The Storm of Opium from http://culture.china.com/zh_cn/zhuanti/quanxin/history/index1.html

History 192W Opium in China Professor R. Bin Wong Spring Quarter 2003 Library Research Guide

Librarian Contacts:
 

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

Bill Wong Asian Studies and East Asian Language and Literature Librarian 510 Science Library (temporary location) 824-8147 wswong@uci.edu

The Librarians are IN Humanities:  Research Consultation Office Hours in HIRC, Humanities Hall, Room 269:  Mondays 11-12  Tuesdays 3-4  Wednesdays 1-2  Thursdays 1-2  Fridays 11-12

 

This guide is designed as an introduction to print and online resources for accessing materials related to Opium in China located in the UCI Libraries and beyond.  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.

General Resources:

• UCI Libraries Website
• Workshops & Classes: Library Instruction for UCI Classes (including link to this website for Opium in China)
• UCI Subject Guides:    History       East Asian
• Connecting from Home: Information and Instructions

1. Sources for Historical Research
2. Topic Selection and Analysis
3. Good Research Skills
4. Sources for Background and Topic Analysis
• Guides to the Literature, Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
5. Monographs and Other Research Materials: Library Catalogs
• Library of Congress Subject Headings
• ANTPAC (Anteaters Public Access Catalog)
• CDL MELVYL: UC Systemwide Catalog
• WorldCat
• Dissertations
6. Articles: Periodical Indexing/Abstracting Services
• Web-based Indexes
• Print Indexes
7. Full-Text Journals on the Web
8. Selected Primary Sources
9. Internet Resources

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.

The following steps may prove helpful in analyzing your topic and in constructing a useful search strategy.  Note: It is often very helpful to make an actual list of these elements.

1. Survey the topic and clarify any unfamiliar terms or concepts.

2. Consider subtopics or component parts of the topic as well as the particular perspective(s) you want to take or argument(s) you will make

3. Diagram your topic: what? who? when? where? even why?

4. Identify types and/or formats of material that are most promising/relevant for your topic:

• Categories of research resources: Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
• Format types: books, journal articles, newspaper reports, government publications, videos and other media, case studies, research reports, statistics, interviews, etc.

6. Keep track of your research process in research notes/notebook

• 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

Start with a basic familiarity with the research tool you are using (online catalog, print index, database, internet, etc. )

• What is its topical, format and chronological coverage?  Pay close attention to dates.
• What search options are available?  Can you combine terms? limit searches (to date, language, format, etc.)? What are the output options, e.g., email? download? print?
• 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.

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

Cautionary Note:

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

Example: china and opium

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

Example: china opium

3. Subject Heading

A subject heading is a word or term that describes, often quite broadly, the contents of an information resource.  "Authorized" headings for U.S. libraries are generally determined by the Library of Congress (LCSH).  See also section 5.1 below.

Note:  A subject heading search in ANTPAC is an exact subject heading search.

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.

For example, the following ANTPAC search results may prove illustrative:
 

Search Terms	Subject Heading Result	Keyword Result
opium in china	0	0
opium china	0	0
opium and china	0	71
china opium history	0	0
china opium trade	8	1
china history opium war 1840 1842	26	33

Remember: There are many different subject headings that might relate to the history of China and opium; use key word searches to identify the best ones for your topic.  See also section 5.1 below.

4. Truncation: In using either approach, carefully consider the power and usefulness of truncation to expand your retrieval.  Truncation builds upon the root of a word to retrieve all variations based on it.

Truncation symbols vary across catalogs and databases; most often the symbols * or # are used.

For example:

• politi*    =    politic, politics, political, politician, etc.
• religio#     =  religion, religious, religiosity

But caution: Using too short a root will retrieve more than you ever wanted, for example

• chin*        =  china, chinese, but also chinchilla, chintz, etc.
• rac#         =  race and racism but also raccoon, racer, rack, racketeer, etc.

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, 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.

Guides, encyclopedias, and other reference works often provide the researcher with a basic introduction to a topic.  They may be  a useful first step in beginning research, helpful both in acquainting the researcher with key terminology, concepts and  critical sources in the field.

The lists below are just a sampling of titles available in the Reference Collection, Main Library, first floor.  Browse in these call number areas and/or search ANTPAC to identify other useful reference works for your topic.

