Librarian Contacts:

History Librarian: Joan Ariel  Collections Department  Research Librarian for History and Women's Studies  386 Langson  Library  949/824-4970  jariel@uci.edu

Special Collections/Manuscripts:  Bill Landis  Manuscripts Librarian  Special Collections and Archives  500 Langson Library  824-3113  blandis@uci.edu

Chicano/Latino Studies Librarian: Christina Woo  Reference Department  Research Librarian for Chicano/Latino Studies  150 Langson Library  949/824-4974  cjwoo@uci.edu

This guide is designed as an introduction to print and online resources for accessing materials in the UCI Libraries and beyond on research topics related to Chicana/o History to 1900.. While it is extremely selective, both in terms of the sources cited and the strategies recommended,  this guide should provide sufficient information and resources for the successful completion of your research paper.

The guide covers the following areas:

1. Sources for Historical Research
2. Effective Research Skills
3. Sources for Selecting and Analyzing Your Topic
Guides to the Literature, Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
4. Search Types and Strategies
5. Monographs and Other Materials: Library Catalogs
ANTPAC (Anteaters Public Access Catalog)
6. Finding Articles: Periodical Indexing/Abstracting Services
7. Selected Primary Sources and Special Collections

Primary sources (adapted from a definition on the Yale University Library Web site) are firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation.  The nature and value of a source cannot be determined without reference to the topic and questions it is meant to answer.  The same document, or other piece of evidence, may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another.  The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any format of research materials or type of records, documents, or publications.

Primary sources typically can include archives and manuscript material, photographs, letters and diaries, scrapbooks, newspapers and clippings, government publications, oral histories, magazines, published books, printed ephemera, and video and audio recordings.

Secondary sources are those that analyze, assess, or interpret a topic under investigation, typically utilizing primary sources to do so.

Tertiary sources identify and locate primary and secondary sources; these include bibliographies, indexes, abstracts, encyclopedias, and other reference resources.

IMPORTANT:  Note that these categories are not mutually exclusive. A single item may be primary or secondary (or even tertiary) depending on your research topic and the use you make of that item.

Also of possible interest/assistance:

2.1. Begin with topic analysis

• What is your topic?
• Refine and diagram your topic (who, what, why, when, where, and how).
• Keywords, synonyms, contemporary ways of referring to your topic that are no longer current (e.g., Negro for African American); make a written list of these for convenient referral in keyword searching.

• Research is an iterative process and the best researchers learn as they go.
• What resources and research tools have you used? Which ones have been the most productive?
• What terms have/have not worked?
• What new names/terms have you encountered in your searches?  Add these to your terminology list.

Guides to the Literature, Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works

Guides (or guides to the literature as they're sometimes called) often provide the researcher with a basic introduction to the literature of a topic. Guides may list important bibliographies, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, periodical indexes, manuscript and statistical finding aids, etc. They can be a useful first step in beginning research, helpful both in acquainting the researcher with critical sources in the field and assisting in organization and evaluation of research strategies. In other words, guides often offer a structured overview of an academic discipline.

Subject dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks (the terms are often used interchangeably) often provide useful background information, concepts and terminology, leads to key events and people, etc.  They can also be an excellent resource for exploring possible research topics.

Guides to the Literature: History

• The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. New York: Oxford, 1995. 2 vols.

Ref. Z6201 .A55 1995

• Atlas of Hispanic American History.  George Ochoa. Ref. E 184 S75 O287 2001
• Dictionary of Mexican American History.  Matt S. Meier and Feliciano Rivera.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981.  Ref. E184 M5 M453.
• Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Barbara A. Tenenbaum, ed.  New York : C. Scribner's Sons; London : Simon & Schuster : Prentice Hall International, c1996. 5 vols.   Ref. F1406 .E53 1996
• Encyclopedia of Mexico : History, Society & Culture. Michael S. Werner, ed. Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997. 2 vols. Ref. F1204 .E539 1997
• Historical Dictionary of Ancient Mesoamerica. Joel W. Palka. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2000. Ref. F1434 .H57 2000
• Historical Dictionary of Mexico. Donald C. Briggs and Marvin Alisky.  Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1981. Ref. F1204 .B74
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures : The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. 3 vols. Davíd Carrasco, editor in chief. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001. Ref. F1218.6 .O95 2001
• A Reference Guide to Latin American History.  James D. Henderson, Helen Delpar, Maurice P. Brungardt, eds.  Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2000   Ref. F1410 .R395 2000
• Who's Who of the Conquistadors. Hugh Thomas. London : Cassell, c2000. Ref.  F1230 .T487 2000

