African American and African Diaspora Studies

Finding Articles

Finding Articles

(and Reports, Book Chapters, etc.)

Scholarly / Popular

How can you tell the difference between and scholarly and popular periodicals? The table shown below lists some differences between scholarly and popular sources.

For examples, see the Inflite tutorial.

Return to top

Searching Article Databases

Background

University Library subscribes to hundreds of article indexing databases which are available to you on campus or from home once you have logged in with your user ID and password. These databases are important because they allow you to search for articles by keyword, topic, title, author, etc. Remember, a library catalog such as IUCAT will allow you to search for journal titles, but will not allow you to search for specific articles within the journal.

Alternatively, you can search several databases simultaneously by using Metasearch. 

Search Tips

To find out which databases are most likely to have the kinds of articles that will be helpful to you, check the "Database Descriptions", "Title List", or other "information" or "about" options available in a particular database. (Or see the section below on Suggested Databases for African American & African Diaspora Studies specific databases).

Before you start entering any search terms, spend a few minutes trying to think of as many relevant terms and combinations of terms as you can. This will help you to avoid getting stuck in a rut with the first terms that come to mind.

If you need help in coming up with terms, you may want to try the databases' "Thesaurus" or "Subject Headings" features.

Check out the "Help" or "Search Tips" to learn some of the search features specific to that database. Most databases provide similar features, but the methods may vary.

Try a database's Advanced Search feature, which usually gives you the ability to search multiple fields (author, title, keyword, subject, etc) with one search and may offer additional ways to expand or limit your search.

If your first search strategy does not work, try another approach. Remember, too, that you can ask for Reference Help.

Return to top

Looking for a way to find out which electronic full-text journals IUPUI has access to? Then try here...

Suggested Databases

Full-Text Databases (Journals, Magazines, Book Reviews, and some Newspapers)

• Academic Search Premier (access via Academic Search Premier link or EBSCOhost Web link)
  "Academic Search Premier offers full text for more than 2,000 serials, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed titles. This multi-disciplinary database covers virtually every area of academic study. More than 100 journals have PDF images back to 1985. This database is updated on a daily basis via EBSCOhost." (from website)
• ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials combines the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion with ATLA's online collection of major religion and theology journals. The ATLA Religion Database includes more than 416,000 article citations from more than 1,500 journals (571 currently indexed), more than 210,000 essay citations from over 15,700 multi-author works, and more than 432,000 book review citations. This database begins in 1949 although indexing for some journal titles extends back into the nineteenth century. This database is produced by the American Theological Library Association." (from website)
• Criminal Justice Periodicals
  "Search a comprehensive collection of U.S. and international criminal justice journals including information for professionals in law enforcement, corrections administration, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family law, and industrial security." (from website) Covers from 1981 to the present.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  "An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic, minority and native presses. This current database begins its coverage in 1990." (from website) Features basic and advanced searches, along with a topic guide, and listing of publications covered by the database."
• Expanded Academic ASAP
  Includes citations and many full-text articles. Very general database, but includes articles from AAADS and sociology journals
• Family & Society Studies Worldwide (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "Family & Society Studies Worldwide, produced by NISC, is a core resource providing the most comprehensive coverage of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science, Human Ecology, Human Development, and Social Welfare. FSSW is an anthology of 4 database files providing access to over 844,780 records. Coverage spans from 1970 to the present." (from website)
• Humanities Full-Text (via Wilson Web)
  A broadly-based database of humanities-related periodicals, many of which are peer-reviewed.  
• Humanities International Index (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "Humanities International Index is a comprehensive database covering journals, books and other important reference sources in the humanities. Produced by Whitston Publishing (an imprint of EBSCO Publishing), Humanities International Index provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracting for over 2,000 titles and contains more than 2 million records." (from website)
• InfoTrac Religion & Philosophy
  650,000+ articles from over 250 magazines and academic journals, covering religion, philosophy, archaeology and anthropology. Search can be limited to full-text and/or refereed (scholarly) publications.
• IngentaConnect
  Includes citations and many full-text articles. Very general database, but includes articles from AAADS cross-disciplinary journals. Not all content is peer-reviewed, but you can limit your search to return only peer-reviewed items.
• International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP) Full Text
  "IIBP Full Text draws its current content from international scholarly and popular periodicals in Black Studies and contains full-text coverage of core Black Studies periodicals." (from website) Along with the search engine, database features multiple browsing options.
• J-STOR
  All full-text and scholarly articles. Presents the back-files or the complete run of important journals up to a relatively current embargo date (two to five years). No controlled vocabulary or subject headings used. May limit keyword search to abstract, title, full-text. This database is complemented well by the Project Muse journals. Please view this tutorial for guidance in searching within JSTOR.
• LexisNexis
  For more current full-text articles in newspapers and magazines search the News section of LexisNexis. Most articles are from late 1980's-present.
• Master File Premier (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for more than 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,774 biographies, 100,554 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 202,164 photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost." (from website)
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center covers social issues and "features viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine, academic journal, and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Websites." (from the website)
• Periodicals Archive Online
  "Periodicals Archive Online is the new name for PCI Full Text - an archive of hundreds of digitised journals published in the arts, humanities and social sciences." (from website)
• Project MUSE
  All full-text, all scholarly. Great deal of social history and literature sources and historiography based articles.
• PsycARTICLES
  This database covers from 1894 to the present and offers full-text articles from 58 journals published by major psychology associations. Also features select chapters from American Psychological Association (APA) books.

