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History 192W ~ Women's Studies 171 Women in Japan Professor A. Walthall Winter 2004     Library Research  Guide

Joan Ariel  Research Librarian for History  and Women's Studies  386 Main Library  824-4970  jariel@uci.edu

This guide is designed as an introduction to print and online resources critical for accessing materials in the UCI Libraries and beyond related to Women in Japan.  Despite its length :),the guide is extremely selective, both in terms of the sources cited and the strategies recommended.  All reference and "finding" sources listed are available at UCI; however, a number of these point to materials located at libraries, both real and virtual, beyond the borders of UCI.

• The guide is linked from UCI Libraries / Services / Workshops and Classes / Library Instruction... /Webpages & Handouts
• You may connect to the resources included from on campus or Connect from Off-Campus

1. UCI Libraries Website and History Subject Guide
2. Sources for Historical Research
3. Good Research Skills
4. Sources for Topic Analysis
1. Guides to the Literature, Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
2. Library of Congress Subject Headings
5. Books, Monographs and Other Materials: Library Catalogs
1. ANTPAC (Anteaters Public Access Catalog)
2. CDL MELVYL: UC Systemwide Catalog
3. WorldCat
6. Articles: Periodical Indexing/Abstracting Services
1. Web-based Indexes
2. Print Indexes
7. Full-Text Journals on the Web
8. Specialized Internet Resources
9. Creating and Managing Bibliographies: EndNote
10. Further Information and Assistance

The UCI Libraries Website provides an organized gateway for research across the disciplines.  Your familiarity with this resource will save you time and potential frustrations in identifying research sources, services, and other useful information.

The section on Online Research and the Subject Guides are especially recommended.

*History Subject Guide*
Highly recommended guide to key resources for research in History; includes catalogs, indexes, online journals, and selected primary sources.  Probably the best beginning point for research in history. http://www.lib.uci.edu/online/subject/history.html

See also, as relevant for your research, Subject Guides for:
Asian American Studies
East Asian Languages and Literatures

Primary sources 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.(adapted from a definition on the Yale University Library Web site)

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

Tertiary sources  are those that identify and located primary and secondary sources.  These includelibrary catalogs,  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.

Begin with topic analysis:

• What is your topic?
• Diagram/interrogate your topic (ask who, what, why, when, where, and how?).
• Make a list of keywords, synonyms, including names of people, events, places, etc. that may be relevant

• Research is an iterative process and the best researchers learn as they go.
• What resources and research tools have you used?
• What terms have/have not worked?
• What new names/terms have you encountered in your searches?

• Books: Author, title, place of publication, publisher, and date.
• Articles: Author, article title, journal title, volume, number, date, and pages
• Consider using EndNote or other  "bibliographic management" software to organize, annotate, and cite your references. 30-day FREE trial available from www.endnote.com.   (see also Section #9 below)

• What is its topical and chronological coverage?
• How trustworthy is the information to which it provides access?

Search Types and Features

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:
A book you already have can provide leads to additional research sources:

• Use the bibliography and footnotes to identify promising secondary and primary resources.
• Search the title or author in ANTPAC or MELVYL, then link from the 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.
Keyword is the most flexible approach which usually produces the largest retrieval.

Cautionary Note:

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

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

Example: japan women
It is important to know how the database you are using translates "keyword." If in doubt or you get a zero result, try both approaches.

3. Subject Headings:
A subject heading is a word or term that describes, often quite broadly, the contents of an information resource.  Most "authorized" headings for U.S. libraries are generally determined by the Library of Congress (LCSH).  In addition to usage in catalog records for books, videotapes, and other library resources, many abstracting and indexing databases of articles use LCSH as the basis for their subject indexing.

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.

Remember: There are many different subject headings that deal with food history; use key word searches to identify the best ones for your topic.

See also Section 4.2 below.

4. Truncation:
Use trucation symbols (usually *  or # or sometimes ?) building on the root of a word to expand your retrieval.

