ASRC 171--Africana Library, Cornell University

ASRC 171: Black Families and the Socialization of Black Children

(http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/faculty/asrc1004.html)

Compiled by Eric Kofi Acree, Librarian

Developing a Search Strategy
Evaluating Journals/Magazines
Finding Background Information
Searching Techniques
Finding Books
Finding Articles
Citing Sources

Developing a Search Strategy:

Search strategy is a library term for the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information and materials you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Research Steps:

Choose your topic
Find background information
Find books on your topic
Find periodical articles
Evaluate your sources
Cite your sources

Evaluating Journals/Magazines:

There are many different strategies to employ when evaluating journals/magazines. Below are some tips to take into consideration when examining a journal/magazine.

Read the journal/magazine (articles in past issues; editorials)
What are the themes, aims, perspectives and direction of the journal?
Has the scope/direction of the journal/magazine gone through changes in the time period you are studying?
Examine the contents list
Who are the authors?
Is it refereed?
Who is on the editorial board and the referees?
Who are the audiences?
What have been the recurring themes and debates?
Look for traits/characteristics in the journal/magazine
Is the criteria by which articles are judged and refereed published?

Distinguishing Scholarly From Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria
This site provides a detail checklist of the different types of periodicals.

Critically Analyzing Information Sources
This web site provides some tips on how to critically analyze an information resource.

Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, Olin Library Reference Z6941 .U45 +
Contains listings of currently published journals, newsletters, and annuals, as well as discontinued publications. It also contains complete names and addresses of journal publishers.

Finding Background Information (Reference Books):

African American Encyclopedia, Africana Library Reference E 185 .A255
This six volume set features entries on people, organizations, landmarks, professions, entertainment, military activity, religion, family life, politics, court cases, cultural movements, and other facets of life that have unique expression among African Americans.

Contemporary Black Biography, Africana Library Reference DT 18 .C76
This reference series provides biographical profiles of important persons of African heritage. Whether they are personalities from the news, selected 20th-century notables, or individuals who are not yet household names, these are the men and women who are changing today's world and shaping the world of tomorrow.

CQ Researcher or Congressional Quarterly, 1991- . Uris Library Reference H35 .E23
CQ Researcher provides articles on current and controversial world issues.

Editorials on File. New York: Facts on File, 1970- . Uris Library Reference D 410 E23
A semi-monthly publication, Editorials on File provides easy access to the full text of unsigned editorials gleaned from American newspapers. Although major newspapers are well represented, there appears to be a serious effort to present all points of view from all regions of the United States. Subject indexes are published quarterly and cumulated annually.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture & History Africana Library Reference E 185 E54 1996 (Also on CD-ROM and can be accessed in History Resource Center)
This multi-volume set presents the lives and significance of African Americans in the broadest way possible. This encyclopedia has biographical entries, as well as entries dealing with events, historical eras, legal cases, areas of cultural achievement (music, architecture, the visual arts), professions, sports, and places.

Information Plus Reference Series, Uris Library Reference (Current Awareness Reference Sources)
The Information Plus Reference Series compiles all the pertinent data, both current and historical, on a wide variety of contemporary social issues. Designed as ready-reference tools providing key data on social concerns, these books save researchers and students from the cumbersome task of locating the various data in pamphlets, legal journals, congressional reports, newspapers and other sources.

Issues and Controversies on File. Uris Library Reference JK 1 .I86
A loose-leaf digest of news analysis and background information on contemporary social, political and economic issues. A cumulative index provides access to topics in the twice-monthly issues.

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues. Uris Library Reference: various subjects with individual call numbers
Taking Sides is published in a series of volumes concerned with different issues. Uris Library subscribes to those volumes in the series that cover educational, political, social, psychological, bio-ethical and economic issues. Each volume is divided into sections of pros and cons on a specific sub-topic. For example, in the latest edition of the Political Issues volume, sub-topics include such things as "Is America's Military Strength Sufficient?", "Should Obscenity be Protected as Free Speech?", "Do We Need a Draft?" and "Can Lobbying Endanger Democracy?" to name only a few. Each of these sub-topics is then divided into three parts: a summary of the issue, a pro argument and a con argument. Arguments are written by people who are considered authorities on the issue. Finally, a fourth section follows these three as the arguments are summed up and analyzed briefly in a postscript at the end of each chapter. There is a subject, name and title index, but there are no bibliographies.