In doing library-based research, there are three key approaches to identifying information and materials on a subject or topic: known item; keyword; and subject heading.  All are based on the "bibliographic record" for the book, article, or other item.

1.  Known Item
Search on a known title or author, then use subject headings in the bibliographic record to expand your retrieval to related items.

2. Keyword

In most library catalogs and databases, searches for your key words usually drawn from the following data fields:

• Books: title, series title, and/or subject heading words.
• Articles: article title, subject heading, abstract if available.

    Note:

• In some databases (ANTPAC included), you must use a single word, an exact phrase, or and between multiple words.  Example: mexican americans and california and land

 

 

• In other databases (Melvyl included), the database automatically inserts an implicit and between multiple words and you do not have to type these.


Example: land mexican americans california
 

• If in doubt or you get a zero result, try both approaches.

Searches for subject heading(s) assigned by the Library of Congress or descriptors assigned by the index/database producer use a "controlled vocabulary."  The best way to identify subject heading(s) for your topic is to do a keyword search first, then note and link from subject headings of the most promising items.

Note:

• A subject search in ANTPAC is an exact subject heading search.


Some "subject" searches provide the option of searching by topic keywords, subject heading words, or exact subject heading.  Read search screens and select options careful

The following is a highly selective list of subject headings that might prove useful in looking for information resources related to the Chicana/o History to 1900.

Tip: Finding the subheading terms "Sources" or "Archival resources" appended to any of the subject headings below on a record in an online catalog is an indication that the item you've identified is substantially composed of primary source material.

• California -- History
• California -- History -- To 1846
• California -- Politics and government -- 1846-1850
• Mexican Americans -- California
• Mexican Americans -- History
• Mexican Americans -- Texas -- History -- 19th century
• Mexico -- History
• Mexico -- History -- To 1519
• Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540
• Mexico -- History -- Spanish colony, 1540-1810
• Southwest, New -- Ethnic relations -- Historiography


And more specifically, for example:

• Aztecs -- Civilization
• Aztecs -- History
• Aztecs -- History -- 16th century
• Catholic Church -- Missions -- Mexico -- History
• Indians of Mexico -- History -- 16th century
• Indians of North America -- California
• Indians of North America -- New Mexico -- Land tenure -- History
• Land grants -- California -- History
• Land tenure -- New Mexico -- History
• Mexican Americans -- California -- San Juan Capistrano -- Land tenure
• Mexican American agricultural laborers -- California -- History
• Mexican Americans -- Education
• Mexico -- Antiquities
• Mayas -- Civilization
• Missionaries -- California -- Biography
• Missions, Spanish -- California -- History
• Peasantry -- Mexico -- History
• Santa Ana (Calif.) -- History
• Segregation in education -- United States -- History
• Sex role -- Mexico -- History
• Social classes -- Mexico

• Dominguez family
• Pico family
• Serra, Junípero, 1713-1784

4. Useful Search Strategies:

4.1. Truncation:  Use trucation symbols (usually * and/or #) building on the root of a word to expand your retrieval

    Examples:
        histor*    =    history, historian, historical, historicism, etc.
        mexic#    =    mexico, mexican, mexicans
        gender*    =    gender, genders, gendered, etc.
   But caution:
        rac*            =    race, racism, racist BUT also raccoon, racketeer, etc.

