Research Guides at CSU Pueblo Library: Anthropology Research: Resources

Background information

Before you begin searching for articles or books on your topic, you need to identify the right keywords. Consider:

WHO are the people? Look for specific names.
WHERE did the events take place? Look for place names like towns, regions, or landmarks.
WHEN did the events take place? Not just the year in which it took place, but the name of that era (e.g., Regency era).
WHAT was the event called when it happened? WHAT is it called now? (e.g., "The Great War" vs. "World War I")

Make a list of the key names and phrases that describe your topic so you can refer back to it when searching.

Get started in one of these databases:

World History in Context This link opens in a new window
Contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in World History. Curriculum resource.
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity & Society This link opens in a new window
The Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society offers informative coverage of intergroup relations in the United States and the comparative examination of race and ethnicity worldwide.
Indigenous Peoples of North America This link opens in a new window
Primary sources on the impact of invasion and colonization on Indigenous Peoples in North America, and the intersection of Indigenous and European histories and systems of knowledge through the use of manuscripts, monographs, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, images of artwork, and more.

Books and ebooks

Books are in-depth, subject-specific writing about a particular time period, event, person, or phenomenon. They combine background information with analysis of primary and secondary sources. In short, they are a very valuable resource for anthropological research. The CSU-Pueblo Library owns hundreds of anthropology books and ebooks. But if we don't have what you're looking for, you may be able to request it from another library.

SuperSearch This link opens in a new window
Find books and ebooks on your topic here at CSU-Pueblo, or request books from CSU-Ft. Collins.
Prospector Regional Catalog This link opens in a new window
20 million+ books, journals, DVDs, CDs, videos and other materials from libraries in and around Colorado. Materials can be requested and delivered to the CSU-Pueblo library.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Can't find the book you're looking for in SuperSearch or Prospector? Search and borrow books from more than 10,000 participating libraries in WorldCat.
Project Gutenberg This link opens in a new window
A large, free collection of digitized books—lots of older works that can double as both scholarly work and primary source.

Scholarly articles

Scholarly articles, unlike books, are very narrowly focused. They do not provide much background information or a comprehensive picture of an issue or event. Researchers working on a single project will produce several articles as they go along. Therefore they are very useful for understanding how anthropologists examine evidence, formulate theories, and draw conclusions.

One of the most useful elements of a scholarly article is its list of references. This shows you where to find the primary and secondary sources the author used.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Contains current and past issues of 2,300+ journals.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles, books, magazines, and videos for all major areas of academic research.
SocINDEX This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from "core" sociology journals dating back to 1895, and "priority" sociology journals. Also includes 500+ full-text books and monographs and 6,000+ conference papers.