This guide is designed as an introduction to web and print resources useful for researching topics in Women's Studies and preparing your annotated bibliography.  It is extremely selective, both in terms of the sources cited and the strategies recommended for exploring and analyzing the literature on your selected topic.

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.  In your identification and investigation of the literature on the topic you have selected for your final project -- be it an annotated bibliography, a research paper, or a research paper -- you will be engaging in bibliographic or library/internet based research in which you:

• Select and analyze your topic
• Collect data and information sources: books, articles, reports, websites, etc.
• Critically evaluate your sources: authority, currency, evidence, perspective, bias, etc.
• Select the most important sources to include in your bibliography
• Thoughtfully and critically annotate your sources.

As a UCI student, you have access to all resources listed here.  In order to access these from home or an off-campus location, you will need to configure your "proxy server."  Follow the straigtforward instructions found on Connect from Home.

1. Topic Selection and Analysis
2. Search Types and Strategies
3. Beginning Your Research: UCI Libraries' Web Gateways to Sources
4. Finding Books, Videos and Other "Monographs": Library Catalogs
• UCI: ANTPAC
• UC System: MELVYL
• Worldwide: WorldCat
5. Finding Journal and Other Periodical Articles
6. Expanding Your Research on the Web
7. Guidelines for Evaluating and Citing Publications and Web Sites
8. Creating and Managing Bibliographies with Ease and Power: EndNote
9. Further Information and Assistance

A little advance preparation and analysis of your topic/project will go a long way toward making your research more effective and efficient, thus minimizing the time required and the possible frustrations encountered. Before you begin searching for sources, consider the topic carefully and analyze it in order to focus your search strategy and produce useful and manageable results.

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

Categories of research resources: Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

• 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.
• Secondary sources are those that analyze, assess, or interpret a topic under investigation,  typically utilizing primary sources to do so.
• Tertiary sources include library catalogs, bibliographies, indexes/abstracts and other reference sources that help you identify and locate primary and secondary sources.

4. Identify and list key terminology: words, phrases, synonyms, names, etc. for your topic and possible sub-topics within it.. Using carefully chosen key words maximizes your search recall and precision and allows you to combine terms in useful ways

5. Keep track of bibliographic citations with all required elements (see section #8 below).

• Books: Author, title, place of publication, publisher, and date.
• Articles: Author, article title, journal title, volume, number, date, and pages.

Women's Studies Encyclopedia.  Helen Tierney, ed.  Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999
Note: Also available  on CD-ROM in Multimedia Resource Center (MRC) and in print: 3 vols.
Ref. HQ 1115 W645 1999

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

Example: asian american women feminism
• If in doubt or you get a zero result, try both approaches.

• A subject search in ANTPAC is an exact subject heading search.
• Some "subject" searches (e.g, in MELVYL as well as some databases) provide the option of searching by topic keywords, subject heading words, or exact subject heading.  Read search screens and select options carefully.

• Anti-feminism
• Asian American Women
• Feminism -- Africa
• Feminism -- Religious aspects
• Feminism -- Uganda
• Feminism -- United States
• Feminism -- Vietnam
• Hispanic American women
• Mexican American women
• Minority teenagers -- United States
• Offshore assembly industry -- Mexico
• Teenage girls -- Research
• Teenage girls -- United States
• Women and religion
• Women in religion -- South Asia
• Women in politics -- Uganda
• Women offshore assembly industry workers -- Mexico
• Women's rights -- Africa

• Buffy the vampire slayer
• Clinton, Hillary Rodham
• Go Grrrls Program

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

Examples:

• feminis*          =  feminism, feminist, feminists
• economic#      =  economic, economics, economical
• sexual*           =  sexual, sexuality, sexualities, etc.

• rac#   = race and racism but also raccoon, racer, rack, racketeer, etc.

6. 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.
 
 

3. Beginning Your Research: UCI Libraries' Web Gateways to Sources

UCI's local catalog, the most current and comprehensive source for materials in the UCI Libraries.
Note: Use the Export Record button to export then email items to yourself.
 
 

UC System: MELVYL Catalog

The MELVYL Catalog serves as the catalog for all 9 UC libraries; as a UCI student, you have full access to these libraries and their collections.
 
 

Worldwide: WorldCat

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

5. Finding Journal and Other Periodical Articles

5.1. CDL Databases Specifically for Women's Studies Research

5.2. More Comprehensive List:

5.3. Recommended Indexes for Beginning Research in Women's Studies

If any of these links in the table above do not work, link from Article Databases list.
 

5.4. Useful Indexes in Other Disciplines

Selected additional databases that may be useful for your bibliography are included in the table below.  Select those relevant to the discipline you are researching.  To access these, link from Article Databases list.
 

America: History & Life  Anthropological Literature ArtAbstracts  ArticleFirst  Arts and Humanities Citation Index  Bibliography of American Literature  Bibliography of Asian Studies Chicano Database

Current Contents  Ethnic News Watch  ERIC (Education)  Historical Abstracts  Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Left Index Lexis/Nexis MLA via Silverplatter (Literature)

Music Index National Newspaper Index PAIS (Public Affairs Intl)  PsycINFO (Psychology) PubMed (Medicine) Social Science Citation Index  Social Services Abstracts Sociological Abstracts

5.5. Electronic Journals in Women's Studies

5.5.1.
CDL List for Women's Studies

5.5.2.
List on Libraries Website: Full-Text Journals
Allows searching by titles words, e.g., women* or wom*n* or feminis*

5.5.1.
JSTOR
A searchable retrospective archival full-text collection of over 100 journals in such subject areas as history, African-American and Asian studies, ecology, economics, education, finance, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, and sociology. JSTOR does not include the latest 5 years of any journal, but often includes back issues from several decades past.

