Contact Corliss
- Corliss Lee
- Office Hours: By Appointment
- Contact Info:
510-768-7899
Read an introduction to the campus libraries for undergraduates.
Set up your computer for off campus access to library databases.
Need a map of the campus libraries?
Each library has its own hours. Click on the calendar for each library to view a month at a time.
The UCB Library sponsors the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. Win $1000 (upper division students) or $750 (lower division students) for your research paper!
lists of DVDs/videos by subject; see especial Ethnic Studies and Immigration; Ethnography, etc.
View lists of documentaries and feature films by topic; Film Studies resources, bibliographies, and more.
The Movies, Race and Ethnicity
Library web page for Media Studies
UCB Library's Regional Oral History Office Tips for Interviewing
Example:
Topic: Image of African American women in advertising
potentially relevant disciplines:
African American Studies
Gender and Women's Studies
Ethnic Studies
Media Studies
Psychology
Sociology
Business
etc.
Developing appropriate keywords/search terms is an essential part of research. First, break your topic into components. Develop a list of synonyms and alternative terminology for each component. Think about broader and narrower concepts and word variants. What words can you exclude?
Topic: Image of African American Women in Advertising
image(s) or stereotyp(es)(ing) or depict(ion) or portray(al)...
african american(s) or black(s) or minorit(y)(ies)
women or gender
advertis(e)(ing) or media
Remember to be creative with your terminology! More examples:
people of color and environmental activism*
environmental justice
environmental justice and hazardous waste*
environmental equity
environmental discrimination
environmental racism
environmental injustice
To find books, DVDs, maps, sound recordings, manuscripts, and much more - everything except articles - use a library catalog.
OskiCat = most UC Berkeley libraries
MELVYL = all UC campus libraries, including all UC Berkeley libraries
What's the difference? more details here
For each item make sure you know the name of the physical library, call number, and whether or not it's checked out, library use only, etc.
Call numbers are on the spine of the book; learn how to read them so you can find what you need on the shelves.
Search an article database to find citations (title, author, title of journal, date, page numbers) for articles on a particular topic. The Library gives you access to over 200 article databases covering different disciplines.
1. Think about which academic disciplines might write about your topic. Examples: literature, film, anthropology, history...
2. Find the appropriate article database by subject (academic discipline or department). Look for "Recommended" databases.
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject
To find individual social science databases, start with the Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > (name of specific discipline, such as Sociology or Psychology)
To search multiple social science databases simultaneously, try ProQuest Social Sciences which searches 22 databases simultaneously. Click on "22 databases" at the top of the page to add or subtract databases.
1a. break your topic into concepts; truncate (child* = child, childs, children, childhood...)
mixed race (all fields + text)
social identit* (all fields + text)
1b. put terms in quotes to search them as a phrase
"mixed race" (all fields + text)
"social identit*" (all fields + text)
1c. click on Narrow Results by...Scholarly Journals (to the right)
notice you can narrow by a variety of other factors (language, person's name, company name, etc.)
1d. search all fields but not the full text:
"mixed race" (all fields no full text)
"social identit*" (all fields no full text)
1e. narrow down results by using official terms (NOTE: each of the 22 databases uses their own list of official terms, so a term that is a subject term in one is not necessarily a subject term in another!)
"mixed race" (all fields no full text)
"social identit*" (subject heading (all))
1f. try a different combination of terms:
"mixed race" (all fields no full text)
asian* (all fields no full text)
identit* (all fields no full text)
2a. "jeremy lin" (all fields + text)
2b. broaden your search:
asian american* (all fields no full text)
male* or men (all fields no full text)
stereotyp* (all fields no full text)
limit to scholarly journals
3. "community based research" (all fields + text)
"ethnogra* or interview* (all fields + text)
video* or film* (all fields + text)
limit to scholarly journals
Try Anthropology databases (in addition to other Social Science databases) for research on this topic. Note also a couple of specific journal titles:
Visual Anthropology (published in cooperation with the Commission on Visual Anthropology)
Visual Studies (journal formerly known as Visual Sociology)
Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use 
to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database is a bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:
For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.
Library home > Articles > General Article Databases > JSTOR
Everyone Loves JSTOR:
CAUTIONS:
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand!
Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up. Refworks Help is pretty good.
How to link from the Refworks record to a pdf on your hard drive
Exporting from OskiCat to Refworks
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central. The Library's Guide to EndNote. And more Tips from EndNote.
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit when
Recommendations
This content is part of the Understanding Plagiarism tutorial created by the Indiana University School of Education.
If you've never used Zotero before, use the QuickStart Guide to get started.
Change your preferences if you want Zotero to
To use Zotero to find specific articles in our library's databases, set up the Open URL resolver with this link: http://ucelinks.cdlib.org:8888/sfx_local?
An in-depth discussion of the relative virtues of Endnote and Zotero,
The UCB Library Guide to Citing Your Sources discusses why you should cite your sources and links to campus resources about plagiarism. It also includes links to guides for frequently used citation styles. Also:
You already know that you should evaluate anything you find on the Internet. Here are some reminders of what to look for.
If you want to use Google for research, use Google Books or Google Scholar.
Use the Advanced Search for more searching options.
Please note that Google Books search results do not necessarily include the full text of the book; some include no text at all, some include a limited preview (only some pages of the book).
When you use Google Scholar, make sure to update your Scholar Preferences (see below) so you'll be able to use UC e-links to find the UC Berkeley library locations/online availability of the articles.
Step 1: If you haven't already done this, set up your proxy server access by following the directions at http://proxy.lib.berkeley.edu/. When you get to a point where you are accessing resources that the Library pays for, you will be prompted for your CalNet ID and password. For more help see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/tutorials/proxy.html
Step 2: Change your “Scholar Preferences.” Access these by clicking on the small icon in the upper right of the screen.
Step 3: In search box next to "Library Links," type in University of California Berkeley and click on “Find Library”
Step 4: Check all the boxes next to "University of California Berkeley"
Step 5: Click on "Save Preferences" at bottom of page
Javascript required to chat
Research Advisory Service for Cal Undergraduates
Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics (examples of research topics).
Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)
This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.
Other ways to get help: in person, by e-mail, using specialized chat services
And of course: e-mail Corliss or email Theresa (Bancroft Library)
