Get started with researching your Topic using LSE Library resources. Here is a quick guide to looking for information for your Anthropology dissertation.

Before you begin.

Analyse Your Research Topic. Be clear about the type of information that you want. Identify any dates, key persons,

geographical locations or concepts which relate to your needs. Find out how many words you need to write. The type of resources you need. Is it just books or newspaper articles, or films?

Select Your Search Terms · It is necessary to choose your search terms correctly. Remember that search tools

are machines they will look for whatever you type in, they cannot currently interpret it. Ideally your number of search terms should not exceed 6 to 8 keywords or phrases.

Some good tips are

Check your spelling Identify any terms which have alternative spellings (e.g. labor and labour) Identify any synonyms (e.g. women or female) Identify any search terms that may have alternative word endings (e.g. Marx and Marxism)

Identify key concepts, writers or research institutions associated with your topic Consider the level of specificity. This is one of the most difficult things to get right. Make

your search terms too broad and you will get too many hits. Make them too specific and you will get too few. Be prepared to refine your search after reviewing your initial results. Avoid using prepositions, conjunctions or common verbs as search terms. These include: and, about, if, the, of, a, not, why, before, is, at. Search Engines refer to them as stopwords and usually ignore them. Once you have run your search look at the results and try to refine your search.

Using the library to find resources.

Looking for books? Search library search. http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/home.aspx use the advanced search feature to limit your search . Items on loan can be reserved to recall them in one week.

Looking for Journal Articles? These will not all be listed on Library Search you need to use our specialist databases. Note that if you just use Google to find articles you may not get everything you need and many of the links may not work so always check journal titles on the library catalogue! Full guidance on databases for your subject area is at http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collections/subjectGuides/anthropology/home.aspx However the major journal article databases are: Anthropology Plus http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61146908460002021 specialist ethnographic and anthropology You can cross search with other databases . Select Choose databases . Good options are SocIndex (sociology) PsychInfo (psychology), LBGT Life

Scopus http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61147683880002021. Covers all the sciences and social sciences from approx. 1996 onwards. Allows you to trace highly cited articles

IBSS http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61146908750002021 The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences is a leading online research tool for the Social Sciences and related interdisciplinary subjects and is produced here at the LSE. It is a detailed index of over 2 million journal articles, book reviews and selected chapters published since 1951. Specialist section on Anthropology Web of Knowledge http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61146908920002021 Provides access to a collection of databases which enable you to trace references to academic journal articles and conference papers. They include the ISI web of Science citation indexes which comprise the Science Citation Index from 1970 onwards, the Social Sciences Citation Index from 1956 onwards, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index from 1975 onwards and the Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science from 1990 onwards. It is possible to search the database by author, keyword or cited reference.

Looking for Newspaper articles? NEXIS UK http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61146890810002021 provides full text of newspapers and newswire services from around the world. It includes the full text of UK daily newspapers from 1980 to the present day. daily updates. Major foreign language newspapers also accessible. Factiva http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61148222400002021 Good for Indian newspapers and business sources. FT.COM Register to get full access to the Financial Times. Nexis and Factiva do not have the last 30 days! http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61148089890002021

Looking for TV Programmes? Box of Broadcasts(UK Access only). http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61148128570002021 Streaming TV service. Access TV and radio programmes from obver 60 channels. Includes BBC TV and radio plus 10 foreign language channels. Content is from 2007 onwards Ethnographic Video Online http://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/44LSE_VU1:44LSE_ALMA_DS61147659210002021

More help needed? Contact Your liaison librarian Heather Dawson h.dawson@lse.ac.uk