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Ethnic Studies

Resources for those studying Ethnic Studies at SLCC.

Most Ethnic Studies research is interdisciplinary. Useful research may be found in the fields of sociology, psychology, education, medicine, social work, political science, economics, and so on.

This guide is a starting point for research- librarians are standing by to help as needed!

Best Bet Databases

Evidence in Ethnic Studies

Search Tips

Search using the most important aspects of your research topic or question. Examples:

  • African American home ownership (not "Why does home ownership present such a challenge for African Americans?")
  • medical care Mexican American (not "What causes disparities in medical care for Mexican Americans?")
  • Native American discrimination public school (not "Are Native Americans subject to discrimination in public schools?")

Limit search results to the kind of information most useful to you. Examples:

  • Does publication date matter? Is your topic very recent? Do you need to present a historical overview of the issues you're researching?
  • Does publication type matter? Does your instructor require "scholarly" sources? Do you need coverage of a current event from a newspaper? Are you looking for articles that present a viewpoint rather than remaining more neutral?

Do not rely on your first search or the first few results.

  • Be flexible with different terms representing the same big ideas from your questions
    • teenagers, adolescents, adolescence, teens...
    • health insurance, Obamacare, single payer, medical debt...
    • white supremacy, whyte supremacy...
  • Look for "subjects" in your search results for additional useful terms and an idea of the "big ideas" in that source

Email yourself the best results!

Scholarly, Popular, Trade/Professional? What's in a name?

Different types of publications have different purposes and different audiences. When we talk about journals, we can usually divide these publications into three broad categories: scholarly, popular, and trade/professional publications.
 

  Scholarly Journals Popular Journals Trade/Professional Publications
Purpose Informs and reports on original research done by scholars and experts in the field. Entertains and informs a general audience without providing in-depth analysis. Reports on industry trends and new products or techniques useful to people in a trade or business.
Authors Articles are written by subject specialists and experts in the field. Articles are written by journalists, freelance writers, or an editorial staff. Articles are usually written by specialists in a certain field or industry.
Audience Intended for a limited audience - researchers, scholars, and experts. Intended for a broad segment of the population, appealing to non-specialists. Intended for practitioners in a particular profession, business, or industry.

 

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