Return to top

Abstract-only and Citation-only Databases

• America: History and Life
  An index with abstracts, may lead to full-text, All scholarly. Advanced search easily allows one to limit by time period, browse subject headings, and select the language of the article. U.S. and Canadian history only.
• Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1987-)
  Available through ISI's Web of Knowledge's Web of Science. This database features humanities citations from 1987 to the present. Features general, advanced, and cited reference searches.
• Historical Abstracts
  An index with abstracts, may lead to full-text, All scholarly. World, non-US history.
• Periodicals Index Online
  "Periodicals Index Online is the new name for Periodicals Contents Index - a database of millions of article citations published in the arts, humanities and social sciences, across more than 300 years." (from website)
• PsycINFO
  "PsycINFO is an abstract (not full-text) database of psychological literature from the 1800s to the present." (from website) Covers applied psychology, developmental psychology, personality.
• Social Services Abstracts
  Covering from 1979 to the present, this social services resource contains article abstracts on articles including social work, human services, social welfare, social policy.
• Social Sciences Citation Index (1987- )
  Available through ISI's Web of Knowledge's Web of Science. This database features social sciences citations from 1987 to the present. Features general, advanced, and cited reference searches.
• Sociological Abstracts
  Covering from 1952 to the present, this social sciences resource contains abstracts on articles including social structure, inequality, social change, social problems.

Newspaper Databases

• 19th Century U.S. Newspapers  Access and full-text searchability to hundreds of United States newspapers published in the nineteenth century.
• African American Newspapers: 19th Century (Windows Only)
  A 40-million plus word searchable windows-based database of African-American newspapers from the 19th century. In addition, information on the papers included in the database. Also a source of primary material. Scroll down on list of resouces to reach database.
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  "An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic, minority and native presses. This current database begins its coverage in 1990." (from website) Features basic and advanced searches, along with a topic guide, and listing of publications covered by the database."
• Historical New York Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
  Searchable online database which houses full-text digitized version of New York Times from 1860's-2004. Includes advertisements and images.
• Indiana Newsstand (ProQuest Newspapers)
  "Full-text coverage of major Indiana newspapers including the South Bend Tribune, and the Evansville Courier, plus selected coverage of other regional sources and indexing for the Indianapolis News and Star." (from the website)
• Indianapolis Star
  Online version of the Indianapolis Star, covering from 1/1/1999 to the present.
• LexisNexis
  For more current full-text articles in newspapers and magazines search the News section of LexisNexis. Most articles are from late 1980's-present.
• Los Angeles Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
  "Major daily newspaper from Los Angeles. With the nation's largest editorial department, it offers extensive coverage of national, international, and local news." (from website) Covers from 1985 to the present.
• McClatchy-Tribune Collection (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "The McClatchy-Tribune Collection includes a 90-day archive of approximately 290 newspapers from the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. This database is updated daily." (from website)
• Newspaper Source (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
  "Newspaper Source provides selected full text for nearly 30 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost." (from website)
• ProQuest Newspapers
  Combines the coverage of the Indiana Newstand (listed above) and the Los Angeles Times (listed above).

