ANTH 420: Library tips for literature review & research paper
This web page is designed to be used in conjunction with the instructions for Assignment # 2 on your ANTH 420 outline.
Don't forget that you can also borrow required textbooks and your coursepack via Course Reserves - just type ANTH 420 and choose the links with your professor's name.
Your assignment is described as a literature review AND research analysis paper. Though your professor's instructions should always come first, see our library help guide: How to write a literature review for general writing guidelines relating to the lit review, including an example from a sociology journal.
To find journal articles related to your chosen issue, theme or concern, you can try EITHER or BOTH these strategies:
1 - TRY ARTICLE DATABASES:
Anthropology/Sociology/Multidisciplinary:
- Anthropology Plus: the most respected anthropology-specific database, but small in scope compared to the other databases.
- SocINDEX: sociology database with anthropological material
- Academic Search Complete: large, multidisciplinary.
- JSTOR: TIP: Under Narrow by Discipline, you can select the checkboxes such as Anthropology
- Google Scholar
- AnthroSource
Psychology/Medicine:
Depending on the topic you have chosen, additional databases in Anthropology, Sociology, and even other subject areas may also be useful for you.
***TIPS:
- To find articles that might help you examine or analyse your issue in light of course issues, class discussion and anthropological literature, try adding search words that stem from key terms in your course outline and readings.
FOR EXAMPLE: cultur* OR anthropolog* OR "social construction" -- it all depends on what class theories you will be applying, and what database you are searching.
- You can limit your search results to only academic research articles by selecting the Peer-reviewed checkbox on the search results page of many of the databases above.
2 - TRY INDIVIDUAL JOURNALS:
Appropriate journal titles could include (but are NOT limited to):
- Anthropology & Medicine
- Anthropologie et santé
- Culture, medicine and psychiatry
- International journal of culture and mental health
- International journal of social psychiatry
- Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine
- Medical Anthropology
- Mental health, religion & culture
- Society and mental health
- Social Science & Medicine
- Sociology of Health & Illness
- Sud/Nord: folies et cultures
- Transcultural pscychiatry
- World cultural psychiatry research review (no searching, only browsing of issues)
*TIP: If it looks like one of the articles or issues are unavailable to you, see Help ACCESSING Texts or Related Library Services below to find out how to access what you need.
To find more background and theory on your topic or on a concept studied in the course, try books and encyclopedia articles:
- Search CLUES to find books or book chapters
- To find the sources recommended in your course outline (see the list of Additonal Readings and Resources on the last page), use the CLUES Title Search (for books) or CLUES Journal Title Search (for journal articles)
- To find the sources recommended in your course outline (see the list of Additonal Readings and Resources on the last page), use the CLUES Title Search (for books) or CLUES Journal Title Search (for journal articles)
- Search WorldCat to find books from all over the world. You can then borrow the books using Interlibrary Loans. See Related Library Services below.
- You can also find general background and factual informatiom in online encyclopedias:
- try specific titles such as:
- or more multidisciplinary reference sources such as:
The Assignment # 2 instructions in your course outline refer to videos relating to "mental illness" at the Vanier library.
- The World of abnormal psychology series includes all the titles listed in your outline.
- see also:
- the Brain teaching module series
- the ASA psychotherapy series
- Ethnographic Video Online for streaming videos offering possible different points of view on issues related to psychology and mental health. There is a browsable subject list.
You can also use CLUES to search for videos yourself. See the help guide and search box: How to find videos.
- References according to the American Anthropological Assocation (AAA) style:
- For help with references according to other bibliography styles (ie APA) see our Citation & Style Guides
- You can also try RefWorks -- it can help you keep track of your references and automate the creation of your Bibliography.
- To learn how to send references from your favourite databases to RefWorks see Export-Import Instructions
IS IT SCHOLARLY/ACADEMIC/PEER-REVIEWED?
Your professor's instructions should always be the first criteria in determining what qualifies as an appropriate academic source. If you feel you need additional guidance in this area, however, you might find some relevant tips in the guides below.
- Our library tutorial on: How do I know if an article is scholarly or peer reviewed?
- A quick tip or quick video from our library guide about peer-reviewed articles
- Scholarly vs. Popular Sources guide from Berkeley (for book chapters as well as journal articles)
- Peer-review in 3 minutes (NCSU Libraries)
When evaluating the quality of a variety of material, the following library guide might provide some help:
- How to evaluate research materials and resources
- ACT UP Evaluation Method (an alternative approach that tries to "push against dominant narratives")
see our Library Tutorial:
- Article Delivery Service - Free email service for journal articles or books chapters only available in print or in microform at Concordia.
- Interlibrary Loans (COLOMBO) - fill out an online form to receive books and articles NOT AVAILABLE at Concordia.
- BCI card (formerly CREPUQ) - allows you to directly borrow books at McGill and elsewhere.
- Quick help is always available at our Reference & Information Desk on the main floor of the Webster Library or from one of our other Ask a Librarian services - pick your favourite option.
- If you are still not finding what you need or you would like more assistance, please feel free to contact me to make an appointment.
- There are also many help & how-to pages available on our web site, including General Guides such as the step-by-step guide How to find articles.