Core 101   Race, Ethnicity, and Identity

research guide
Librarian: Karen Hertel
E-mail: karenh@uidaho.edu

UI Library Website: www.lib.uidaho.edu

If you need additional help with your research, try:
Reference Works
The reference section can be the best place to start your research. 

Use reference works to:

  • Get an overview or background information on a topic 

  • Get ideas for focusing your own research
  • Find bibliographies of more in-depth sources
  • Find quick facts and statistics
  • Find biographical information
How To Use The Reference Section
The reference section is located on the 1st floor of the library. Because it is a fairly small area, browsing the shelves in the general area of your topic is a quick way to look for relevant material. Books are shelved using the Library of Congress classification scheme. Reference works (both print and electronic) can also be found by searching the library catalog. Remember to make your search terms general as reference works tend to have broad coverage. For example, a keyword search using "immigration" and "encyclopedia" finds a four-volume encyclopedia set covering many different aspects of immigration.

 
Selected Reference Works for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Title/Description

Call #
Encyclopedia of American Immigration Ref JV 6465.E53
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups Ref E184.A1 H35
The Ethnic Almanac Ref E184.A1 B426
Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism  Ref E184.A1 E58 1994
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States (Look at section 7 "Ethnic Groups" for state you are researching. From some states there is good historical information) Ref E156.W67 1986
Specific Ethnic Groups  (Check the "E's" of the Reference Section--there are many other ethnicities represented)
Native Americans Ref E93.N32 2002
Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes Ref E77.G15 1998
Handbook of Hispanic Culture in the United States Ref E184.S75 H365 1993
General American History (Good for a "snapshot" of America during specific time period
The American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience Ref E174.5.G753 2003
Encyclopedia of American Facts & Dates (Covers: 986-1986) Ref E174.5.C3 1987
Encyclopedia of American History (Covers: B.C.-1965, Good section on immigration on pgs. 467-475) Ref E174.5.M847 1970
Webster's Guide to American History (Covers: 1492-1969) Ref E174.5.W4
Religion
Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience  Ref BL2525.E53 1988
Origin and Meaning of Family Name
Dictionary of American Family Names   Ref CS2485.D53 2003
A Dictionary of Surnames Ref CS2385.H27
Ethnic Slang (Generally Derogatory)
A Dictionary of International Slurs (Ethnophaulisms): With a Supplementary Essay on Aspects of Ethnic Prejudice Ref HT1523.R6 1979
Thesaurus of Slang Ref PE3721.L45 1994
Oxford Dictionary of Slang (use section "People & Society" on pages 33-42) Ref PE3721.O95
The slang dictionaries above only list terms; they do not give the etymology or meaning of a word. Look up the terms you found in the two sources below. Not all of them will be listed but you should be able to find a few.
The Color of Words Ref E184.A1 H466 1997
Oxford English Dictionary Online or Ref PE1625.O87 1989
Arrival in the United States
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: a Guide to Published Arrival Records of About 500,000 Passengers Who Came to the United States and Canada in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries Ref CS68.P3
 

Examples of using Reference Works for your Race, Ethnicity and Identity assignment

 
Books
Books may contain a broad overview of a topic or an in-depth exploration of a topic. Books range from popular to scholarly and as with all sources, you should be aware of the author's credentials. 

Keep in Mind:

  • Books on a broad topic may contain chapters or essays on your topic. Often these are not indicated by the title. When searching, think both broadly and narrowly. 
  • The bibliography in a book can be a great place to find additional sources.
How To Find Books
Books located at the UI Library, the UI Law Library, NIC (Coeur d'Alene), and LCSC (Lewiston) can be found by searching the Library Catalog. For help with searching  the catalog, see the Searching for Books Library Guide. 

For this assignment a subject search usually works well. Examples of subject search terms are:

Specific Ethnic Group

  • Norwegian Americans   ALSO USE   Norwegians United States
  • Mexican Americans   ALSO USE   Mexicans United States
  • Hispanic Americans   BUT NOT    Hispanics United States
  • Sweden emigration and immigration

Immigrants to a Specific Location

  • Massachusetts history
  • Northwest, Pacific history
  • Middle West

Immigration to the United States

  • Immigrants United States History
  • United States Emigration and Immigration History
Selected Books for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Because you will be looking for books specific to your ethnic group, only a few general titles are suggested below. These are useful because they have sections (i.e. "Belgian Americans") on various ethnic groups. The E184 book section on the 4th floor is a good place to browse.

Title/Description

Call #
One America (there are three different editions) E184.A1 B87 1952
Ethnic Families in America E184.A1 E78 
On New Shores E184.A1 B42
 

Examples of using books for your Race, Ethnicity and Identity assignment

 
Articles
Articles are found in periodicals.  Examples of periodicals are magazines, journals, and newspapers. Scholarly (also called peer-reviewed or refereed) journals are one of the primary means of disseminating ideas in academic scholarship. 

If you are unsure how to differentiate between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine, two helpful websites are:
How To Find Articles
Articles are located by searching for your topic in an article database (sometimes called an article index). First, select an appropriate database from the Library Find Articles page. The next to the database title gives information about the coverage of the database. 