Return to top

Access

When you find a reference for an article by using a database:

In the record for the article, if there is an icon for the PDF of the article (PDF Full Text - or something similar), click on it and the PDF of the article will open. You can then read, print, email, or save it. (If you want to print, be sure to use the Adobe printer icon or you will only get blank pages.)

If there is a choice between PDF and HTML, use the PDF because it will look like a photocopy of the article. If you need to quote something from the article, you will be able to see the correct page numbers of the quote (which you will need when citing your sources). In most cases, the HTML version will not indicate page breaks and will sometimes not include graphics.

If full text is not an option in the database you are searching, there should be an "SFX" linking icon shown.

Clicking on this icon will lead you to a menu of Access options. Please see this brief Flash tutorial if you have questions about this menu.

If the article is not available electronically or in print through University Library, or if you are a Distance Education student and the article is only available in print, you can place an Interlibrary Loan request for the article.

When you find a reference for an article from some source other than a database:

To find out if University Library has access to an article that you have found in a bibliography or some other source, you can:

Enter the citation (reference) information into Citation Linker. This should bring you to the Access menu. Please see this brief Flash tutorial if you have questions about this method.

Or

Check the Electronic Journal List to see if the journal and issue are available electronically. If not, search IUCAT by Periodical Title for the journal and check to see if University Library has access to the journal and issue you need. If you would like to see how to check IUCAT for access to journal holdings, please see this brief Flash tutorial.

As always, if you have questions, please ask for Help.

Return to top

Finding Books & Media

Finding Books

Library Catalogs

Library catalogs have been created to help you learn what a library holds in its collection and where these items are located. IUCAT and WorldCat are two library catalogs that will be helpful to you.

IUCAT can be used to find out what is available in all of the Indiana University Libraries.

This catalog is open to the public, but as an IUPUI student, staff, or faculty member you have special privileges. For example, you can use Request Delivery to request that books held in the IU system but not available at your local IUPUI campus library be delivered to the IUPUI campus library of your choice, where you can check them out.  So books in IU libraries in South Bend, Bloomington, or elsewhere can be delivered to IUPUI for you to read. 

Options for learning to use IUCAT features:

• Read the Help Topics
• Look at these brief Flash tutorials
  • Author Search 
  • Journal Search
  • Advanced Keyword Search 
• Ask a Librarian to explain how to use IUCAT
• Experiment with IUCAT on your own

OCLC's WorldCat can be used to find out what is available in many public and university libraries in this country and in some other countries.

If you find a book, CD, DVD, or video in WorldCat that is not available through the Indiana University libraries, you can make an Interlibrary Loan request for the item. Keep in mind that it will usually take at least 7-10 days for the item to come in and these items must be picked up and returned to IUPUI University Library if you are an IUPUI student, staff or faculty member. If you are not able to pick up items at IUPUI, please make an Interlibrary Loan request through your local public library instead of through University Library.

Options for learning to use WorldCat features:

• Check the Help Feature
• Look at this brief Flash tutorial
  • WorldCat Subject Search 
• Ask a Librarian to explain how to use WorldCat
• Experiment with WorldCat on your own

If you are searching by keyword or subject heading:

• Before you start entering any search terms, spend a few minutes trying to think of as many relevant terms and combinations as you can. This will help you to avoid getting stuck in a rut with the first terms that come to mind.

If you are searching by title:

• Leave out the first word of the title if it is a common article such as "the" or "an"
• If you are searching in WorldCat, do not include punctuation such as a ":"

Learn at least a few of the search features

• The most common one is Boolean searching:
  • using AND between terms to narrow the results to items containing both (or all) of the search terms
  • using OR between terms to expand the results to include items containing any one of the search terms

Subject Searching

Searching library catalogs by Subject Heading, rather than by Keyword, can help to target your search. The catalog records for most of the books and other items in IUCAT and WorldCat include Subject Headings drawn from a list defined by the Library of Congress. This can be helpful because it narrows down the options for useful search terms, but you need to know the approved Subject Headings in order to take advantage of this system.

Options for finding/using applicable Library of Congress Subject Headings:

• Most library Reference departments will have a copy of the "Red Books" containing the Library of Congress Subject Headings
• WorldCat has a feature that allows searching for subject headings.
  • Go to the Advanced Search Screen.
  • Or see the Flash tutorial on using this feature.
• When you do run across a catalog record for a book that is relevant to your topic, both IUCAT and WorldCat allow you to click on the hyperlinked subject headings to find more books on that topic.
• This Word document shows a list of some Subject Headings relevant to African American African Diaspora Studies topics.

