Information Services DeWitt Wallace Library Macalester College
Course Guide
 

Course Research Guide for HIST 213: Women in Africa

 


Research & Computing Help

Research Help
 
  • What? Librarians will help with research questions related to choosing a research topic or question, finding background information, choosing and searching within Library catalogs and subscription resources, finding books and articles at Macalester, requesting materials from other libraries, finding statistics, evaluating research resources, etc.

  • When? Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm, Friday 8am-4:30pm, Saturday 1pm-5pm, Sunday 1pm-9pm. Librarians can also help through email, consultation sessions, and chat. See More Help in this section for additional information about these types of help.

  • Where? The Reference Desk is located just inside the main doors of the Library and to your right.

  • More Help
    Beth Hillemann
Reference & Instruction Librarian
hillemann@macalester.edu
(651) 696-6704		    
 

Computing Help
 
  • What? CIT (Computing and Information Technology) staff members and student employees will help you with questions related to computer hardware and software, the network, email, printing, passwords and online accounts, etc.

  • When? Monday-Thursday 8am-10pm, Friday 8am-4pm, Sunday 4pm-10pm.

  • Where? The Computing Help Desk office is located in the Humanities Building, Room 310.

  • More Help

    • Find more information and help on the Computing Help Desk Web page.

    • Call the CIT (Computing & Information Technology) Computing Help Desk at x6525 [Off Campus (651) 696-6525] to speak directly to a consultant or leave a message.

    • Email the Computing Help Desk to report a problem or ask a question.

    • Use CIT Documentation, instructional handouts explaining systems and software, for help with computer, application, program, and network questions.


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Reference Resources

  • What? Reference materials include resources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, handbooks, statistical materials, etc.

  • When? Use resources in the Reference Collection to find background information on your topic area when you start your research projects.

  • Where? Reference Collection Library Map. Use the CLICnet Catalog to search for resources in the Reference Collection. Print books are shelved under Library of Congress Call Numbers, including both letters and numbers, based on their subject matter.
 

Selected Reference Resources for this Course
 
AFRICA SINCE 1914: a Historical Bibliography. (REF DT 351 .A44 1985) Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-Clio Information Services, 1985.
Covers articles published between 1973 and 1982 on topics dealing with Africa since 1914.
 
AFRICAN WOMEN: A General Bibliography, 1976-1985 (REF HQ 1787 B84 1989) Davis A. Bullwinkle, Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1989.
This lists a decade's worth of writing on African women, including articles, books and book chapters. No annotations are included, so you must judge the usefulness on title alone. The list is broadly divided into subjects (e.g. "Cultural Roles"). There is no subject index included, only an author index.
 
THE BLACK HANDBOOK: The People, History and Politics of Africa and the African Diaspora (REF DT 20 .B86 1997) E. L. Bute and H.J.P. Harmer. London: Cassell, 1997.
Brief entries on topics ranging from individuals to organizations to events. This is useful for finding the definition of a term, acronym, or organization in Africa.
 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AFRICA SOUTH OF THE SAHARA (REF DT 351 .E53 1997) John Middleton (ed.) New York : C. Scribner's Sons, 1997. 4 vols.
Signed, scholarly articles on countries, people and topics. Bibliographies are included with each article. A subject index is included in volume 4.
 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE WRITING: Autobiographical and Biographical Forms (REF CT 21 .E53 2001) Margaretta Jolly (ed.) Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.
Signed, scholarly articles covering themes, people, and regions in biographical and autobiographical writing. Extensive lists for further reading are included with each article. Africa is covered in the first volume.
 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY AFRICAN HISTORY (REF DT 29 .E53 2003) Paul Tiyambe Zeleza & Dickson Eyoh (eds.), London & New York: Routledge, 2003.
Scholarly articles on topics, countries, people and events in Africa. Further reading lists are included.
 
THE GREENWOOD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WOMEN'S ISSUES WORLDWIDE: Sub-Saharan Africa (REF HQ 1788 .G74 2003) Aili Mari Tripp (volume ed.) Wesport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2003.
This has chapters for each country south of the Sahara. Each chapter includes a country profile, an overview of women's issues, the experiences of women in economics, education, and family, social and cultural life. Each chapter includes notes, and a Resource Guide that includes readings and web sites.
 
GUIDE TO RESEARCH AND REFERENCE WORKS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (REF DT 3 D78 1971) Peter Duignan (ed.), Standord, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1971.
This lists libraries, archives, bibliographies and specific books and documents. The majority of the book provides annotated entries on specific works, arranged by general copic (e.g. "Traditional Religion and Thought"). In general, the publications are from the 1950's and 1960's. An extensive subject index is included.
 
WOMEN IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: A Select Bibliography on Women in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America (REF HQ 1870.9 S28 1977) Suzanne Smith Saulniers & Cathy A. Rakowski. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1971.
This lists books, documents and articles published between 1900 and 1970. The entries are arranged by broad theme and then by country (e.g. "Social Roles -- Southern Africa"). No subject index is included.
 
WOMEN IN THE THIRD WORLD: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues (REF HQ1870.9 .W6548 1998) Nelly P. Stromquist, ed. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998.
Lengthy essays on issues involving women in the Third world, including political and social movements. Bibliographies are provided with the essays. An extensive subject index is at the end of the volume.
 
WOMEN OF NORTHERN, WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA: A Bibliography, 1976-1985 (REF HQ 1787 B85 1989) Davis A. Bullwinkle. Wesport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1989.
This lists a decade's worth of writing on African women, including articles, books and book chapters. No annotations are included, so you must judge the usefulness on title alone. The list is broadly divided into countries and subjects (e.g. "Nigeria--Health, Nutrition and Medicine). There is no subject index included, only an author index.
 
WORLD BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES (Scan the Ref DT area, by African Country Name) Santa Barbara, CA: CLIO Press.
This series provides an annotated bibliography for individual countries covering such topics as women, the economy, culture, health, and much more. We have bibliographies from the series for all African countries.


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Statistical Resources

  • What? Use statistics to support your research question. Be specific about the type of statistics you seek. Keep in mind that the more variables involved (e.g. statistics for multiple countries, statistics for multiple ethnic groups, statistics covering a long period of time, etc.) the more complex your search may be.

  • When? Finding statistics can be a complex and lengthy process. Start searching for statistics as soon as possible if you know that you will need them for your research.

  • Where? Use the CLICnet Catalog to search for resources in the Reference Collection or ask a Librarian to help you find relevant Reference resources to help you with your research. Sometimes statistical information is available via the Internet.
 

Selected Statistical Resources for this Course
 
DEMOGRAPHIC YEARBOOK. ANNUAIRE DEMOGRAPHIQUE ( REF HA 17 .D45 & 2nd-level OVERSIZE HA 17 .D45 for earlier years) New York [etc.] Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office, United Nations, 1948-
 
INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL STATISTICS: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-1993 (REF HA 4675 .M552 1998) B.R. Mitchell. London : Macmillan Reference ; New York : Stockton Press, 1998.
 
STATISTICAL YEARBOOK. ANNUAIRE STATISQUE (REF HA 12.5 .U63 & 2nd-level OVERSIZE HA12.5 .U63 for earlier editions] Department of Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, Statistical Division. New York : United Nations, 1990-


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Finding Books & More: Catalogs

  • What? A catalog is a record of items and materials owned, or subscribed to, by a particular library or group of libraries. Here at Macalester our online catalog is called CLICnet.

  • When? Catalogs are the primary research tool to use when you need to find books. A catalog will allow you to search by the title or author of an item and also provide you with different ways to find research materials by topic.

  • Where? Print books are shelved under Library of Congress Call Numbers, including both letters and numbers, based on their subject matter. See the Library's Locating Books at Macalester Web page for more information.


    • CLICnet - Books and other materials owned by Macalester's Library

    • MNCAT - Books and other materials owned by the University of Minnesota



    What if I want a book that is not available at Macalester?

    If the book is available at another school in the CLICnet Catalog: Use the red "Request" button that appears in the catalog near the top of the page in the record for the item.

    If the book is NOT available in the CLICnet Catalog: Submit an Interlibrary Loan request. Please see the Library's Interlibrary Loan - Borrowing Policy Web page for more information.

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Finding Articles & More : Indexes & Electronic Collections

  • What? Indexes are subscription databases, or a set of print volumes, that provide information about research materials by subject. Many indexes are multidisciplinary in nature, containing research information covering a variety of disciplines. The Library pays for Macalester community members to have access to these packages.

  • When? Use indexes when you need to find information about articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and reference sources for you research projects. Many of these resources also include information about other research materials such as books, book chapters, government publications, working papers, conference proceedings, Web sites, statistical resources, etc.

  • Where? The fulltext of an article is sometimes available in a particular online index or we may subscribe to the print version of a journal you need. Use the Journal Finder Catalog to determine if the Library subscribes to a particular journal or other periodical either online or in print in the Library.




    What if I want an article that is not available in an online or print journal at Macalester?

    If the article is not available in print or online journal at Macalester: Submit an Interlibrary Loan request. Please see the Library's Interlibrary Loan - Borrowing Policy Web page for more information.
 

Selected Indexes & Electronic Collections for this Course
 

New Resource Academic Search Premier Electronic Library of Minnesota Resource

Partial Electronic Fulltext Resource Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource Coverage: 1975 - | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: EBSCOhost, EBSCO Publishing
Description: Provides full text for nearly 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
 

Contemporary Women's Issues (CWI)

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1992 - | Search Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Women's & Gender Studies
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Thomson Gale, OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Index to global information on women. Includes coverage of journals, newsletters, research reports from non-profit groups,government and international agencies, along with fact sheets.

 

Family & Society Studies Worldwide

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1970 -

Discipline/Topic Areas: Sociology
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: NISC BiblioLine
Description: Indexes journals, books, conference papers, governement documents and research reports in the area of family studies.
 

Historical Abstracts

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1954 -

Discipline/Topic Areas: History, International Studies, Humanities & Cultural Studies
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: ABC-CLIO
Description: Index to journal articles in the area of world history. Covers topics from 1450-present and currently includes over 2,000 journals published throughout the world. The U.S. and Canada are excluded from coverage, but are included in the America History and Life database.
 

International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text (IIBP)

Partial Electronic Fulltext Resource Electronic Resource Coverage: 1902 - | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: African Studies, American Studies, Geography, History, Humanities & Cultural Studies, International Studies, Political Science
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Chadwyck-Healey, ProQuest Information and Learning
Description: Includes current and retrospective citations and abstracts from over 150 scholarly and popular journals, newspapers and newsletters from the United States, Africa and the Caribbean and full-text coverage of 40 core Black Studies periodicals from 1998 to the present.

 

LexisNexis Academic

Partial Electronic Fulltext Resource Electronic Resource Coverage: Date Varies | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: LexisNexis
Description: Fulltext articles from newspapers, trade magazines, legal resources, medical resources, and several reference sources. This is only appropriate for very current articles and contexts.
 

JSTOR

All Electronic Fulltext Resource Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: Date Varies | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Ejournal Collection (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: JSTOR
Description: Large collection of core scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Fulltext back to their date of first publication to within the current 2-5 years.
 

PAIS International (PAIS/Public Affairs Information Service International)

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1972 - | Search Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: OCLC Public Affairs Information Service, Inc., OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Index to journals, books, government and international publications covering global public policy and social issues.
 

Periodicals Contents Index (PCI)

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource Coverage: 1770 - 1995 | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Chadwyck-Healey, ProQuest Information and Learning
Description: Index to over 4,300 international journals in the fields of humantities and the social sciences from the first date of the journal's publication through about 1991.
 

Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1985 - | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Social Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Thomson ISI, Web of Knowledge
Description: Multidisciplinary database with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social sciences. It indexes more than 1,725 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals. A feature of this index is the inclusion of all cited references.

 

Women's Studies International

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1972 -

Discipline/Topic Areas: Women's & Gender Studies
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: NISC BiblioLine
Description: Covers the core disciplines in Women’s Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research including the areas of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy, international relations, arts & humanities, business and education. Includes journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, NGO studies, important websites & web documents, and grey literature.
 

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

No Electronic Fulltext Available Electronic Resource SFX Enabled Resource

Coverage: 1975 - | Search Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: International Studies, Political Science
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
Description: Covers over 1000 journals that cover political science related fields including law, public administration/policy, and international relations.


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Web Research

  • What? The Internet is used to access information stored in files or documents on another computer. When you use the Internet, you retrieve documents, view images, programs, animation, and video, listen to sound files, speak and hear voice, via the World Wide Web. (From the UC Berkeley Library Web site)

  • When? Use the Web to start your research. Like Reference Collection resources, Websites can help with finding background information for your research project.

  • Where? Use a Web browser like Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Safari, Netscape, Avant, or Opera to access information via the Internet. No single search engine can claim to even come close to searching the entire Web. For best results, use multiple search engines.


    • Google - A great search engine to start with when surfing and searching on the Web.

    • Search Engine Watch - Access additional search engines. Also find information and reviews about these search engines.


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Evaluating Research Materials

Evaluating research materials involves analyzing a resource to determine its usefulness and appropriateness with respect to your research project. Evaluation is important during all phases of a research project. You must select the best and most appropriate resources for your research.

Criteria to Consider When Evaluating Research Materials:

  • Accuracy

  • Author(s) or Creating Body

  • Authority

  • Bias or Point of View

  • Coverage

  • Criticism or Reviews

  • Currency or Date of Publication
  • Edition or Revision

  • Intended Audience

  • Level of Scholarship

  • Organization, Structure, and Design

  • Purpose or Function

  • Scope

  • Type of Material

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Borrowing Materials & Interlibrary Loan

  • What? Interlibary Loan, or ILL, is a DeWitt Wallace Library service that allows current Macalester students, staff, and faculty to request materials not available at Macalester.

  • When? If Macalester does not own, or subscribe to, the research material you need, you can ask the Library to try and borrow the item from another Library in the area.

  • Where? The Library uses a system called ILLiad that allows you to place requests for materials and track the status of these requested materials.


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Citing Your Resources

  • What? Giving credit to the ideas of other scholars when you use their work or research in developing your own project.

  • When? You must cite a resource whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to the work of another.

  • Where? Citing a source usually includes parenthetical documentation or use of a footnote within the text of your project as well as creating a works cited reference list at the end of your project using a specific citation style. See the Library's Citing Resources Guide Web page for more information.


    • RefWorks - Service that allows you to download, organize, annotate, and search citations you find during your research as well as create in-text citations and works cited bibliographies for your papers.

Common Citation Style Manuals

Chicago Manual of Style
Chicago : The Press, 1982-
MAC Ref Z253 .U69 2003

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Joseph Gibaldi. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
MAC Ref LB2369 .G53 2003

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, c2001.
MAC Ref BF76.7 .P83 2001


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