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Library Research Guide for ASRC 609:
The Black Arts Movement: Art, Literature, Film, and Music

Compiled by Eric Kofi Acree, Librarian
ea18@cornell.edu/255-5229/Africana Library

Research Process|Reference Resources |Subject Guides |
Searching Techniques| Electronic Resources|Citing Sources|Helpful Links

Research Process:

  • Choosing and developing your topic
  • Finding Background information
  • Finding Books
  • Finding periodical articles (magazine, newspaper, and journal articles)
  • Using the WWW to find Internet resources
  • Evaluating the sources that you find
  • Citing your sources

    Tips to consider when doing research:

    • Have a clear understanding of the assignment. What is the length of the paper? What are you suppose to report?
    • Check the bibliography and indexes of books related to your topic.
    • Use more than one source.
    • When searching databases be flexible with the use of search terms.
    • To learn the best way to use a particular database check out that database help page. There is usually some type of variation for each database.

  • Selected Reference Resources (Reference, Africana Library):

    African American History. Ref. E 185 .A25355 2006 (3 volumes)

    African American Encyclopedia Ref. E185 .A255 (6 volumes)

    Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, AFR Reference DT 14 .A37435 2005 (5 volumes)

    Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Ref. E 185 .E54 1996 (5 volumes) Electronic Access

    Encyclopedia of Black Studies. Ref. E 185 .E554 2005

    Encyclopedia of African American Society. 1989. Ref. E 185 E546 2005 (2 volumes)

    Civil Rights Movement. Ref. E 185.61 .C6124x 200 (2 volumes)

    African American Literature. Ref. PS 153 .N5 G73 2005

    Black Women in America. Ref E185.86 .B542 2005 (3 volumes)

    Facts on File Encyclopdia of Black Women in America. E 185.96 .F2x 1997(11 volumes)

    Notable Black American. Ref. E 185.96 N891 1996

    Contemporary Black Biography. Ref DT 18 C76 (61 volumes)

    Notable Black American Men. Ref. E185.86 .N68x 1998

To find out if the print resources are available in other Cornell libraries, do a title search in CU Library Catalog.

Selected Library Subject Guides:

These guides can be used as starting points in the research process.

African American History, General Martin Luther King, Jr. Bibliography
Afrocentricity Civil Rights Movement, Women
Black Cultural Nationalism Willard Straight Hall Takeover
Black Independent Schools Literature by and About African Americans
Black Muslims Music, Theatre, Film, Art
Malcolm X: Selected Resources FILM: A Selected Bibliography of Reference Sources


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 [afrocentrisim vs. black nationalism]
  • boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (for combining search terms)
  • truncation and wildcard symbols--for finding singular, plural, and other keyword variations. [afrocent* will locate, afrocentric; afrocentricity, afrocentricism]
  • 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

 

  • Citing Sources:
    • Remember that citing your sources gives credit to the ideas of others and adds veracity (truth) to your research and readings.

    • When to cite:
      1. If you quote an author, even if you are only borrowing a single key word, you need to tell your reader the origin of the quotation.

      2. You also need to cite a source:
        1. if you restate an idea, thesis, or opinion stated by an author.
        2. if you restate an expert's theory or opinion.
        3. if you use facts that are not common knowledge.
        4. if you need to provide an informational or explanatory note.

        (http://www.oslis.k12.or.us/secondary/howto/cited/cited01.html)

    Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity

    Citation@Cornell

    Chicago Manual of Style
    Check reference section of any CU Library at call number: Z253 .U69 2003

    Chicago Manual of Style Form Guide (Ohio State University)

    The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ

    Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.)
    Check reference section of any CU Library at call number:
    BF 76.7 .P83x 2001x. Also in ILR and Mann Reference at BF 76.7 .A51 2001.

    APA citation style (Gateway Help)

    APA Reference Examples for Electronic Source Materials Excerpted from the new 5th edition of the Publication Manual.

    APAStyle.org

    MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.)
    Check reference section of any CU Library at call number: Z253 .M68 2003 .

    MLA Citation Style (Gateway Help) MLA Style (MLA's web site)

  • Helpful Links:

 

 

 
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