Return to top

Locating/Viewing

When you want to view an e-book:

Click on the link in the IUCAT record. For a demonstration, see the Viewing e-books Tutorial or ask for Reference Help.

When you want to find an item on the Library shelves:

IUPUI University Library and many other academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System and Call Numbers, not the Dewey Decimal System that you may have seen at your local public library.

At the bottom of an IUCAT record, you will see the call number and basic location for the item as shown in this example:

If the location for an item in the University Library collection says "Stacks" the item will be on the:

• 3rd floor shelves if the call number starts with the letters A-N
• 4th floor shelves if the call number starts with the letters P-Z

Reference materials, Current Periodicals, Microforms, and Government Documents are all in the Reference Room on the 2nd floor.

IUPUI's Philanthropic Studies Library is on the 2nd floor across the hall from the reference desk.

DVDs are kept behind the Circulation desk on the 2nd floor.

Special Collections are on the Lower Level.

Library Maps

If you have any questions, comments, or would like research help, contact Stephen Towne, AAADS Library Liaison.

Return to top

Reference Materials

Web Resources

Primary Sources on the Web

Primary sources can be found in libraries, archives, manuscript repositories, and elsewhere.  Primary sources increasingly can be found posted to library and archives Internet websites, making them widely available for research.  

What is a primary source?

For a tutorial, click here.(Provided by the University of Washington)

Electronic Resources (Finding Digital Primary Sources)

Newspapers and Magazines

• 19th Century U.S. Newspapers Access and fulltext searching to hundreds of United States newspaper published in the nineteenth century.
• African American Newspapers: 19th Century (Windows Only)
  A 40-million plus word searchable windows-based database of African-American newspapers from the 19th century. In addition, information on the papers included in the database. Also a source of primary material. Scroll down on list of resources to reach database.
• Historical New York Times
  (scroll to Historic New York Times) Searchable online database which houses a digitized version of New York Times back to mid 1800's.
• Freedom's Journal (African-American Newspaper)
  Website containing digitized PDF versions of all 103 issues of Freedom's Journal, "the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States." Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where the issues are linked into two volumes.
• Time Magazine Archive
  A selection of Time magazine full-text articles from 1923-present.

Return to top

Arts and Literature

• African American Poetry
  "The early history of African American poetry, from the first recorded poem by an African American (Lucy Terry Prince's 'Bars Fight', c.1746) to the major poets of the nineteenth century, including Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper." (from website) Along with the search engine, the complete table of contents section allows for easy navigation of the site.
• Black Drama
  "This edition of Black Drama contains approximately features 1200 plays by 201 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays." (from website) Features a table-of-contents, a find section, and allows for simple and multi-field searches.
• Black Thought and Culture
  "Black Thought and Culture contains 989 sources with 947 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans." (from website) Features a table-of-contents, a find section, and allows for simple and advanced searches.
• Database of African-American Poetry
  Provided by the Library Electronic Text Resource Service (LETRS) at Indiana University-Bloomington, this database covers from 1760-1900 and offers users four different methods of searching: Simple, Proximity, Boolean, and Bibliographic. "Includes the poems of such well-known figures as Paul Laurence Dunbar and Phillis Wheatley and the verse of many lesser-known poets whose works may only be found in anthologies or private libraries." (from website)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture: A Multi-media Archive
  A primary source website dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic American novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Contained are images from the original manuscript, as well as commentaries, reviews, and articles written about the book. An excellent resource for examining slavery in the context of American culture.

Return to top

Culture and History

• African-American Community
  "A large collection of online photographs and other information about African-Americans for Charlotte and Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, sponsored by the local public library."
• African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress)
  "The major site and starting place for African-American materials online from the Library of Congress and a rich sampling of their larger collections. Included are a comprehensive text and images from the nearly 500 years of the black experience in the Western Hemisphere. Lesser-known topics, which are covered, include Liberia, abolitionists, western migration, and documents from the Works Progress Administration, the Federal Writers Program, and the Daniel Murray Pamphlet collection. Items within the African-American Mosaic can be searched online. The American Odyssey is not part of the American Mosaic."
• AmDocs: Documents for the Study of American History
  A section of the WWW Virtual Library. A chronological listing of primary documents and maps related to American History.
• The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries
  An excellent resource for the American Civil War contains 2,009 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs. Includes table of contents, as well as simple and advanced search options.
• American Memory Project-Library of Congress
  Housing more than 7 million digitized items, this collection contains items relating to U.S. history, people, politics, and culture. Items include photographs, maps, illustrations, manuscripts, diaries, sheet music, motion pictures, and sound recordings. (Listed below are specific sections dealing with African-Americans)
  • American Memory Project AAADS Relevant sections
    • African American Odyssey
      Along with the link to African American Odyssey, which displays more than 240 items from the impressive African American collections at the Library of Congress, this page links to some of the digital collections of the Library, including The Fredrick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress and Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 among others.
    • African American Perspectives
      Contains the Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection, which "presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, with the bulk of the material published between 1875 and 1900." Allows for keyword searching and browsing by subject or author index.
    • Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938
      Contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. Includes search by keywords, browse narratives by narrator, browse photographs by subject, browse all by state sections.
    • Voices from the Days of Slavery
      Containing almost seven hours of material recorded between 1932 and 1975, this site features twenty-three recorded interviews with individuals born between 1823 and the early 1860's discussing many of the issues encompassing slavery.
• American Memory Timeline (relates to American Memory Project)
  "This resource was developed to help teachers and students use the vast online collections of the Library of Congress. The links to the right will lead you to sets of selected primary sources on a variety of topics in United States History. The sets are arranged by chronological period." (from the website)
• American Slave Narratives: An online Anthology
  "Text, photos, and recordings of some selected Work Progress Administration interviews are presented online. Developed for classroom use at the University of Virginia."
• American Women's History: A Research Guide
  Women's history research guide page from Middle Tennessee State University. Features digital collections of primary sources, as well as tools for finding primary resources. Includes an African-American section in the subject index.
• Documenting the American South
  "Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes ten thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs." (from website)
• Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans 1639-1800
  "Based on Charles Evans' American Bibliography this database lists books published in 17th- and 18th-century America and links to images of the books themselves." -University of Virginia Libraries
• Exploring Amistad: Race and the Boundaries of Freedom in Antebellum Maritime America
  Provided by Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, this website features primary source materials detailing the Amistad Revolt 139-1842. The Library section contains many primary sources in newspapers, personal papers, court records, government papers, popular media, maps, and gallery sub-sections. The website also features multiple search engines.
• History Resource Center- United States
  Features over 100,000,000 pages of more than 5,000 primary documents, along with maps, images, and numerous secondary resources. "The primary purpose of the History Resource Center: U.S. is to provide students, their teachers, and library patrons with a single place to begin researching the vast topic of U.S. history from the earliest days of discovery and exploration to the present." (from the website)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project of Stanford University
  "The scholars at Stanford University who are editing and publishing King's writings have begun to make a sampling of his papers available online. Some of his most well-known documents are present. In addition, the site contains a bibliography file containing about 2,700 references to published works dealing with King and the Civil Rights movement."
• Race and Place: An African-American Community in the Jim Crow South: Charlottesville, VA
  "Race and Place is an archive about the racial segregation laws, or the 'Jim Crow' laws from the late 1880s until the mid-twentieth century. The focus of the collection is the town of Charlottesville in Virginia." (from website) Contains images, newspapers, personal papers, oral histories, maps, census data, city records, and political materials sections.
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York Public Library)
  "The New York Public Library Schomburg Collection is 'the world's leading publicly-accessible research institution for the study of the history and culture of peoples of African descent.' Notes on its collection appear on its home page and most of its materials appear in the online exhibits are also being organized."

