Ethnic Studies Research Guide   Tags: crgs, culture and critical theory, multicultural, race  

This guide presents library resources for research in Ethnic Studies. The primary focus is on online resources, which can be accessed on campus or remotely. In addition to online resources, selected print titles are included. The guide lists basic resources and does not contain all of the materials in the library useful for ethnic studies research.

Choosing a topic is extremely important when you're doing research.

Before you start searching for books and articles, spend some time thinking about the following:

• Write your topic in a brief sentence or phrase.
• Write down related words and phrases (also called "keywords").
• Ask yourself, "What about it?"

For example, my topic is:

U.S. and Mexico border issues for women

My keywords could be:

border
women
Mexico

Some related terms are:

Maquiladoras
labor
migration
 

Brainstorming my topic in this way helped me to refine my topic. In answer to the question, "What about women living on the U.S. and Mexico border interests me?" I have come up with the following, more refined topic:

Why are women migrating to the U.S. border to work in the maquiladora industries in Mexico?

Now I can begin searching for books and articles that discuss this idea.