Guides to the Literature and Bibliographies

The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. New York: Oxford, 1995. 2 vols. Ref. Z6201 .A55 1995

• China : A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Michael Dillon, ed. Richmond, Surrey : Curzon, 1998. Ref. DS733 C58523 1998
• Chinese History : A Manual. Endymion Wilkinson. Cambridge, Mass.: Published by the Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute : Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2000.  Ref. DS735 .W695 2000
• The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History. R. Keith Schoppa. New York : Columbia University Press, c2000. Ref. DS755 .S635 2000.
• Encyclopedia of China : The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture. Dorothy Perkins. New York : Facts on File, c1999. Ref. DS705 .P47 1999
• Modern China : A Guide to a Century of Change.  Graham Hutchings.  Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. Ref.  DS774 .H796 2001

As noted above, Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are a controlled vocabulary of words and phrases determined by the Library of Congress. A subject heading is a word or term that describes, often quite broadly, the contents of an information resource.   In addition to usage in catalog records for books, videotapes, and other library resources, many (but by no means all) abstracting and indexing databases of articles use LCSH as the basis for their subject indexing.

Reminders:

• Subject headings are often difficult to determine; use the results of keyword searches to identify promising subject headings for your topic.
• Subject headings, like all language and most everything in life (!), are socially and historically constructed; consider terminology for your topic broadly and deeply.

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 is substantially composed of primary source material.

• China -- History
• China -- History -- Sources
• China -- Economic conditions -- 19th century
• China -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain -- Sources
• China -- History -- 19th century
• China -- History -- Opium War, 1840-1842
• China -- History -- Opium War, 1840-1842 -- Fiction
• China -- History -- Opium War, 1840-1842 -- Sources
• China -- Opium Trade -- Shanghai
• Drug abuse -- China -- Prevention
• Drug traffic -- China -- History
• Drug traffic -- Political aspects -- China
• Narcotics, Control of -- China -- History
• Opium
• Opium trade -- China -- History
• Opium trade -- China -- History -- 19th century
• Opium trade -- Government policy -- China
• Opium habit -- China

1. Proper names, e.g., people and places, can also be subject headings. For example:

• Lin, Tse-hsü, 1785-1850
• Napier, William John, Baron Napier and Ettrick, 1786-1834

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/).

To research a topic, select Subject or Power search.  Subject searches require word(s) from authorized LC subject headings.  Power searches allow you to combine search types (including title words, subject, or exact subject) and, if desired, to limit your retrieval by library location, date, language, form, and/or date added to the database.

Save: Use the Save feature to create your own topic bibliography within a single database or across several databases.  Once you have saved the items for your bibliography, click on Saved Lists to view, print, mail or download.  Make sure you give your list a relevant subject, indicating topic and date.  You may also want to add an annotation for your list indicating which databases you covered.

Output options: You may mail, print, or download your search results.

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 Document Access and Delivery /Inter-Library Loan (DA&D) can occasionally be a slow process, best undertaken at the beginning of your research. The ten-week quarter makes few allowances for DA&D, although the increased use of FAX and other electronic delivery systems does at least make acquiring journal articles from afar faster and easier.
 
 

You can use WCAT to identify materials not held in the UC system, then request these via ILL using the ILL feature on ANTPAC or the REQUEST feature in MELVYL.

Tip: It is often very useful to use WCAT to identify chapters/articles in anthologies and collections.  A great deal of scholarship is published in this manner and it is often difficult to identify and access it.  In the Advanced Search function, do a notes field search in WCAT with your key words and useful combinations of words.  You can also specify the format of material desired, e.g., books, visual materials, etc.  Also, look for UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE  which indicates that UCI owns the item.

A somewhat similar catalog covering a different group of research libraries is the following:

RLG Union Catalog    (Formerly known as the RLIN Bibliographic File)

This database serves as a comprehensive union catalog for everything from books and serials to archives, for many major research and academic libraries. Special library, archive, and museum holdings area also included.

Includes bibliographic citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Citations for dissertations published from 1980 forward also include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Citations for master's theses from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. Titles published since 1997 are available in PDF digital format and have 24 page previews available.

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 history of Opium in China.

Note: Pay attention to the type and chronological scope of the database you are using as you select your search terms.
 
 

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 dissertations.

Search Hints:

• Use the Advanced Search option for more flexibility and precision.
• Use Keyword Search to begin, then if desired
• Indicate Time Period: For example,  1800H = 1800s; 1910D = 1910-1919. Click on magnifying glass icon to right of time period to browse options.

Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) 1971-
Produced by the Association for Asian Studies, BAS provides citations to western-language monographs, articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971. Includes citations for all articles from 1992–2000 in 100+ of the most important journals in Asian studies. Note especially the browse by country feature.

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.A good place to begin.

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; includes Xinhua (New China) News Agency.