Searching Techniques:

Whether you are clicking your way across the Web, searching for resources in the Cornell Library Catalog, or looking for scholarly articles in specialized subject databases, being aware of a few simple techniques can improve the effectiveness of your searches.

Do you know how to use the following search techniques?

keywords vs. phrase searching
boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (for combining search terms)
truncation and wildcard symbols (for finding singular, plural, and other keyword variations)
field searching (for narrowing a search to specific parts of a record)
controlled vocabulary (subject headings)

See the following sites for details on how to refine and perfect your search results:

Introduction to Database Searching Skills
Search Strategies

Finding Books:

Cornell Library Online Catalog

About the CU Library Catalog:
The Cornell University Library Catalog includes the holdings of 19 Cornell University libraries. (The Weill Cornell Medical Library, located in New York City, has a separate catalog.) The catalog contains records for books, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, periodicals, serials, sound recordings, and visual materials received and cataloged since 1973. There are also records for most pre-1973 items, and for items that are on order or in process.

CU Library Catalog Help Pages

Finding Articles:

America's Newspapers
Contains complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper.

ArticleFirst
Indexes over 10,000 periodicals in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, business, the humanities, and popular culture.

Black Studies Database or The Kaiser Index to Black Resources: 1948-1986, Africana Library Reference Z 1361 N39 K34X1992
This database covers events critical to the study of Black life and culture outside of Africa including notable figures in Black history, culture, and sports; the Civil Rights Movement; the growth of the NAACP and the National Urban League; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; jazz and soul music; Taken from more than 150 publications relevant to the Black experience and African Diaspora.

Ethnic Newswatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.

Factiva
Factiva provides access to global news and business information, including local newspapers, same-day newswires, company reports, and media programs.

Find Articles (Open Access)
FindArticles is a content-distribution partnership between LookSmart, which provides the search infrastructure, and the Gale Group, which provides the published editorial content.

Index to Black Periodicals, Africana Library Reference Z 1361 .N39 I38

A yearly author and subject index to about 25 Afro-American periodicals of general and scholarly interest. The journals which are included cut across such disciplines as psychology, sociology, education, history and popular culture, etc. It was formerly called the Index to Periodicals By and About Blacks, and is the best source available for articles from black journals. Black Studies on disc is available at Africana. It contains entries from the Index to Black Periodicals from 1989.

LexisNexis Academic
Provides access to full text resources on topics including current and general news; business and financial information; newspapers; company directories; government and politics; medical and health topics; accounting, auditing, and tax; federal and state laws; legal cases; and regulations. Resources include TV and radio news transcripts.

MLA Bibliography
MLA Bibliography is the largest and most comprehensive database covering scholarship in the modern languages, linguistics, literature, folklore, and drama, including film, opera, radio, television and theater. Literary criticism and literary theory are covered extensively. Approximately 4,000 journals and series are screened, and entries for books are included. Entries appear both for collections of essays and for their contents.

Periodical Abstracts
Available as part of the ProQuest Direct system, Periodical Abstracts indexes and abstracts an extensive number of periodicals, covering general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Also included are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Full text of many articles is provided.

PsycINFO
Contains summaries and citations of the international literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, and linguistics. Includes applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, educational psychology, experimental human and animal psychology, personality, physical and psychological disorders, physiological psychology and intervention, professional personnel and issues, psychometrics, social processes and issues, sports psychology and leisure, and treatment and prevention.

Citing Sources:

Give credit where credit is due.

By properly citing the sources you use in your research projects you are both identifying the resources that you used to complete your work and you are formally acknowledging the authors or creators of those resources. This allows others to find what you have found and to verify your research.

Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity

Here is information about the MLA citation style:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.)
CU Library Reference locations include Olin and Uris Libraries at call number: Z253 .M68 2003 .