After selecting a database to search, type in search terms. Articles are generally more specific than books and may require a narrower search. For more help see the How to Find Periodical (Magazine) Articles.

 

Selected Article Indexes for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Title/Description
America: History and Life:  No full-text of articles, abstracts only. Many of the articles will need to be requested through Interlibrary Loan. The best database for finding regional historical  materials. Only one user at a time so try later if you can't access the database.
Project Muse:  Contains the full-text of articles. Articles are all from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals.
JSTOR:  Contains the full-text of articles. Articles are all from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals. Must select a "discipline" from the list before clicking the "Search) button.
 

Selected Print Magazines for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

The magazines listed below will give you a flavor of the culture and politics during a specific time period.  Cartoons and advertisements, in particular, often depict various ethnic stereotypes. You may need to look at a number of different titles and volumes before you get a sense of the time period. 

The older magazines  are in bookstorage and should be requested at the circulation desk.  More recent years than those listed in the chart are located on the 2nd floor under the same call number.
Title Years in Bookstorage Call #

American Magazine

1881-1956

Bkst. Per AP2.A45

Atlantic Monthly

1857-1950

Bkst. Per AP2.A8

Christian Science Monitor Magazine

1935-1950

Bkst. Per AP2.C47

Harper’s Magazine

1850-1969

Bkst. Per AP2.H5

Ladies Home Journal

1892-1979

Bkst. Per AP2.L2

Life

1936-1959

Bkst. Per AP2.L5

New Yorker

1934-1979

Bkst. Per AP2.N485

Newsweek

1934-1959

Bkst. Per AP2.N5

Saturday Evening Post

1898-1979

Bkst. Per AP2.S3

United States News

1898-1979

Bkst. Per AP2.U45

Examples of using articles for your Race, Ethnicity and Identity assignment

 
Government Information
Government publications come from state, federal, and foreign governments, as well as intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations. Many government publications are primary source documents. 

Keep in Mind:

  • A great place to look for statistical information
  • Government publications are often organized differently than the other collections in a library. Ask a reference librarian for help.
  • The University of Idaho Library is both an Idaho state and federal depository library. This means we have most government publications from these two jurisdictions.
How To Find Government Resources
Government documents can be difficult to find. How to Find Government Information is a good place to start. Once you have a call number for an item, you need to go to Government Documents on the 1st floor of the library.

 
Selected Government Resources for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

The Dillingham Commission investigated immigration from 1907 to 1911. Their final report  covers 41 volumes. This report is significant in that it set the pattern for immigration policy that lasted until 1968. These are primary source documents that show the prejudices and stereotypes at the time the report was written. For a thorough discussion of the report and it's impact see the article "Boundaries of Restriction: The Dillingham Commission". The 41 volumes of the report are located in the serial set at the UI Library. Request selected volumes by serial set number from Government Documents. 

The best volumes to start out with are listed below. For a full listing of titles and serial set numbers, click here.

Title/Description

Call #
Abstracts of Reports of the Immigration Commission:  Summarizes the different reports  Serial Set 5865-5866
Dictionary of Races:  Defines ethnic groups not with the standard political definitions but based on language (including literacy rate), physical qualities such as height, shape of head, etc., and psychic disposition.

Serial Set 5867
Statistical Review of Immigration, 1820-1910: Detailed statistics based on a variety of different criteria.

Serial Set 5878
 

Immigration statistics are released annually by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If the years you want are not listed below, ask for help. I have not listed everything the library has.
Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration. Years available: 1904, 1907 *D C7.1:year
Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration. Years available: 1915-1932 *D L3.1:year
Annual Report of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Years available: 1946-1982 (some missing) *D J21.1:year
Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Years available: 1982-2000 (some missing) *D J21.2/10:year
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Years available: 1996-current Online
 

Examples of using government information for your Race, Ethnicity and Identity assignment

 
Internet Resources
Information on the Internet ranges from the free web to electronic books, journals, etc. that the library pays for. The Internet is a wonderful source for many different types of information. It is important to remember that anyone can publish something on the web and it is critical to evaluate your source carefully. The library's Website Evaluation Criteria can help you choose reliable information.
How To Find Internet Resources
For some tips on the difference between search engines, subject directories, and the invisible web see this UC Berkeley tutorial Types of Search Tools.
Selected Internet Resources for Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Title/Description

URL
UI Core: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity: Helpful websites for your project listed on course website. http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ethnicity_kh/resources.htm
History Project Image Database: Scanned images from books and magazines with description. Note "Immigration" category http://historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapp.php
HarpWeek: Explore History: Covers Harper’s Weekly from 1857 through 1912. A good source for cartoons. Try the search function. http://www.harpweek.com/
Digital History: Look through the links in the left-hand navigation bar to find areas of interest. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
 

Examples of using Internet Resources for your Race, Ethnicity and Identity assignment

 
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Sometimes, you will be required to use primary and/or secondary sources in your research. It can be difficult to know the difference. The same source might be a primary resource for one topic and a secondary resource for another. The two websites below will help you to locate and understand the difference between the two types of sources.