    Examples:
        histor*    =    history, historian, historical, historicism, etc.
        gender*    =    gender, genders, gendered, etc.
        but caution:
        rac*            =    race, racism, racist BUT also raccoon, racketeer, etc.

5. Combining Search Terms:
Using AND between terms will give you a smaller set of retrievals, while using OR will get you more retrievals.
Consult Boolean Searching  for a fuller explanation of this search strategy.
For more information, see Boolean Searching: A Primer

6. Limit Features:
• Use available limit features in the catalog or database to refine your search results.  You can usually limit by language and/or date, often by material/document type (e.g., film or media), sometimes by library location (e.g, Reference Collection) etc.
• Limiting result sets by dates can be a good approach when you are focusing on primary sources for a narrow time period; however, if you limit to specific publication date(s), you will miss primary sources that may be reprinted in later years

 
7. Output/Sending Results:
Most catalogs and databases allow you to email, print, and/or download your search results.  If necessary, use any available help screens/features for instructions. Use these features to email and retain your promising search results.  Whenever possible include a subject line descriptive of your search strategy to identify your results and  help you track your research process.

Guides (or guides to the literature as they're sometimes called) provide the researcher with a basic introduction to the literature of a topic. They may be a useful first step in beginning research, helpful both in acquainting the researcher with critical sources in the field.

Subject dictionaries, encyclopedias, and/or handbooks (names are used interchangeably) can provide important background information on a topic including key concepts and facts, useful terminology, etc.

        Guides to the Literature and Bibliographies: Examples

• The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. New York: Oxford, 1995. 2 vols. Ref. Z6201 .A55 1995
• Korean and Japanese Women: An Analytic Bibliographical Guide.  Greenwood, 1982.  Ref. Z7964 K6 K63
• Women in Japanese Society: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected English Language Materials. Greenwood, 1992.  Ref. Z7964 J3 H82 1992

• Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. Routledge, 2002. Ref. DS822.5 E516 2002
• Encyclopedia of Japan: Japanese History and Culture, From Abacus to Zori. Facts on File, 1991.  Ref. DS805 P47 1991
• The Greenwood Encyclopoedia of Women's Issues Worldwide. 6 vols. Greenwood, 2003. Ref. HQ1154 G69 2003
• Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture and Nationalism.  Garland, 1998.  Ref. DS805 M63 1998
• Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge.  Routledge, 2000.  Ref. HQ 1115 R69 2000
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Gale, c1998. Ref. GN333 .W67 1998.

Although there are many sources for beginning to think about your topic and the various terms that might be used to represent it in indexes, bibliographies, databases, and catalogs, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is a good place to start in tracking terms that are useful in your research.  LCSH is the basis for subject indexing of resources available in the ANTPAC (UCI) and MELVYL (UC-wide) library catalogs. Subject indexing terms can be a powerful search tool in many online catalogs and indexing databases, and  these same subject headings found in records for known items can lead serendipitously to other interesting resources.

Reminder: Subject headings, like all language and most everything in life (!), are socially and historically constructed; consider terminology for your topic broadly and deeply.

The following is a highly selective list of subject headings that might prove useful in looking for information resources related to women in Japan.

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 found typically is composed of primary source material.

• Women -- Japan -- History

and
• College graduates -- Japan -- Social conditions
• Feminism -- Japan
• Feminism -- Japan -- History -- 20th century
• Feminists --  Japan
• Japan -- History -- Sources
• Japan -- Social conditions
• Japan -- Social life and customs -- 1945-
• Japanese diaries -- Heian period, 794-1185 -- History and criticism
• Japanese diaries -- Women authors
• Japanese literature -- Women authors
• Marriage -- Japan -- History
• Sex discrimination against women -- Japan
• Sexual division of labor -- Japan
• Social change -- Japan -- History
• Women -- Employment -- Japan
• Women in Buddhism -- Japan -- History
• Women in literature -- Japan -- History
• Women in politics -- Japan
• Women's rights -- Japan
• Work and family -- Japan

• Hiroshima Mon Amour
• Sh¯otoku, Empress of Japan, 718-770
• Yamaji, Yaeko

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 website (http://www.lib.uci.edu/) or directly (http://antpac.lib.uci.edu/).

