Anthropology 307, Ecological Anthropology
Library Workshop

The following are resources to help you in finding research for your research paper, which is to use 8 different, reputable, scholarly sources.

Step One: WebPALS -- Searching for Books

Consult WebPALS Library Catalog, conducting either a Tri-College or All PALS Libraries search for books at MSUM and other libraries.

Keep in mind the following keywords and Library of Congress subject headings for your search. Best when used in combination with a continent, country, or other geographic limitting term.

Ecology

Ecolog# (will retrieve ecology; ecological)

Human ecology

Nature--Effect of human beings on

Human beings--Influence of environment

Population

Social life and customs

Human settlements

Land settlement

Human geography

Adaptation

Demograph# (will retrieve demographic; demography)

Social conditions

Ethnology

Paleontology

Paleoecology

Prehistoric peoples

Social evolution

 

An example of some books in the system regarding physical, social environments, cultural changes, demography, etc., follow:

Kenya, a study in physical and human geography. Francis F. Ojany. Location: DT433.52 .O37

Southern African prehistory and paleoenvironments. Ed., Richard G. Klein. Location: GN865.S5 S69 1984

African ecology and human evolution. Ed. F. Clark Howell. Location: QE757.A1 H68

Population and Development: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Location: U.S. DOCS. Y4.F76/1:P81/6

Human Settlement.  Ed. John R. Short. Location: OVERSIZE HT65 .H85 1992

Human Ecology as Human Behavior.  John Williams Bennett. Location: GF50 .B46 1996

Environment and Cultural Behavior. Ed. Andrew Vayda. Location: 
GF51 .V35

Africa's Ecological Future: Natural Balance or Environmental Disruption? Location: U.S. DOCS. Y4.IN8/16:AF8/9 


Step Two: Reference Books Worth Consulting

Archaeology/Anthropology

A.     History of Physical Anthropology  Location: REF. GN50.3 .H57 1997

B.      Oxford Companion to Archaeology Location: REF. CC70 .O96 1996

C.      Cambridge Illustrated History of Archaeology  Location: REF. CC100 .C28 1996

D.      Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia   Location: REF. E77.9 .A72 1998

E.       Atlas of Classical Archaeology  Location: REF. G1046.E15 A8 1977

F.       Larousse Encyclopedia of Archaeology  Location: REF. CC165 .C4313

G.      Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Location: REF. GN550 .E53 1991

H.      Dictionary of Anthropology  Location: REF. GN11 .D48 1986

I.        A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics  Location: REF. QH540.4 .L56 1998

 Agriculture

A.    Dictionary of Agriculture. Location: REF. S411 .D573 1998

B.     Dictionary of Agriculture: From abaca to zoonosis.  Location: REF. S411 .L55 1995

Ancient Civilizations

A.     The Atlas of Early Man.  Location: REF. CB311 .H35 1976

B. Larousse Encyclopedia of Prehistoric and Ancient Art.  Location: REF. N5300 .H953

C. Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory  Location: REF. GN281 .E53 1988

 Cultural/Social Anthropology

Ecology

Population/Demographics

Books in Circulating Collection on  Anthropological Research

   

Step Three: Electronic Databases -- Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

A comprehensive, alphabetic list of our electronic resources is available via the Library's "Internet and Electronic Resources" site.

Don't know what a "scholarly resource" is? Try this site for an explanation.

Academic Search Premier - EBSCO
This resource contains full text for nearly 3,400 scholarly publications. This collection provides full text journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study - including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.
Off-Campus Access
 

Firstsearch at http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/FSIP

Multidisciplinary database interface that covers 46 databases ranging in subject areas from Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Conferences & Proceedings, Consumer Affairs & People, Education, Engineering & Technology, General & Reference, General Science, Life Sciences, Medicine & Health Sciences, News & Current Events, Public Affairs & Law, and Social Sciences.  

May want to consider consulting these Firstsearch databases in particular: PAIS; GeoBase; Social Science Abstracts

Professional Collection - Gale
Part of the Gale/IAC databases suite, the Professional Collection is a custom selection of more than 300 full-text journals for educators that is updated daily and provides 24-hour access from school or home. It offers balanced coverage for any professional educator in the following areas: arts and humanities; child and adolescent psychology and development; drug and alcohol abuse; health/nutrition

Sociological Abstracts

Provided in collaboration with NDSU, CSA Sociological Abstracts is a primary resource for accessing the latest research sponsored in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences, and is updated monthly.  The database draws information from an international selection of over 2,600 journals and other serials publications, plus conference papers, books, and dissertations.  Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and nonevaluative abstracts of journal articles.  Major areas of subject coverage include:  Community development; Culture and social structure; Demography and human biology; Environmental interactions; Evaluation research; Family and social welfare; History and theory of sociology; Management and complex organizations; Mass phenomena and political interactions; Methodology and research technology; Policy, planning, forecast and speculation; Radical sociology; Rural and urban sociology; Economic development; Social development; Social differentiation; Social psychology and group interaction; Sociology of the arts, business, education; Health and medicine and law; Religion and science; Studies in violence and power; Welfare services; and Women's studies. 

JSTOR

JSTOR is an electronic database of full-text back issues of 117 academic journals in the subject areas of African-American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population/Demography, Education, Finance, History, Literature, Sociology, and Statistics.

 

Step Four: Internet-Based Resources

 

Suggested Search Engines

Try a good directory, such as Yahoo or Librarians Index to the Internet. More quality-control and more likely to locate well-researched sites. Also, Northern Light is a search engine that lets you narrow by topic in their "custom search folders." But be careful!

Remember that Internet sites require extensive EVALUATION. Much of what is on the Internet is NOT scholarly. For evaluative criteria, please consult the Library's Evaluating WWW Sites page and the helpful CARS Checklist. These evaluation criteria will also be helpful in evaluating resources from books and journals.

 

Specific Web Sites to Try

Anthropological Index Online

http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/AIO.html

African Studies Center

From the University of Pennsylvania, includes course-related links and information on specific countries. Can link to several reference sources on Africa.

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/

Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution (Andrew Lock) –

Includes information on ancient civilizations and paleoanthropology, social, sociocultural systems, symbolism, language systems, and more.

http://www.massey.ac.nz/~ALock/hbook/start.htm

Ethnographic Studies Resources

A collection of resources in anthropology, ethnomusicology, folklore, and folklife put together by  The American Folklife Center.

http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/other.html

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

http://www.unchs.org/

Governments on the WWW

http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/

 

Created by Brittney Goodman, 2/27/01. Updated 05/13/05

goodmanb@mnstate.edu

Back to the MSUM Library Web Site

http://www.mnstate.edu/library/instruct/anth307.htm