North American Indian &
A Guide to
Getting Started | Finding
Information | Putting It All Together
Part I: Getting Started
Topic Selection
Some resources to use when getting ideas for your research project:
- look at the topics listed for lecture
& discussion in your course syllabus
- surf the links on your AIS course web
page http://daphne.palomar.edu/ddozier/,
- read through the table of contents of
your textbook
- browse through a subject-related
periodical
- search the Internet for AIS related web
sites
Tip: Choose a topic that interests you (this
sounds like a no-brainer, but it really does make a huge difference!)
1. Make a
list of keywords that describe your topic and related aspects.
2. Get an overview of your topic in an encyclopedia or other reference books
3. Use the
Finding Books | Finding Articles | Finding Web Sites
|
When you need Books & Videos... |
- For books at Palomar College
- From the
Possible search terms (refer to your keyword list for your topic):
- Use broad topics to find items
that may have a section or chapter on your specific topic and other
relevant information: for example, Indian art
- Also use narrower topics: for
example, Indian costumes, or Indian baskets
- Consider synonyms for your keywords:
for example, when looking for
Tip: Pressing enter to search everything will look for your keywords in book titles, subject headings and other fields.
Finding Books in Other Libraries:
- From the
- Click on the link for the San Diego area
library whose Catalog you wish to search
(remember: as a Palomar College student, you may check out books from CSU-San Marcos and MiraCosta College; public libraries allow area residents to check out materials, too; at other libraries, you are welcome to use the collections, but you may not be able to check material out).
Tip: To begin your search, use the terms from your keyword list; when looking at the search results, notice subject headings and other terms in the catalog records and use them to further develop your keyword list.
Use Inter-
Use a Database
Some suggestions:
- From the
EBSCOhost is a good place to begin when you need articles. - Also from the
- JSTOR includes full text articles from several Anthropology journals
Use the Internet
- From the
Yahoo http://yahoo.com is a directory of web
sites arranges by subject
Click on: Society and Culture --
Cultures and Groups Cultures Native American Arts (See Also links
for sites about Archaeology, Jewelry, Museums and Exhibits, and more.)
Google http://google.com is a great search
engine for finding Web Sites by keywords
Go back to your keywords list; be as specific as you can by entering several
keywords.
- For example, try this search:
Tip: Unsure of how to get the best information on the Web for your college research projects? Review our easy tips for evaluating web sites http://www.palomar.edu/library/ResearchAids/HowTo/EvalWWW.htm.
Use Subject Links
From the
Subject Links are lists of high quality Web Sites arranged by topic. For research in this class, you may want to explore pages for:
- American Indian Studies
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Art
- History -
- Museums
- And others...
Part III: Putting it All Together
- If need to know more, please stop in to see a Reference Librarian on the 2nd floor of the library, we are here to help you.
- Or visit our page of online Research Guides http://www.palomar.edu/library/refguides.htm, where you will find information about Writing Papers http://www.palomar.edu/library/ResearchAids/SelfHelp.htm#writepaper and Creating a Bibliography http://www.palomar.edu/library/ResearchAids/SubjectGuides/WritingStyles.htm.
Contact Us http://www.palomar.edu/library/libraryhelp.htm | Library Home http://palomar.edu/library
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Last Updated 09/27/07