Tips: Remember to limit to English language if you do not read Japanese.
         To find videos, limit or select collection Film and Video
 

5.2. MELVYL® CATALOG: UC SYSTEMWIDE CATALOG

If your ANTPAC search does not produce the desired results or you want to expand your retrieval of materials, you will want to search the holdings of other libraries, particularly other UC libraries. The California Digital Library (CDL) MELVYL® Catalog opens doors to worlds beyond UCI .

Request: You may also request  materials identified in a MELVYL® search through via the Request option (as long as they are not currently available at UCI). Keep in mind, however, that Interlibrary Loan (ILL), while most often a free service, can occasionally be a slow process, best undertaken at the beginning of your research. The ten-week quarter makes few allowances for ILL, although the increased use of FAX and other electronic delivery systems does at least make acquiring journal articles from afar faster and easier. Also note
 

5.3. WORLDCAT (WCAT)

Records from the worldwide OCLC Online Union Catalog for books, computer files, audiovisual materials, periodicals, maps, manuscripts, musical scores, etc., in a variety of languages.  (Also provides links to other databases of possible interest, e.g., ArticlesFirst, etc.).  Watch for   to link to UC library holdings

General access to periodical indexes and abstracts is provided 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.  In addition, you can check the CDL list of databases available for History.

The following is a selective listing of indexes most useful for topics related to Women in Japan.
Note: Pay attention to the type and chronological scope of the database you are using as you select your search terms.
 

6.1. WEB-BASED INDEXES

6.1.1. History:

Historical Abstracts (HA)  1955-
The "world's leading historical bibliography" covers the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding North America).  Includes English-language journals (1,700+), books, and disseratations.

    Search Tips:
        Use Advanced Search
        Use Keyword Search to begin, then if desired:

• Limit by language
• Indicate Time Period: For example,  1950D. Click on magnifying glass icon to right of time period to browse options.
• Select document type: article
• Note subject headings (not LCSH, often quite general terms) and link to expand results if desired
• Note documentation
• Watch for links to full-text in JSTOR, etc, and/or  to link to UC library holdings and, possibly, full-text
• Email results to yourself:  change to full format and note your search strategy in subject line

    Search Tips: See above for HA

6.1.2. Asian and Women's Studies:

Bibliography of Asian Studies.  1971-present
Contains over 410,000 records on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia Association for Asian Studies [via Association for Asian Studies]

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    (WRI) 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).

6.1.3. Multidisciplinary:

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.

PCI: Periodical Contents Index  (PCI)  and PCI Full-Text  1770-1995.
An electronic index to the contents of 3,000+ periodicals in the humanities and social sciences , from their first issues to 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 areindexed, 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.

Reader's Guide Retrospective 1890-1982
Covers over 500 of  the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States, reflecting  the history of 20th century America.

Note: Using Indexes to Identify Primary Sources
Especially for contemporaneous  publications, the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature and the newspaper indexes cited below can serve as good topical indexes to what was being written about the events and subjects you are researching at the time they were actually happening.
 

6.1.4. Newspapers:

Online: Current

Lexis/Nexis
Provides citations (often with full-text)  to Christian Science Monitor, LA Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

National Newspaper Index.  1977 - presnt
Provides quick access to the indexing of America's top five newspapers in one seamless search: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.

New York Times.  1999 - present
 

Online: Historical (full-text)

Los Angeles Times Historical    1881-1937 (subsequent  years currently being loaded)

New York Times Historical  1851-1999

Wall Street Journal Historical   1889-1985

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

6.2. PRINT INDEXES

Unfortunately, much of  history falls within time periods prior to the chronological coverage of most online newspaper and magazine indexing services, or the appropriate indexes are simply not yet available online, so you may need to use print indexes to assist in your search for resources on your topic for this course.  Possible useful titles include:

Magazines and Journals:

International Index to Periodicals.  1907-1965/65 Ref. AI3 I58
    subsequently:  Humanities and Social Sciences Index. 1965/66-1973/74
                           then separately: Humanities Index and Social Sciences Index 1973/74-
    Index to academic journals in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences.

