Anthropology  Tags: anthropology anth  

The Library has two databases for Anthropology that contain the full text of journal articles, AnthroSource and JSTOR. However, it is not advisable to limit your search to these alone.

AnthroSource covers the journals of the American Anthropological Association. It does not cover other American journals or journals published in other countries.

JSTOR is a journal archive which does not cover, depending on the journal, content of issues published in the last 3 - 5 years. It does not contain current information.

So, for a more extensive coverage of the Anthropology literature, you will also need to search other databases listed on this page.

Depending on your subject, you may also find it useful to search key databases in other disciplines eg. Religious Studies, Political Science. 

Google

Search this to find government and organisational publications, such as reports, policy documents, research and conference papers. The Advanced search enables you to limit your search to particular domains e.g. .govt, .org

Google search tips

Google Scholar

Enables you to search simply and broadly across the scholarly literature. You will need to use the Library's databases for a systematic and comprehensive search of your topic. Note that search results are displayed by relevance, not date. The Cited Reference feature is particularly useful.

More information about Advanced searching and linking to the Library's holdings.

To do effective searches on international databases you need to be aware of the different spellings authors may use in their work so that you can cover both possibilities in your search terms.  

AskOxford provides a summary of the main differences to be aware of.

Selecting the best database(s) for your search is the first step to a successful result. Because there is no one major international databases that indexes the Anthropology literature you will need to do your search in several databases.

To help you decide which database(s) to choose for your search, ask yourself the following questions:-

What subjects are covered by the database?

Some databases focus on a particular subject, such as AnthroSource and Anthropological Index Online .

Others are multidisciplinary, covering a broad range of subjects; for example ProQuest Social Science Journals covers all the social sciences. 

What is the regional coverage of the database?

Some databases, such as the academic, subject-specific ones, index journals published around the world.

Other databases focus on one geographical area. For New Zealand information you would use Index New Zealand.

What types of publications are covered by the database?

Most databases index journal articles. The subject –specific databases index scholarly journals and the multidisciplinary ones often include professional and general interest publications as well.

Other publications indexed may include chapters from books, book reviews, conference papers, reports, dissertations, newspaper articles and audiovisual material.

Some databases cover newspapers only and provide the full text, e.g. Factiva

What years does the database cover?

Most databases cover material published from the 1960's or 1970's onwards.

A notable exception is JSTOR which is primarly a journal archive. It does not contain the last 3 to 5 years of journals.

Currency is also a consideration. The frequency with which new records added to the database is usually good now that most are web-based.