to enter your email address so our librarians can follow up with you if necessary.

 

 

Figuring out what keywords to use and how to construct your searches is one of the most difficult aspects of doing research.

 

1. Identify the main concepts of your topic and think of synonyms to describe each concept, where appropriate
   
   Try searching with broader and then more specific terms such as:
   east asian american*, korean american*, pacific islander*, chinese american*, japanese american*, hmong american*, api, aapi, aanhpi, native hawaiian*
    
2. Add a search term for the agency issue of your topic such as:
   "race or racism", "identity politics", discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice, privilege, racialization, acculturation, assimilation
    
3. Add a search term for the empowerment or resistance aspect of your topic such as:
   empower*, resistan*, reform, activis*, social justice, movement, agency
    
4. Use database searching tips to formulate your search
   
   * Combine synonyms with OR and enclose in parentheses
   * Combine the different concepts with AND
   * Use truncation (*) to find multiple endings of words
   * Use quotation marks around phrases

Sample searches:

("asian american*" OR "pacific islander*") AND racialization AND empower*

("east asian american*" OR "chinese american*") AND "political empower*" AND "stereotype*

"southeast asian*" AND "social justice" AND "united states"

• When searching the databases for articles, look for the one of these links to access full text:
  
   
• If you don't see full text links, click on the Find It! button to view the easiest way to access the article:
  
   

• If an online full text option is not available, you will either see information about where the physical item is in the library OR be prompted to Sign in to order the item through Interlibrary Loan.

 
Start Here for Statistical Information:
Asian American Data Links (U.S. Census)
Data and reports based on the 2010 U.S. Census and the annual American Community Survey.

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Data Links
Data and reports based on the 2010 U.S. Census.

You should select at least two databases to search for scholarly articles on your topic.

All topics:

• LibSearch
  Search the library's physical collection (books, movies, music, government publications, etc.) along with online journals and e-books to which the Library subscribes -- all in a single search.
• Academic Search Premier (all topics)
  Full-text articles in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• GenderWatch
  Articles on topics like sexuality, religion, societal roles, feminism, masculinity, eating disorders, day care, and the workplace that support LGBT studies, family studies, gender studies, and women's studies with a unique interdisciplinary approach. Click the check box to limit results to "Peer-reviewed" for scholarly articles.
• JSTOR
  Provides access to scholarly journals in anthropology, ecology, economics, education, general science, history, literature, mathematics, political science, philosophy, and more. Some journals have "moving wall" access that does not include the most recent 2-5 years.

Criminal Justice / Crime and Punishment:

• Criminal Justice Abstracts
  The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information related to criminal justice.  Topics covered include: courts and the legal process; adult corrections; crime prevention and control strategies; crime, the offender, and the victim; juvenile justice and delinquency; and police.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Economics:

• EconLit
  Index to scholarly articles and dissertations in economics and related fields. Updated monthly. Corresponds to the print index published as part of the Journal of Economic Literature.
  Note: 1969 to present
• Business Source Complete
  Premium full-text content and peer-reviewed business journals covering all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance and more.
• JSTOR
  Provides access to scholarly journals in anthropology, ecology, economics, education, general science, history, literature, mathematics, political science, philosophy, and more. Some journals have "moving wall" access that does not include the most recent 2-5 years.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.

Education:

• ERIC (EBSCO)
  ERIC is the primary database supporting research in all areas of education, including psychology, administration, and library science.
• PsycINFO
  PsycINFO is the premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information relating to all aspects of psychology and related fields.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Environmental Racism / Environment:

• GreenFILE
  A collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles that include content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling and more.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Housing:

• Academic Search Premier (all topics)
  Full-text articles in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.
• Social Services Abstracts
  The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,300  journals as well as dissertations, and citations to book reviews.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Laws / Public Policies:

• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton related to political science topics.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Media:

• Communication & Mass Media Complete
  The main database for Communication Studies and Mass Communications. Searches over 600 journal titles that support research in communication, mass media, linguistics, language learning and related fields of study.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.

Medical / Health Care:

• Alt HealthWatch
  Emphasis on holistic and integrated approaches to wellness and health care. Index with abstracts to articles back to 1984, full text for 180 journals and reports back to 1990.
• Health Source: Nursing/Academic
  Index with fulltext for 550 scholarly journals covering many areas of medicine. Include the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide covering 1300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4700 brand names.
• PsycINFO
  PsycINFO is the premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information relating to all aspects of psychology and related fields.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.

Military:

• America: History & Life
  Search 2,000 scholarly journals on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present (the rest of the world is covered in Historical Abstracts).
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton related to political science topics.

Politics:

• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton related to political science topics.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
• Sociological Abstracts
  The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.

Religion:

• JSTOR
  Provides access to scholarly journals in anthropology, ecology, economics, education, general science, history, literature, mathematics, political science, philosophy, and more. Some journals have "moving wall" access that does not include the most recent 2-5 years.
• America: History & Life
  Search 2,000 scholarly journals on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present (the rest of the world is covered in Historical Abstracts).
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.

Films on Demand: Ethnic and Women's Studies
Streaming video on issues related to Ethnic Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, Social Inequality, and general Sociology.
Tip: To focus your results, type "racism" into the search box.

Media Education Foundation Collection (Kanopy)
Online videos that encourage critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media, with a special focus on representations of gender and race.

Use the Cite feature in the library's databases to format your citations and copy and paste them into your References list at the end of your paper. Be sure to double check them for accuracy.

APA Style -- Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Citing Sources in APA


An in-text citations allow your reader to track down a specific source you use in your paper. The in-text citation should provide enough information to point your reader to the full citation in your reference list. An in-text citation must be included when you quote or paraphrase information from one of your sources.

In APA Style, an in-text citation typically includes the author's last name and the date of publication, in parenthesis. If you use a direct quote, include the page number for the reference.

In-text citation examples from OWL at Purdue and APA Style Blog:

After the intervention, children increased in the number of books read per week (Smith & Wexwood, 2010). 

Smith and Wexwood (2010) reported that after the intervention, children increased in the number of books read per week. 

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).