LibGuides: Immigrant and Refugee Studies: Articles & Databases

Suggested Databases

Recommended

Politics Collection This link opens in a new window This comprehensive collection provides access to PAIS Index, Wordlwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA), Policy File Index, and Political Science Database. It covers the international literature in political science and public administration/policy, along with related fields. Providing abstracts, indexing and full text coverage of journal articles, country reports, dissertations, think-tank reports, working papers, government documents and more, including full-text from many leading political science and international relations journals. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: Varies.
Sociology Collection This link opens in a new window This collection provides access to Sociological Abstracts in combination with Sociology Database and Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), covering the international literature in sociology and social services, along with related fields. Together, it provides abstracts, indexing and full-text coverage of journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more, including full-text from hundreds of leading sociology journals. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: 1952 to present.
Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new window Full-text access to 330 academic journals and indexing for more than 750 periodicals covering the social sciences. Subjects include: addiction studies, anthropology, communications, economics, ethics, family studies, gender studies, international relations, political science, psychology, public welfare, social work, and urban studies. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: 1972 to present.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window Sociological Abstracts is the fundamental index for sociological scholarship. Indexing and abstracts for books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and working papers. This database is useful for research on culture and social structures, family and marriage, history and theory of sociology, organizational sociology, political sociology, poverty and homelessness, race and ethnicity, inequality, social change, economic development, social control, and sociology of health and medicine. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: 1952 to present.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) This link opens in a new window Social sciences and humanities resources on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Contains 300,000 records, 170,000+ of which contain full-text links. Search for articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Scope: North, Central, and South Americas. Dates: 1970 to present.
Index Islamicus This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window

Additional Databases

ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window Provides access to thousands of periodicals from one of the most inclusive general reference databases that ProQuest has to offer. Search through a diverse mix of scholarly journals, trade publications and magazines covering over 150 topics. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: Varies.
Academic Search Premier (Ebsco) This link opens in a new window Multidisciplinary, academic database which searches thousands of full-text journals and magazines and more than 1,000 peer-reviewed full-text journals. Contains information in nearly every area of academic study. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: Mostly 1975 to present.
Anthropological Literature This link opens in a new window Index to articles and book chapters about anthropology, archaeology, and related disciplines. Coverage includes resources in over 50 languages. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: 1700s to present.
AnthroSource This link opens in a new window Past, present, and future issues of American Anthropological Association's journals, newsletters, bulletins, and monographs. Over 300,000 full-text articles. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: Varies.

Can't Find the Full Text?

If a database doesn't have the full text of an article you are looking for, you can copy and paste the title of the article into our catalog to see if we might have that item here. If we don't have it, request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Filtering Your Results

Most databases have Filters/Limits - use these to narrow down your search to the specific dates, article type, or population that you are researching.

Here is an example of limits in a database, all databases look slightly different but most have these options.

Keyword and Subject Searching

Keywords	Subjects
Natural language words that describe your topic	Pre-defined "controlled vocabulary" that describe what an item is about
More flexible search - looks for anywhere the words appear in the record	Less flexible search - only the subject fields will be searched
Broader search, but may yield irrelevant results	Targeted search; results are usually more relevant to the topic, but may miss some variations

Keyword searching is how we normally start a search. Pull out important words or phrases from your topic.

Subject Terms and/or Headings are pre-defined terms that are used to describe the content of an item. These terms are a controlled vocabulary and function similarly to hashtags on social media.

We are indebted to the MIT What are subject headings and keywords? box for some concepts displayed here.

In the Catalog, subject headings are displayed under "Description" in the record of an item. Click on the arrow to the left of "Description" and then scroll down to the section called "Subjects."

In the Databases, subject headings may be listed as Descriptors, Subjects and/or Subject Headings and are typically located in the Abstract and/or Details of an article.

Suggested Immigration and Refugee Studies-related subject terms.

Google and Academic Databases

Google, and more appropriately Google Scholar, can be valid places to search for articles and organizations. However, subject specific databases will have more advanced search options and articles. Here are some key differences between databases and Google.

	Library Databases	Google	Google Scholar
Types of Information You Can Find	Scholarly journal articles Newspaper articles Reviews Theses & dissertations Empirical evidence	Popular, commercial, educational websites Organization websites Directories Current news & events Few free journal articles & books (many academic publications are not free)	Educational websites Theses & dissertations Conference publications & presentations Scholarly journal articles (but access will be restricted to free resources, see below for how to set up SLC links)
Credibility & Review	Subject specific books and articles Evaluated for accuracy and credibility	Lack of control allows anyone to publish material Usually not evaluated for accuracy & credibility	Some resources evaluated for accuracy & credibility, but not through Google, so need to verify review process for each publication
Discovery	Database functionalities allow users to search for & find more relevant results	Less ability to search for & retrieve precise results Not releasing information on algorithms, paid products can float to the top	Less ability to search for & retrieve precise results Not releasing information on algorithms, therefore it is not known why results float to the top

Setting Up Google Scholar for Off-Campus Access to SLC Resources

Quick Tip

Be sure to use commands, called Boolean Operators, to further specify your search.

Evaluating Databases

Beyond Citation
Ever wonder how the database you are using works? What are you actually searching and why? Beyond Citation is a way to review information on these platforms to better understand "their contents, structure and search mechanisms" so that you can better evaluate the resources you are finding.

Interested in learning more about this issue?

Using Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a broad multidisciplinary search tool which contains citations for articles, theses, books, and more. Did you know that you can customize Google Scholar to access Sarah Lawrence College resources?

Click the link below the image to see full documentation on how to set up and use Google Scholar.

Setting Up Google Scholar for Off-Campus Access to SLC Resources

Have Questions?

Book a research consultation with a librarian

Email us at reference@sarahlawrence.edu