4.3. Combining search terms: using AND between terms will give you a smaller set of retrievals, while using OR will get you more retrievals.
For more information, see Boolean Searching: A Primer

ANTPAC provides quick and efficient access to the holdings of the UCI Libraries.  ANTPAC should be your first stop for accessing books, periodicals, media, and other research materials.

ANTPAC is available via a Web interface in the UCI Libraries as well as from home or office.  You can access ANTPAC via the UCI Libraries homepage (http://www.lib.uci.edu/) or directly (http://antpac.lib.uci.edu/).

Useful features include:

• Searching by collection: e.g., Entire; Government Information; Journals and Serials; Film and Video
• Limiting searches by: Language; Material Type; (Library) Location; Publisher; Year (of Publication).
• Email Results:  Use the export button to put items of interest in memory, then once you have all titles you wish to send, click on View/Export Marked Records and fill in email boxes.  Note: Change subject box to include your search terms.
• Direct submission of Request/Recalls (when item is checked out)  and Interlibrary Loan* Requests
• MY ANTPAC including
• Preferred Searches - you can search the catalog in MY ANTPAC to save searches to a special file in your Patron Record. You can then request email alerts on "Preferred Searches." You can also request a hold on a title without having to retype your name and ID number.

Guide to Call Number & Subject Locations

6.  Finding Articles: Periodical Indexes and Abstracts

The most convenient direct access to periodical indexes and abstracts is through the UCI Libraries Website:
Article Databases. Here you will find an alphabetical listing of all indexes and abstracts available through CDL or licensed directly by the UCI Libraries.

The following is a selective listing of indexes most useful for topics related to the Chicana/o History to 1900.

Note:

• Pay attention to the type and chronological scope of the database you are using as you select your search terms.
• Watch for UCI holdings statements and/or click on  (where available) to link to holdings in UC libraries.
• * indicates full-text of articles provided

America: History and Life(AHL)  1964-
The most authoritative listing of periodical literature, book and media reviews, and dissertations in United States and Canadian history. Covers over 1,700 journals published worldwide. Provides abstracts and, for some articles, links to full-text.

Search Tips:

• Use Keyword Search to begin.
• Use Advanced Search for more search options and power.
• Indicate Time Period: For example,  1600H, 1700H or 1800H. (Click on magnifying glass icon to right of time period to browse options.)
• Limit to Language English if you do not read Spanish
• If desired, limit to document type: article

Search Tips: See above for AHL.

Chicano/Latino and Latin American Studies:

Chicano Database    1967-present
The Chicano database contains records for all types of materials in the areas of Mexican-American topics, and since 1992, materials on other Latino cultures--e.g., Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Central American immigrants. Subject coverage includes art, language, sociology, public policy, economics, history, literature, politics, and law.

The Handbook of  Latin American Studies/HLAS Online   1935-present
Contains citations in the area of Latin American studies from journals, books, and conferences in the humanities and social sciences including history.Many citations in the database are annotated.

Hispanic American Periodical Index/HAPI Online  1970-present
Produced by the UCLA Latin American Center, provides citations about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the U.S.-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the U.S. indexed from articles and other materials.

Multidisciplinary:

Current Contents. 1993-present.
Cover-to-cover  indexing of journal articles, reviews, meeting abstracts, editorials, etc., is provided for more than 7,500 internataional journals covering all disciplines.

*Expanded Academic Index ASAP  1980 - present
Provides multi-disciplinary coverage from arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology; inlcudes scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images.  Includes numerous full-text articles.

*Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe
Nearly 5,000 publications span news, financial, medical, and legal information, the vast majority available in full text, with a limited number available in abstract form. Covers newspapers, magazines, wire services, federal and state court opinions, federal and state statutes, federal regulations, etc. News information is updated daily and wire services several times daily.

