Anthropology: Article Search

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Why Articles?

Articles appear in magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers. Use articles for:

most recent research on a topic
coverage of very narrow topics
coverage of current events
contemporary accounts of past events and research

Search Strategies

Write down research questions for your topic and underline key concepts and keywords. Think of broader or narrower terms depending on what search results you retrieve from those concepts and keywords.

Think of synonyms and alternative terms to search and refer to a Thesaurus for more ideas.

Remember most databases will have a list of suggested subject terms. By choosing these you can narrow your search to those articles relate to what you are searching for.

Searching for Articles

Databases provide a systematic method of searching for articles, and other sources. Some databases include full text of the documents indexed but many do not. Databases for anthropology are listed below:

Anthropology Plus from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Access limited to 3 users at a time.
Indexes journal articles and associated materials in anthropology. Late 19th century- present. Access limited to 3 users at a time.
Combines two resources - Anthropological Literature and Anthropological Index. fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies.
Abstracts in Anthropology from Sage This link opens in a new window
Indexes anthropological topics from several hundred periodicals by author and subject. 2001-present
Provides good coverage in many subfields including cultural and physical anthropology, archeology and linguistics.
Anthropological Index Online from Museum of Mankind Library This link opens in a new window
The Anthropological Index Online is based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at The British Museum (Museum of Mankind) which receives periodicals in all branches of anthropology, from academic institutions and publishers around the world. 1957 to present.
Social Sciences in ProQuest from Proquest This link opens in a new window
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Index, abstracts, with some full-text of sources in social science. 1986-present.
Sociological Abstracts from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Indexing and some full-text for the international literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Covers articles, book reviews, books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers. Includes Social Services Abstracts. Dates of coverage: 1952-present.
Academic Search Complete from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
Searches 7000+ journals and magazines across all disciplines, mostly full-text. Emphasis on scholarly journals. 1985 - present.

Getting the Articles

Here's a short video showing how Find it @ MU works. (About 4 minutes long.)

Two common ways to find out if the Libraries have access to the articles you need:

1) You are searching in an article database, but it doesn't have the full-text:

Click on in the article citation. Another window / tab opens with two possible options:

Links indicating Find it @MU may have located one or more sources for full text of the article. Click on the links and follow the trail to the article.
Links to search MARQCAT by the journal title or its ISSN number. The journal may be available in print or electronically through a source not searchable by Find it @MU.

2) You already have a specific citation and aren't currently searching in a database:

Use MARQCAT's Advanced Search to search for the journal title.

The MARQCAT record will indicate what years we have in print and/or online, providing call number locations for the print and links to the e-journal. Once at the e-journal, navigate to the volume, issue and page that you need.

Questions:

Didn't find the article/journal using Find it @MU or MARQCAT? Request the article through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by clicking on the link at the bottom of the Find it @MU window or tab. Learn more about ILL here.

Ever wonder why the full-text isn't there? Watch this short video about the Business of Information.