Includes a number of journals related to Women's Studies, among them:

• Family Planning Perspectives 1969-2000
• Gender and Society 1987-1998
• Journal of Interdisciplinary History 1970-1996
• Journal of Marriage and the Family 1964-1999
• Marriage and Family Living 1941-1963
• Social Forces 1925-2000    (plus links to recent content 2001-2002)
• Studies in Family Planning 1963-1999
• Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 1982-1996

1. Enter search terms and search fields [e.g., full-text or title or abstact.
2. Select Disciplines/Journals to Search [required] e.g., History, African American Studies, etc.  [You may select as many categories as desired.]
3. Limit your search to Articles if desired.  You may also limit by publication date range and/or content availability [ieAll content or full-text only].
4. Submit search
5. Refine your search as necessary or View your results, selecting one of the following display options:
• Highest scoring items first
• Most recently published items first.
• Oldest items first.
6. Review your results carefully.  Download or print those items of particular interest. Unfortunately, JSTOR does not [yet?] provide email option.
7. If you got zero or few results, try varying your search terms and fields.

5.5.2.
MUSE - Project Muse-- Johns Hopkins University Press
Current full text collection of  nearly 200 quality journal titles from some 30 scholarly publishers covering the fields of
history, literature and criticism, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies,
economics, and many others. Full text coverage varies by journal title but most range from 1996 to the present.

Selected journals related to Women's Studies include:

• Camera Obscura
• Differences
• Emily Dickinson Journal
• Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
• GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies
• Hypatia
• Journal of the History of Sexuality
• Journal of Women's History
• Legacy
• NWSA Journal

Note:  If desired, Quick Navigation menus allow you to select a search limitation at the outset by:

• A title, e.g., Journal of Women's History; etc.
• A subject, e.g., Women's Studies, etc.
• A collection, e.g., Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences, etc.  Note: not recommended; may miss useful items.

1. Click on Advanced Search
2. Enter search terms and fields [recommend all fields except text to begin; if zero result, expand to include text]
3. Use * for truncation as desired.
4. Limit by Type to Articles
5. Narrow results as necessary by adding additional search terms
6. Unfortunately, Muse does not provide an internal email or print function.
7. You may print from your browser and/or copy and past the URL for the desired article into a web email program if you have one.

5.6. Search Strategies and Delivery Options in Periodical Databases

If you have found too few:

Remove some of your key words if you used more than one

Remove some of your  limits, e.g. abstracts or text.

Consider and search related, broader topics

If you have found too many:

Remember, where possible, to consider and specify display format desired:

• Print:  Print results to connected printer
• Mail:   Email search results in specified format (including abstracts and text if desired)
• Download: Download results to your computer or floppy disk.

Note: These instructions are specific to MELVYL.   They can be adapted, however, to use with CWI or WRI and other licensed databases.

1. Review and analyze your search results

• Read the article title carefully
• Note the journal title, author, and date and length of the article
• Read the abstract, if available, carefully
• View the article in long display format to note the subject headings if available; these often are good indicators of the primary focus of the article (and can be used to expand your search)
• You may also quickly scan article text if provided.

3. Once you have selected those you want, click on Mail button and select the following options:

• Citation format
• Abstracts/Text
• Location

Locating Articles at UCI

To find the specific journal and issue you need:

• Note the UCI Libraries call number if provided in the index that you used to identify the article.
• If call number is not provided (e.g., CWI, GenderWatch, WRI, etc.), check ANTPAC by the journal title to find the call number.
• Note whether the issue you need is bound (indicated by "B" in front of volume/number) or unbound.
• Unbound journals("current" issues):
• Main Library: Current Periodicals Room, 2nd floor, by call number.
• Science Library: Current Periodicals Room, 2nd floor, by title.
• Bound journals: Shelved by call number (interfiled with books) in the stacks.
• Microforms:      Current Periodicals Room, check ANTPAC by title for location.

UCI Libraries Website/Research Resources by Subject or Collection

Note: Websites from subject pages for other disciplines related to your topic may also be useful; check UCI Libraries Website, Subject Guides.

Critical thinking and assessment of the sources you identify on your topic is essential to the development of your bibliography and analysis.  One model for the critical evaluation of publications and other library materials is described on the chart attached to the printed copy of this guide ( from Deborah Fink, "Critical Evaluation" in Process and Politics in Library Research, 132-133. American Library Association, 1989).  Use these questions to help guide your assessment and selection of the sources you will include (and to write your annotations if you have elected that final project option).

Additional resources on the Web that may be useful include the following links from the UCI Libraries Homepage:

        Evaluating Information and Internet Resources

        Style Manuals and Writing Guides
 
 

8. Creating and Managing Bibliographies with Ease and Power: EndNote

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; MLA; America: History and Life) 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 has recently been installed in open-access library computer labs including Science Library Interactive Learning Center (ILC) Room 164 and Main Library TEC, Room 228 (open in the evenings).  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

Workshop Options:  If a group of you can find a mutually convenient time (some Thursday at 3:30?), I would be happy to give you an introduction to EndNote.  Alternatively, you may attend one of the upcoming general Library EndNote Workshops:
        November 5::     10:00-12:00, Science Library ILC 164
        December 3:       12:00-2:00, Science Library ILC 164

"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."
 
 

9. Further Information and Assistance

9.1. Further Tips on Beginning Your Research

9.2. Ask a Librarian: Live and Email

9.3. Research Consultation with Women's Studies Librarian, Joan Ariel: jariel@uci.edu