PCI: Periodical Contents Index.  (PCI)  and * PCI Full -Text    1770-1995
PCI: Covers 37 key subject areas in the humanities and social sciences and currently indexes around 13.9 million articles dating from as early as the eighteenth century up to 1995 .Cataloguing in PCI is not limited by date or by language. Over two centuries of scholarly publication in 40 languages and dialects are indexed, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Western languages.
PCI Full-Text contains the contents of 259 journal runs, providing access to over 5.4 million article pages - representing over 860,000 articles. These are drawn from the 13 million-plus article citation records in the PCI index. PCI Full Text is on target to grow to 300 journals by the end of 2003.

and more specifically:

Ethnic NewsWatch   1960- present
Full-text general reference database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press covering both current and historical topics.

GenderWatch     1970 - present
Full text database of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, NGO and special reports.

Women’s Studies International    (WSI) 1972-
Includes over 232,000 records drawn from a variety of essential women's studies databases including Women Studies Abstracts (1984- ; approx. 35,000 records) and the Women’s Studies Database (1972- ; approx. 70,300 records drawn from 125 journals worldwide).
 

Newspapers:

In addition to Lexis/Nexis above, which includes newspapers as well as other periodicals and resources,

Historical Newspapers Online
Contains three major historical resources:

• Palmer's Index to the Times which covers the period from 1790 to 1905 in The Times (London)
• The Historical Index to the New York Times which covers The New York Times from 1851 to September 1922
• Palmer's Full Text Online, 1785-1870, providing access to the full articles referenced in Palmer's Index to the Times

Individual Titles:

*El Clamor Publico 1855-1859
Available from the USC Digital Archive, you can "search the entire run (1855 to1859) of 233 issues of this newspaper, considered Los Angeles' main Spanish language paper during this time. Billed as Los Angeles' "Periodica Independiente y Literacio," El Clamor Publico was the first Spanish-language newspaper in California after the American occupation. It was founded by the former Spanish editor of the Los Angeles Star, Francisco P. Ramirez, a 19-year old printer. Published weekly, 233 four-page issues were published between July 1855 and August 1859. The initially moderate paper evolved into an activist tabloid and espoused strong political views generally in support of the Mexicanos. While articles commonly dealt with American political ideology and practice, the newspaper's publication of poetry and literature make it an excellent source of cultural history. It was distributed as far north as San Francisco."(from El Clamor Publico website)

*Los Angeles Times Historical  1881 - 1939
Search and browse full text and display images of both articles and complete newspaper pages. Coverage through 1984 will be added during 2003 and 2004.
    For current coverage, from 1985 to present, of the LA Times, use
        Los Angeles Times via Newsbank
       or
       Los Angeles Times via Proquest Newspapers

*New York Times  1999 - present
*New York Times Historical  1851-1999
Search and browse full text and display images of both articles and complete newspaper pages.

*Wall Street Journal1985- present
*Wall Street Journal Historical 1889 - 1985
Search and browse full text and display images of both articles and complete newspaper pages.

Note:  For other web databases relevant to history research, see CDL History Databases Available to UC Irvine
 

7.  Selected Primary Sources and Special Collections

Search Tips:

• To find primary sources in ANTPAC or other library catalogs: Add the form subheading "sources" to your keywords.


For example:

keyword:                            History and California and Sources
LC subject heading:         California -- History -- Sources
This should retrieve many (although by no means all) primary sources.
• Limit to language English if you do not read Spanish.

 
• You may also wish to consult the following guides, which may make your research much more effective (successful! and efficient (time-saving!):

 
• Identifying and Locating Primary Sources.

 
• Using Primary Sources on the Web

(Written by the Instruction & Research Services Committee of the Reference and User Service Association History Section in the American Library Association).

Hours:     Monday to Friday 10-6; Saturday 1-5

This "rare books and manuscripts" department includes numerous collections of books, newspapers, maps, photographs, pamphlets, and manuscript materials documenting many topics.  The collection is especially strong in California and Orange County history.

ANTPAC Search tip:

For example:    Subject: California --  history   or
                        Keyword: California and history and sources
                            and limit to location Langson Spec Collections ... and language English if you don't read Spanish :)

Note: See yellow handout distributed in class on 10/23 for a listing of representative sources in Special Collections.