MLA Citation Style (Gateway Help)

MLA Style (MLA's web site)


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		Print This Page ASRC 171: Black Families and the Socialization of Black Children (http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/faculty/asrc1004.html) Compiled by Eric Kofi Acree, Librarian Developing a Search Strategy Evaluating Journals/Magazines Finding Background Information Searching Techniques Finding Books Finding Articles Citing Sources Developing a Search Strategy: Search strategy is a library term for the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information and materials you need as quickly and efficiently as possible. Research Steps: Choose your topic Find background information Find books on your topic Find periodical articles Evaluate your sources Cite your sources Evaluating Journals/Magazines: There are many different strategies to employ when evaluating journals/magazines. Below are some tips to take into consideration when examining a journal/magazine. Read the journal/magazine (articles in past issues; editorials) What are the themes, aims, perspectives and direction of the journal? Has the scope/direction of the journal/magazine gone through changes in the time period you are studying? Examine the contents list Who are the authors? Is it refereed? Who is on the editorial board and the referees? Who are the audiences? What have been the recurring themes and debates? Look for traits/characteristics in the journal/magazine Is the criteria by which articles are judged and refereed published? Distinguishing Scholarly From Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria This site provides a detail checklist of the different types of periodicals. Critically Analyzing Information Sources This web site provides some tips on how to critically analyze an information resource. Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, Olin Library Reference Z6941 .U45 + Contains listings of currently published journals, newsletters, and annuals, as well as discontinued publications. It also contains complete names and addresses of journal publishers. Finding Background Information (Reference Books): African American Encyclopedia, Africana Library Reference E 185 .A255 This six volume set features entries on people, organizations, landmarks, professions, entertainment, military activity, religion, family life, politics, court cases, cultural movements, and other facets of life that have unique expression among African Americans. Contemporary Black Biography, Africana Library Reference DT 18 .C76 This reference series provides biographical profiles of important persons of African heritage. Whether they are personalities from the news, selected 20th-century notables, or individuals who are not yet household names, these are the men and women who are changing today's world and shaping the world of tomorrow. CQ Researcher or Congressional Quarterly, 1991- . Uris Library Reference H35 .E23 CQ Researcher provides articles on current and controversial world issues. Editorials on File. New York: Facts on File, 1970- . Uris Library Reference D 410 E23 A semi-monthly publication, Editorials on File provides easy access to the full text of unsigned editorials gleaned from American newspapers. Although major newspapers are well represented, there appears to be a serious effort to present all points of view from all regions of the United States. Subject indexes are published quarterly and cumulated annually. Encyclopedia of African-American Culture & History Africana Library Reference E 185 E54 1996 (Also on CD-ROM and can be accessed in History Resource Center) This multi-volume set presents the lives and significance of African Americans in the broadest way possible. This encyclopedia has biographical entries, as well as entries dealing with events, historical eras, legal cases, areas of cultural achievement (music, architecture, the visual arts), professions, sports, and places. Information Plus Reference Series, Uris Library Reference (Current Awareness Reference Sources) The Information Plus Reference Series compiles all the pertinent data, both current and historical, on a wide variety of contemporary social issues. Designed as ready-reference tools providing key data on social concerns, these books save researchers and students from the cumbersome task of locating the various data in pamphlets, legal journals, congressional reports, newspapers and other sources. Issues and Controversies on File. Uris Library Reference JK 1 .I86 A loose-leaf digest of news analysis and background information on contemporary social, political and economic issues. A cumulative index provides access to topics in the twice-monthly issues. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues. Uris Library Reference: various subjects with individual call numbers Taking Sides is published in a series of volumes concerned with different issues. Uris Library subscribes to those volumes in the series that cover educational, political, social, psychological, bio-ethical and economic issues. Each volume is divided into sections of pros and cons on a specific sub-topic. For example, in the latest edition of the Political Issues volume, sub-topics include such things as "Is America's Military Strength Sufficient?", "Should Obscenity be Protected as Free Speech?", "Do We Need a Draft?" and "Can Lobbying Endanger Democracy?" to name only a few. Each of these sub-topics is then divided into three parts: a summary of the issue, a pro argument and a con argument. Arguments are written by people who are considered authorities on the issue. Finally, a fourth section