Finding Articles in Linguistic Anthropology

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This interactive tutorial worksheet will help you find quality sources for your research assignment using Library databases and Google Scholar. You will learn how to build a search strategy and then will get experience searching using three separate databases (Library article search, JSTOR, and Google Scholar).

You can find links to these resources as well as useful research advice, citation guidance, and more in the ATH 104 online research guide.

After you complete and submit the tutorial, you will receive a copy of your responses via email. If your instructor needs proof that you completed this tutorial, you can share that email with them.

If you need help with your research, you can get 24/7 live support via chat or make an appointment to get one-on-one help from a librarian online or on-campus.

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1. Describe what you're researching. What are you trying to find information about?

Brainstorming Keywords on Your Topic

Before you start searching on your topic, it's helpful to consider the various possible keywords you could use in searching. Here's why:

1. The more words you put into a database search, the fewer results you'll get, so breaking down your research question or topic down into the most important keywords is critical.
2. Computers are clueless and don't know that certain words are used interchangeably. For example, they don't know that a word like salary means about the same thing as earnings, wages, or pay, so it's important to think of terms that mean the same thing.
3. The terms that you naturally think of when you think about your topic may not be the same words that experts use to write about the topic.

This requires you to think not only of the terms that naturally come to your mind, but to brainstorm terms that mean the same thing or are related. You can identify other keywords by looking for a Wikipedia entry on your topic or simply doing a Google search on your topic and seeing what related or synonymous words are used in the titles of results. Try to think of as many synonyms or related terms as you can.

Here's an example research topic: Constructions of gender in rap music

Since I don't know what terms an author might use to refer to this topic, I will brainstorm as many keywords that are similar to those original terms as I can think of:

Gender, women, female, feminine, femininity, gender roles, men, male, masculine, masculinity

Rap, Hip-Hop, hip hop

You could also search for specific artists or songs

You may think of additional keywords based on what you've learned in your class and how your areas of focus for this assignment.

2. Now brainstorm keywords for your topic and list them here.

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