Return to top

Cultural Institution Websites

Indiana

• Archives of African American Music and Culture (Indiana University-Bloomington)
  Established in 1991, the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) is a repository of materials covering a range of African American musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era. Our collections highlight popular, religious, and classical music, with genres ranging from blues and gospel to R&B and contemporary hip hop. The AAAMC also houses extensive materials related to the documentation of black radio." (from website)
• Black Film Center Archive (Indiana University-Bloomington)
  "The Black Film Center/Archive was established in 1981 as a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. Included are films which have substantial participation by African Americans as writers, actors, producers, directors, musicians, and consultants, as well as those which depict some aspect of black experience." (from website) Black Camera: A Micro Journal of Black Film Studies is a scholarly journal published by the Archive.
• Butler University Special Collections/Archives
  "Established in 1987, the archives preserve the institutional, physical, scholarly, and, to some extent, the personal history of the university, its programs, facilities, and people. Strengths of special collections cover such areas as Jean Sibelius, Abraham Lincoln, Kin Hubbard, Gaar Williams, 15th to 19th century botanical and zoological prints, early educational materials, 19th-century American sheet music, and African American poets." (from website)
• Historic Landmarks Foundation
  "Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana saves and restores irreplaceable architectural heritage, from outstanding national landmarks like West Baden Springs to modest historic houses, barns and bridges. If you're interested in the historic preservation and restoration of Indiana landmarks or heritage tours and visiting historic sites, you've come to the right place." (from website)
• Indiana Historical Society
  Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been "collecting preserving, interpreting and disseminating Indiana history" and is "one of the largest archival repositories of material on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest." Over 25,000 digital images are contained in the Collections section.. (from website)
• Indiana State Archives
  "The Indiana State Archives is the official repository of Indiana government records of permanent historical and legal significance. It principally contains records generated by state government and state agencies, but also holds a major collection of county and local government records." (from website)
• Indiana State Library
  "Through its history, the Indiana State Library has developed strong collections in the fields of Indiana history and culture, Indiana state government and United States government publications, Indiana newspapers, genealogy and family history resources on Indiana and the eastern United States, Braille, large print, and books on tape for the visually impaired, library science, and American history, politics, and economics." (from website)
• IMCPL (Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library)
  "IMCPL's collection of over 2.1 million items includes a variety of formats: books, books on tape, magazines, large print materials, audiocassettes, videocassettes, compact discs and DVD's. Foreign language materials are an integral part of the Library's collection." (from website)

IUPUI Ruth Lilly Special Collections/Archives
Contains significant primary sources for the study of:

• Philanthropy (including the records of foundations, nonprofit organizations, fund raising firms, associations, and individuals)
• German-Americana (including the records of national and local organizations)
• Individuals and organizations with ties to the University and Indianapolis (General Collections)
• IUPUI University Archives documenting IUPUI and its predecessor schools.

• Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library (Indiana University-Bloomington)
  "The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center (BCC) Library was founded in 1972. It is a hub of information networking, cultural research, and bibliographic instruction and learning for students, faculty, and staff at Indiana University. The BCC Library began as an informal reading room, grew into a distinguished reference and information center on the Bloomington campus, and was organizationally established as a branch library of Indiana University Libraries in 1991-92." (from website)

National

• Repositories of Primary Sources A listing of over 5000 archives, manuscripts repositories, and rare book libraries around the world.
• Listing of State Archives + Historical Societies
  Provided by the Ohio Historical Society, contains some dead links, but overall useful site.
• National Archives The National Archives is responsible for permanently preserving important historical and legal documents that are created in the course of business conducted by the United States federal government
  • National Archives Research Page
    Contains enormous amounts of primary material including images, maps, movies, and electronic records.
• National Civil Rights Museum
  "The National Civil Rights Museum, located at the Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, chronicles key episodes of the American civil rights movement and the legacy of this movement to inspire participation in civil and human rights efforts globally, through our collections, exhibitions, and educational programs." (from website)
• Smithsonian Institution
  Research and educational institution funded by the federal government and other endowments that is committed to promoting innovation, research and discovery in science.
  • Smithsonian Institution Research Page
    Primary material can be found in Online Collections & Datasets, Libraries, and Archives sections.

Return to top 

Census Information

Recent Census Websites

• 2000 Census
  Provided by the U.S. government, this website serves as a gateway to statistics from the 2000 U.S. Census that contains quick facts, figures, and multiple search options.
• 1990 Census
  Provided by the U.S. government, this website serves as a gateway to statistics from the 1990 U.S. Census that contains quick facts, figures, and multiple search options.