follows these three as the arguments are summed up and analyzed briefly in a postscript at the end of each chapter. There is a subject, name and title index, but there are no bibliographies. Searching Techniques: Whether you are clicking your way across the Web, searching for resources in the Cornell Library Catalog, or looking for scholarly articles in specialized subject databases, being aware of a few simple techniques can improve the effectiveness of your searches. Do you know how to use the following search techniques? keywords vs. phrase searching boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (for combining search terms) truncation and wildcard symbols (for finding singular, plural, and other keyword variations) field searching (for narrowing a search to specific parts of a record) controlled vocabulary (subject headings) See the following sites for details on how to refine and perfect your search results: Introduction to Database Searching Skills Search Strategies Finding Books: Cornell Library Online Catalog About the CU Library Catalog: The Cornell University Library Catalog includes the holdings of 19 Cornell University libraries. (The Weill Cornell Medical Library, located in New York City, has a separate catalog.) The catalog contains records for books, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, periodicals, serials, sound recordings, and visual materials received and cataloged since 1973. There are also records for most pre-1973 items, and for items that are on order or in process. CU Library Catalog Help Pages Finding Articles: America's Newspapers Contains complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper. ArticleFirst Indexes over 10,000 periodicals in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, business, the humanities, and popular culture. Black Studies Database or The Kaiser Index to Black Resources: 1948-1986, Africana Library Reference Z 1361 N39 K34X1992 This database covers events critical to the study of Black life and culture outside of Africa including notable figures in Black history, culture, and sports; the Civil Rights Movement; the growth of the NAACP and the National Urban League; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; jazz and soul music; Taken from more than 150 publications relevant to the Black experience and African Diaspora. Ethnic Newswatch Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Factiva Factiva provides access to global news and business information, including local newspapers, same-day newswires, company reports, and media programs. Find Articles (Open Access) FindArticles is a content-distribution partnership between LookSmart, which provides the search infrastructure, and the Gale Group, which provides the published editorial content. Index to Black Periodicals, Africana Library Reference Z 1361 .N39 I38 A yearly author and subject index to about 25 Afro-American periodicals of general and scholarly interest. The journals which are included cut across such disciplines as psychology, sociology, education, history and popular culture, etc. It was formerly called the Index to Periodicals By and About Blacks, and is the best source available for articles from black journals. Black Studies on disc is available at Africana. It contains entries from the Index to Black Periodicals from 1989. LexisNexis Academic Provides access to full text resources on topics including current and general news; business and financial information; newspapers; company directories; government and politics; medical and health topics; accounting, auditing, and tax; federal and state laws; legal cases; and regulations. Resources include TV and radio news transcripts. MLA Bibliography MLA Bibliography is the largest and most comprehensive database covering scholarship in the modern languages, linguistics, literature, folklore, and drama, including film, opera, radio, television and theater. Literary criticism and literary theory are covered extensively. Approximately 4,000 journals and series are screened, and entries for books are included. Entries appear both for collections of essays and for their contents. Periodical Abstracts Available as part of the ProQuest Direct system, Periodical Abstracts indexes and abstracts an extensive number of periodicals, covering general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Also included are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Full text of many articles is provided. PsycINFO Contains summaries and citations of the international literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, and linguistics. Includes applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, educational psychology, experimental human and animal psychology, personality, physical and psychological disorders, physiological psychology and intervention, professional personnel and issues, psychometrics, social processes and issues, sports psychology and leisure, and treatment and prevention. Citing Sources: Give credit where credit is due. By properly citing the sources you use in your research projects you are both identifying the resources that you used to complete your work and you are formally acknowledging the authors or creators of those resources. This allows others to find what you have found and to verify your research. Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity Here is information about the MLA citation style: *MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers* (6th ed.) CU Library Reference locations include Olin and Uris Libraries at call number: Z253 .M68 2003 . MLA Citation Style (Gateway Help) MLA Style (MLA's web site)