ANTH 448J/689J: Space, Place, and Meaning of Historical Material Culture
Web page created by Otis Chadley, Social Sciences Team, UM Libraries
Instructors: Professor Mark Leone and Faculty Member Julie Ernstein
Scope: This guide will assist you in locating resources in the social sciences and history.
Due to licensing agreements, some of the electronic resources available by remote access
are restricted to current students, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland, College Park. E-mail Otis Chadley, ochadley@umd.edu, the subject area
specialist, or call 301-405-9282 for more information. Before conducting your research, consider the University of Maryland Libraries
available to you, in the vacinity.
To gain an understanding of your topic, consult subject related and general reference works.
Refer to publications such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.
To locate such materials, consult the online catalog. The web address is,
http://catalog.umd.edu. Search by keyword
or subject browse. Attach to your topic such terms as, encyclopedia, dictionary, handbook, etc.. For example,
history encyclopedia, architecture encyclopedia, social sciences encyclopedia, culture encyclopedia, landscape encyclopedia. Also,
use full-text online sources from the Reference Shelf
. You will find this site and other useful links listed on the homepage of the University Libraries,
http://www.lib.umd.edu. Search the online catalog, for books and nonprint materials.
To limit your topic by media type, language, and publication date,
use the Advanced Search Option. For example, we can search the topic, material culture; limit the media type to videos; omit
language restrictions; and select the publication years desired (i.e. 1999 - 2002).
The complete text of books may be read in electronic format. Due to copyright laws,
downloading may be prohibited.
HRAF stands for Human Relations Area Files. The collection contains topical information on
cultures throughout the world. The microfiche edition is located in the periodicals room of McKeldin Library.
No call number is listed. Refer to MCKPER MFICHE.
To identify specific publications in the Human Relations Area Files, use George P. Murdock's guide
entitled, Outline of Cultural Materials, MCKREF STACKS GN345.3.O95 1983 Noncirculating. Also, use the guidebook located
near the HRAF Microfiche Collection.
Magazine articles are often not scholarly publications. Articles that appear in popular magazines
such as Time and Newsweek are often written by individuals who are not experts
on the topic under discussion. In addition, magazine reports are usually
absent footnotes and bibliographies that support claims made within the articles. Use a general
interest database to locate magazine articles. Search the fulltext and bibliographic databases
listed below, or visit the University Libraries' Homepage (http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on Research Port. Popular and scholarly articles are located in some of the databases below.
Journal articles are scholarly publications. Such articles are usually written by experts
on the topic under discussion. To support claims made in journal articles, writers include
footnotes and bibliographies to research studies. Use a subject specific database to locate
journal articles. For example, consult a history database to locate journal articles related to
history. Use an anthropology database to find journal articles in anthropology. Refer to the
fulltext and bibliographic databases below, or visit the University Libraries' Homepage (http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on
Research Port. Newspapers provide timely information on a variety of topics. To identify relevant newspaper
articles on your subject, use the fulltext and bibliographic databases listed below, or visit the University Libraries' Homepage (http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on Research Port. Don't use data from web sites until you consider authority, accuracy, purpose,
content, currency, design, organization, and ease of use. In brief,
evaluate web sites.
To locate web sites on your topic, use various internet search engines. To locate more resources on your topic, refer to the web sites listed below. Do not plagiarize. Use a style guide to correctly cite ideas you borrow from books, journals,
the internet, or other sources. Don't borrow concepts from others without
giving credit in your research. The most widely
known styles guides are APA, Turabian, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, and AMA.
Which style guide should you use? Ask your teacher. Everyone may search the catalog of UM Libraries and the University System of Maryland. Due to our licensing agreements, most databases and e-journals are restricted to current students, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland, College Park. To search library holdings, visit our Web site at http://www.lib.umd.edu. Click on "Catalog." To search databases and e-journals, visit our Web site at http://www.lib.umd.edu. Click on "Research Port" and review screen commands. Other than "Research Port," you may access library resources through your WAM Account or VPN (Virtual Private Network). For details, visit http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/wam.html.
Outline
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Selecting A Library For Your Research (UMCP/Shady Grove Libraries)
For directions to UM libraries in the area, refer to the following maps:
Finding An Overview Of Your Topic (Reference Sources)
Finding Books & Nonprint Materials
Finding E-Books (Electronic Books)
Finding Materials In HRAF (Human Relations Area Files)
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Finding Magazine Articles
(Not Scholarly)
Finding Journal Articles
(Scholarly)
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Finding Newspaper Articles
Finding Information On The Internet
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Discovering More Research Leads
Citing Materials Correctly
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Conducting Off Campus Research