Older Census Figures

• AfriGeneas
  "This site is the home page for a private mailing list run by the Mississippi State Historical Archives. The focus is discussion, promotion, and exchange of family history research, especially for people of African descent. The Web site provides a newsletter, information about surnames, and a unique 'Slave Data Project,' which is an online collection of wills and other documents of slave owners." African-American Census Schedules Online section provides to links to historical census data.
• Historical Census Browser
  Provided by the University of Virginia, "Allows you to manipulate population census data for any census year from 1790 to 1960. After selecting the year, choose from the lists of variables based on the questions asked in the census that year." -University of Virginia Libraries
• Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts
  Provided the U.S. Census Bureau, this page contains a variety of information on every census from 1790 through 2000. Contains numerous facts, figures, and statistical abstracts, along with questionnaires and instructions from each census. Includes historic census data from the Decennial Censuses from 1790-1860, 1990, 2000 (PDF). Contains comments and Table of Contents on 1870-1980 Censuses
• IUCAT
  Indiana and United States census information can be found in IUCAT using search terms such as the following: 1. United States Census, 20th, 1980 and 2. 1970 census of population.
  

Return to top

Source Evaluation and Citation

Evaluating Sources

Some things to consider when evaluating information sources:

1.Who is the author?

Is the author credible?

• At a minimum, in order to be considered credible, the author of the information source should have credentials and expertise, such as academic degrees and experience, relevant to the topic.

Has this information source been reviewed by experts in the field?

• Even authors with credentials and expertise in a field may be biased or may have made a mistake in their research or writing. The most credible information sources are those that have been reviewed and accepted by a group of experts in the field.

2.Who published this information?

• The organization(s) that published and/or sponsored the information source should be identified.

Why was this information published?

• The most credible information sources are those that have been published in order to present balanced, unbiased coverage of a topic or at least to present both sides of an issue.
• The least credible sources are those that have been published in order to promote a certain point of view.
• Check the publication for information about the organization(s) that published/sponsored the information source. This can usually be found in the front or back of a printed book or journal, or in the "About Us" or "Mission" section of a web site. You may need to look a little further to determine whether or not the organization has a hidden agenda or whether the author's viewpoints have clouded empirical data.

3.Is the content of the information source relevant for your project or paper?

• It should cover the specific aspects of your topic.
• It should be up-to-date, if timeliness is critical for your topic. (Check the publication date or, for web sites, the date of the last update.)
• It should be well thought out, well presented, and well supported with credible sources.
• It should be unbiased. (A bias can be obvious or subtle. It can be hard to perceive a bias if you tend to agree with the arguments presented. If you are uncertain, check with an expert in the field, such as your professor.)

• Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask - Guide to evaluating web pages from the University of California at Berkeley
• American University Library Information Literacy Tutorial on Evaluating Information - Detailed explanations of what to look for when evaluating information sources
• Humboldt University Library's General Criteria for Evaluating Information for all kinds of sources and Evaluating Webpages: Trash and Treasure for information specific to web sites

 Return to top

Citing Sources

Why is it important to cite sources?

• To give credit to the author of your sources (avoiding plagiarism)
• To allow your readers the opportunity to check your sources (giving your work more credibility)

What are the elements of a citation?

• If you have questions about the parts of a citation, please see this page of the inflite Tutorial

Some sources for information on citing references:

APA (American Psychological Association) style:

• Information on APA style from Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University
  • Includes information specific to citing electronic resources using APA style
• Information on APA style from the Writing Center at Purdue University
• Information on APA style from the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin
• Writing the research aper : A handbook with both the MLA and APA documentation styles / Anthony C. Winkler, Jo Ray McCuen
  LB2369 .W56 1999 (Stacks)

ASA (American Sociological Association) Style:

• Information on ASA citation style from California State University, Los Angeles
• Information on ASA citation style from Buffalo State University (pdf)
• ASA style guide / American Sociological Association
  HM586 .A54 1997 (Stacks + Reference)

Chicago Style:

• Information on Chicago citation style from Long Island University
• Chicago Manual of Style Online
• Chicago Manual of Style / University of Chicago Press Staff
  PE1478.C57 (Ref Desk)

MLA (Modern Language Association) style:

• Information on MLA style from Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University
  • Includes information specific to citing electronic resources using MLA style
• Information on MLA style from the Writing Center at Purdue University
• Information on MLA style from the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin
• MLA handbook for writers of research papers / Joseph Gibaldi
  PE1478 .M71 2003 (Ref Desk)

Turabian:

• Information on Turabian citation style from Long Island University
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations / Kate Turabian
  LB2369.T8; Ref Desk

Additional resources:

• Listing of Printable Style Guides (Courtesy of California State University, Los Angeles)
• University Library link to various style guides

If you have any questions, comments, or would like research help, please contact Stephen Towne, AAADS Library Liaison.