Convenient access from:
    CDL: History,  Electronic Journals available to UC Irvine
    or
    UCI Libraries Website / Full-Text Journals

Specific Collections:

JSTOR   (Retrospective archive)
Provides searching and browsing access to the full text of back files of over 100 scholarly publications in dozens of academic disciplines, including History. Articles can be printed off using an Adobe PDF reader plug in to your Web browser (available on all public terminals in the UCI Libraries).
Note: for most journals, JSTOR does not include the latest 2-5 years, but often includes back issues from decades past.

Project Muse (Current)
Full text of over 40 journals in the humanities and social sciences published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Full text coverage varies by journal title but ranges from 1993 to the present. Links to the full text of many articles available in CDL-hosted databases.

8. SPECIALIZED INTERNET RESOURCES

Although the Internet provides access to information resources that are often of dubious quality or authority, for historians there are a growing number of sites worth visiting.  Among the most useful are collections of primary documents, visual resources, and listservs where you can chat with colleagues around the world.

Japanese Studies (taken from UCI Libraries East Asian Languages and Literatures Subject Guide)

• Japan Information Network (JIN)
• Medieval Japanese Studies
• Nippon Net
• The National Diet Library database
• U.S.-Japan Links Resources
• Japanese text initiative
• The Tale of Genji

Searchable web directories often are more useful because sites have been reviewed and selected by historians, librarians, and other experts.  Directories include:

• The Best of the History Sites

An "award-winning portal created for students, history educators, and general history enthusiasts...features links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more."
 
• The Librarians Index to the Internet

Searchable guide to high quality, non-commercial internet resources evaluated and selected by librarians.
 
• Merlot: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Teaching  (Center for Distributed Learning, California State University)

"MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments."  History was added to Merlot in 2000 and, listed under Humanities,  now includes 211 selected sites.  You may also search the Merlot site; for instance, a search on American History retrieves 44 materials.
 
• The Scout Report

The Scout Report Archives are a searchable and browseable collection of over seven years' worth of critical annotations of Internet sites, mailing lists, and other online resources carefully selected by librarians and subject experts.

EndNote is a bibliographic management software program used to develop, organize and manipulate bibliographic citations and facilitate the production of bibliographies and the publication process.  EndNote allows the user to create a "library" to store, manage and annotate citations, similar to a set of index cards but with much more organizational power and flexibility.

Additionally, EndNote allows the user to export citations from many (but not yet all) catalogs and databases (including ANTPAC; MELVYL; Historical Abstracts, etc.) directly into your "library" bibliography and from your "library" into a word processor.  You can thus produce a bibliography or manuscript automatically incorporating citations in a variety of publication styles (e.g., Chicago, APA, or journal-specific).

EndNote is installed in open-access library computer labs including Science Library Interactive Learning Center (ILC) Room 164 and Langson Library TEC, Room 228.  It is also available for purchase at the UCI Computer Store: approx. $109.95 for students (with ID).  In addition, you can download a FREE full-featured 30-day trial version from the ISI/EndNote website: http://www.endnote.com/endemo.asp

Recommended EndNote Workshops:

Tuesday, January 27:            12:00-1:30 in Science Library ILC 164
Wednesday, February 25:     12:00-1:30 in Langson Library TEC, Room 228

"Participants in this course will learn the basics of Endnote by building a bibliographic database, by entering references manually, and by capturing citations from several databases. More advanced features such as producing bibliographies and creating manuscripts with properly formatted references also will be covered."

12.1. Further Tips on Beginning Your Research

12.2. Ask a Librarian: Live and Email

12.3. Research Consultation with History Librarian, Joan Ariel: jariel@uci.edu