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Anthropology: Finding content at Queen's

Academic content

  1. Academic content is peer-reviewed - which means that quality has been checked by other academics and it is a reliable, high quality source that you can use for your assignments at university.
  2. As a university student you may be expected to find academic content independently. You can do this by searching the Library Catalogue and other databases we have at Queen's.
  3. The Library Catalogue can be found on the Queen's Library homepage.
  4. Find books by searching the Library Catalogue. Find journal articles by searching Article Search. Both of these databases search all Queen's content along with quality free (open access) content - so they are a good starting point on your research journey.
  5. You can search the Library Catalogue and Article Search when you know what you are looking for: simply enter your book title/author or journal title/into the search box.
  6. Refine from your search results page using new keywords. You could also try using the Advanced Search options viewable from your results page.
  7. For very specialist searches then try one of the Key Databases in your subject area. Your Subject Librarian will be able to advise on the best one to use.

Finding academic content at Queen's

Types of academic content

There are three main types of academic content you will be expected to find as a university student. Here are some examples: 

1. Book 
Inden, Ronald, Imagining India (Oxford,1990) ​

Note the publication year. To find this book type the title (Imagining India) into the Library catalogue. This book is available as both a print book and an ebook. The ebook may be accessed via a link underneath the title. The print book is on Floor 2 of the McClay Library at Shelfmark PR830.I6 CRON

 

2. Chapter in a book 
Bhadra, Gautam, 'Four Rebels of 1857', in Ranajit Guha & Gayatri C. Spivak, (eds.), Selected Subaltern Studies IV, (New York, 1988) ​

Note the word "in". This is a particular chapter in an edited collection. It was published as a book. To find it search for the book (Selected Subaltern Studies) in the Library Catalogue, then look up the content page to find the chapter.

 

3. Journal article 
Nechtman, Tillman, 'Nabobinas: Luxury, Gender, and the Sexual Politics of British Imperialism in India in the Late Eighteenth Century' Journal of Women's History 18.4 (2006) 8-30​

Note the volume number 18 and Issue number 4 in this example. Journals are published periodically, usually several times a year, so there could be several volumes for the same year. There are two ways to find this:

  • First, copy and paste the title (Journal of Women's History) into Article Search
  • If this doesn't work, find out if this is an ejournal by looking through the E-journals A-Z on the Library homepage. Then locate the Year, Volume and Issue number. when you have found the Issue look through the contents until you find the article you need.

Books

Books on the Library shelfTo find books, go to the Library website and use Library Catalogue. Type in a few words from the title of the book you need, or type in a keyword to view all books in the Library about that topic.

The catalogue will show the locations of all print copies of books that you can borrow. It will also include links to any books are available for you read on-line in e-book format.

If a book you need does not appear in our catalogue, please email your Subject Librarian, who will investigate purchasing the book.

Journals

Print journals on the Library shelf

Alongside the journal articles available to you via Canvas. you can also find articles by going to the Library website and clicking on the Article Search tab. Type in a keyword (or a specific article title), and click Search.

Article Search will look in all the journals subscribed to by the Library, and display a list of articles relevant to your topic. Read, and download an article by clicking on the link that appears underneath the article details. Follow the link through to the relevant publisher's website and log in with your student number and password if prompted to do so. Most articles will be available for you to print or save in PDF format.

If you want to search within one specific journal go to the Library website and click on the E-Journals A-Z link. From here search for the journal you need of browse by first letter. If the Library subscribes to the journal, it will appear in the list of results. Click the Full Text link to access content. 

Finding academic content online

Information comes from a variety of sources of varying academic quality. Bibliographic databases are useful at university as content is selected by academic panels from peer-reviewed journals, thereby guaranteeing academic quality and credibility. You will retrieve fewer results using such databases, but most of your results will be relevant and crucially, you will be able to cite them with confidence in your assignments.

Book on loan? Place a request

When a print book in the Library Catalogue is on loan there will be a due date underneath it's Status information.

To recall the book:

  1. Click on the Loan Request link
  2. Sign in with your student number and password
  3. Confirm this is the book you need.
  4. Click Place Request
  5. The book will be recalled from the current reader who will have seven days to return it

When the book is returned you will receive a notification to your Queen's email address.

Library Catalogue and Article Search