The Nation Digital Archive. 1865-
Note: Click on Subscriber Log-in.
Full-text archive of The Nation magazine, America's oldest weekly magazine. Includes 6,800 issues, fully searchable by author, title, keyword or date range. "Its 135+ years of reporting, opinion, and criticism make for an invaluable collection of primary source materia Its 135+ years of reporting, opinion, and criticism make for an unmatched collection of primary source material, covering the history of politics, culture, books and the arts — in the U.S. and around the world.

19th Century Masterfile
Indexes books, newspapers, periodicals and government documents on the 19th Century.

PAIS International: Public Affairs Information Service. 1972 - present.
Index, with abstracts since 1985, to articles, books, conference proceedings, and government documents on social and political policy, political science, public administration and current affairs.

Periodical Contents Index: PCI 1770-1995
Provides citations to over ten million journal articles, covering many disciplines in the humanities and social sciences including history.
PCI Full-Text: periodical archive containing the full image of articles from 200 journals, from 1770 to 1995.

Readers Guide Retrospective 1890-1982
Provides searchable access to citations from 512 leading U.S. magazines from 1890 to 1982.

Victorian Database Online
Includes ver 100,000 records listing books, articles, and dissertation abstracts  published from 1945 to 2002 on every field of nineteenth-century British studies.

Historical Newpapers

New York Times Historical 1851-1999
At long last, we have retrospective access to the NYT full-text!

Palmer's Index to the Times, with Palmer's Full Text.  1790-1905
An index to the Times of London covering 1790-1905, including full-text from 1785-1870.

See also News and Newspapers on UCI Libraries website.
 

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

For other web databases covering additional  disciplines related to your topic,  see the UCI Libraries website, Article Databases

Print Indexes to Primary Sources

Especially as historians, you must also consider use of  indexes still available only in print form.

Magazines and Journals:

International Index to Periodicals.  1907-1965/65 Ref. AI3 I5
subsequently:  Humanities and Social Sciences Index. 1965/66-1973/74
then separately: Humanities Index; Social Sciences Index 1973/74-
Index to academic/scholarly journals in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences.Newspapers:

Los Angeles Times Index. 1972- present.  Ref. AI 21 L65 N492

Note: Although the LA Times has been published since 1881, the published index began only in 1972.  However, a full-text, online version is due to be available in summer 2003.

Convenient access from:  UCI Libraries Website: Full-Text Journals

Selected 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 many journals, does not include the latest 2-5 years, but often includes back issues from several 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.

China Academic Journals 1994-present
Contains full-text articles of 1,710 Chinese-language journals. Note: Due to the Chinese  characters this site can only be viewed using IE or Netscape 6.x; in order to view full-text users will have to download a Windows-only application (CAJViewer).

• Review published bibliographies and footnotes for leads to primary source material, then check library catalog(s) for availability.
• Try ANTPAC and/or MELVYL searches adding "sources" to your keywords; this will identify some (but not all) of the publications which include primary source material.
• Limit searches to particular dates to get contemporaneous materials.
• Consult the guide Identify and Locating Primary Sources for additional tips and strategies.

Irish University Press Area Studies Series, British Parliamentary Papers: China. J301.H62 DSC  (Main Library, 4th floor)
42 vols; vol. 30-31 Opium War and opium trade.

American Periodical Series Online 1740-1900
Includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published  from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century.

Early English Books Online 1475-1700
From the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War, Early English Books Online (EEBO) will contain over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661).

Evans Digital Edition 1639-1800
This digital collection is derived from the Early American Imprints, Series I. Evans (1639-1800) microform collection.  Covers early American history, literature, philosophy, religion, and more. This collection is an excellent resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, etc.
 

This "rare books and manuscripts" department includes numerous collections of books, newspapers, maps, photographs, pamphlets, and manuscript materials documenting many topics.

Strategy: Do an ANTPAC keyword search on your topic and limit location to Special Collections

Stategy: Do an ANTPAC keyword search(s) on your topic and limit location to ML Microforms.
 

• Do an ANTPAC keyword search(s) and limit location to MAIN MEDIA CTR to identify possible media resources at UCI on your topic
• Do an ANTPAC keyword search(s) and limit collection to Film and Video Collection.

Google (http://www.google.com/), if you haven't used it, is an excellent internet search engine for finding resources.  Use it or your other favorite engines to expand the lists below.

BUT CAUTION: Use websites carefully and critically.  Always pay close attention to who produced the site (person, organization, etc.), currency of the information, date created/revised, content and tone of the information provided, intended audience, inherent bias (political, religious, etc.) of the information, etc.

Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library
    including The Internet Guide for China Studies

Internet East Asian History Sourcebook

or more specifically:

DigitalChina/Harvard: the Opium War

History of the Opium Trade in China
from the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy