Bibliographic Research
This part of the course focuses on strategies for discovering published work.
African Studies Librarian
The Basics
- Center for Research Libraries (CRL) African Studies CollectionsUpdated link to the CRL Africana collections referenced by Kenneth Lohrentz in the reading for this week.
- Literature searching and searching for factsProduced by the Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (The Nordic Africa Institute), this primer on literature searching and searching for facts points out some key resources for the study of Africa, including bibliographies, journal indexes, databases, web portals and link collections.
- Africa information on the InternetProduced by the Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (The Nordic Africa Institute), this is a roundup of credible sources of Africa information on the Internet.
Bibliographies
“Lists of citations with a defined subject commonality.” (Kagan, Batoma)
- May be print or online
- One-time or serial
- Annotated or merely lists of sources
- Monographic, article-length, or bibliographies in publications
- Bibliographies of bibliographies
Reference Guide to Africa by
This third edition of the Reference Guide to Africa explains the most important resources for the study of the continent of Africa. It contains a general sources section and a larger disciplinary oriented section. All sources are annotated. A new edition is sorely needed since the last edition was published nine years ago. The previous editions have been successfully used in research libraries worldwide since 1999, and it has been used to teach several African studies research courses. The book provides an orientation for researching almost any topic in the arts, humanities and social sciences concerning the continent of Africa, and all of its countries and ethnic groups. The first part explains and lists portals, databases, bibliographies, indexes, guides, encyclopedias, country sources, biography, primary sources, government publications, and statistics. The second part presents 16 subject-oriented chapters, mostly in the arts, humanities and social sciences, from agriculture and food security to women studies. It covers sources that broadly cover the continent, or in some cases only North Africa (and the Middle East). It generally excludes sources limited to one country or region of Africa, except for North Africa because of the nature of the literature. One-third of the sources in this edition are new, and nearly half of them are available in electronic format. There are author/title and subject indexes. This unique work is intended for students, teachers, librarians, and researchers. It likely will be used most by reference librarians and teachers for students in high school through graduate studies. It will also be used independently by undergraduate and graduate students. It can be used to answer simple reference questions, provide the resources for an undergraduate paper, or for comprehensive work by advanced students and researchers.
ISBN: 9781442242616Publication Date: 2014-10-16
A linguistic bibliography of Uganda by Call Number: Z7106 .L56 1999ISBN: 3896451804Publication Date: 1999
Introduction to Library Research in Anthropology by
This revised second edition serves not only as a self-instructional reference tool for logically and systematically accessing anthropological literature but also as a basic text for library instruction programs for undergraduate and graduate anthropology students.The first section outlines the historical development of the discipline, identifies the informational needs of anthropologists, and describes the structure and organization of libraries as sources of anthropological information. A variety of research strategies and methods for conducting library research are explored as well. The second section consists of nineteen chapters describing the various kinds of research tools available to the anthropologist. Included are descriptions of scope, arrangement, and content for hundreds of reference works, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, subject and regional bibliographies, guides to specialized libraries and archives, indexes and abstracts, Human Relations Area Files, and computerized databases. Electronic databases are identified throughout the volume, and a chapter is devoted to Internet resources.Appendixes summarize the Library of Congress classification scheme for anthropology, identify the major anthropology library collections in the United States and Canada, and describe the arrangement of Human Relations Area Files classification system.
Call Number: Z5111 .W44 1998ISBN: 0813390036Publication Date: 1997-11-06
On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography by
James Harner's popular pamphlet, first published in 1985, has been revised and updated in the light of advances in computer technology and the availability of humanities databases. Harner offers useful information on planning research, organizing an annotated bibliography, compiling entries, using a computer to prepare the manuscript, and editing. While the booklet focuses on the preparation of a comprehensive bibliography on a single literary author, the procedures and techniques are easily adapted to selective or subject bibliographies and to other periods and disciplines.
Call Number: Z1001 .H33 2000ISBN: 0873529790Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Portals
“Gateways to specified fields of knowledge that bring together various sources in numerous formats.” (Kagan, Batoma)
May include websites, reference works, blogs, listservs, directories,images, videos, bibliographies, indexes and databases.
Examples:
- Africa South of the Sahara, http://library.stanford.edu/areas/african-collections
- African Studies Internet Resources, http://library.columbia.edu/locations/global/africa.html
- Habari: le portail internet des etudes africaines, http://www.Africa.u-Bordeaux.fr/links.asp
- World Digital Library, http://www.wdl.org/en/ (primary materials)
Indexes
“A type of bibliography that organizes and combines citations from diverse but related sources to provide easy access to works on particular topics.” (Kagan, Batoma)
- Print or online (databases)
- Usually limited to periodical articles, but may include chapters in edited books, conference papers, etc.
- Africa Bibliography. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1984-. (does not include gov. pubs., nor literature), print and online
- Africa-Wide Information, Grahamstown, South Africa: NISC, online
- Africana Periodical Literature Bibliographic Database. Leiden: African Studies Centre.
- Current Bibliography on African Affairs
- Index Islamicus
- African Studies Centre Leiden Catalogue
- International African Bibliography
- Internet Library Sub-Saharan Africa Frankfurt: Iliss Africa.
- Center for Research Libraries (Chicago)
Theses & Dissertations
Theses and dissertations are an important dimension of your literature review. Please keep in mind that indexing makes a big difference in terms of what can be readily identified as Africa-themed works.
- ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, including millions of works from thousands of universities. Each dissertation published since July, 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637.
- OpenDissertations
Free database providing access to records for more than 1.2 million electronic theses and dissertations from around the world.
- Indiana University Africana Theses & DissertationsA list of completed African Studies (across disciplines) Indiana University Master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations can be found here: