WRTG 3020: Mexico and the US
- Getting Started
- Literature
- Film
- Business
- Politics and Development
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Once you have determined a topic, issue or subject of interest, you will need to focus the topic into a researchable question.
The following steps should help you break the process down:
- Plan your approach to the topic. Identify related issues, people, events etc. Determine your perspective. List what you know and what you need to know.
- Develop keywords that represent your topic. You'll use these to search for books and articles for your paper. Encyclopedia and reference books can help identify keywords.
- Read around your topic to develop a comprehensive understanding of your topic. Utilize reference sources to provide you with an overview and background information on a topic, the established knowledge on a topic, the most important facts about a topic, the key figures, places, or events related to your topic and a list of recommended readings on a topic
See the following sections to give further advice on developing keywords and background information.
Before you start to research a topic, you need to develop keywords that represent your research interest, question, or inquiry.
Keywords are significant words (usually nouns or noun phrases) which can be used as search terms in online catalogs or databases. Keywords will determine the quantity and relevance of results you retrieve when searching.
First you will identify and articulate your topic in your own words:
Example: I am interested in investigating violence against females on the US border.
Next you will designate the main concepts or ideas that describe the topic:
Concept 1:
violence
Concept 2:
females
Concept 3:
US border
Then develop other terms and vocabulary that represent the topic. Some terms may be broader, narrower, or synonyms. Adding terms that represent geographical distincitions, time periods, or significant figures about your topic may also be useful.
Concept 1:
attack
rape
assault
crime
Concept 2:
female
feminine
girl
mother
Concept 3:
frontier
Ciudad Juarez
US-Mexico
border city
Combining Keywords
Operators:
AND: Mexico AND crime (must find both terms)
OR: rape OR assault (must find one of the terms)
NOT: border NOT Ciudad Juarez (must find first term NOT second term)
Punctuation:
Phrases: “Ciudad Juarez” (must find that phrase in that order)
Synonyms: (mother OR daughter) AND crime
Wildcards: Latin America* will find Latin American, Latin Americans etc
You may use the UCB Search Strategy/ Keyword Worksheetto develop your own topic.
For details on combining keywords for the best results view the
A good place to find keywords is from reference sources.
Reference Universe: This is a searchable database that indexes information from specialized subject encyclopedias. It does not include the full text of reference materials but will point you to reference sources that cover your topic. It searches both the titles of reference articles as well as the encyclopedia / dictionary indexes, providing a thorough level of access to materials and potential sources. CU
Some more CU Reference Source examples:
Specialized Dictionaries:
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
Encyclopedias
Literature
Literature of Latin America CU
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 1
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 2
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 3
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 4
History and Anthropology
Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. CU
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture CU
Film
For more reference source search tips, go to How do I find Reference Sources.
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Find books and articles on Spanish literature, (including authors, novels and poetry) as well as film and theater.
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Remote access information.
Original Works: e.g. Novels/Plays/Poems
Research and Interpretation: e.g. Articles and Books
Books
To find books about an author or an author's work, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook and type in the author's name.
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
Or do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to browse the subjects in the catalog:
Biography (eg Unamuno Miguel De 1864 1936 Biography) Authors Colombian Authors Spanish 19th Century Biography
Articles
To find articles about authors and/or their work, try:
CU Biography and genealogy master index
CU Columbia Granger's world of poetry
CU Dictionary of literary biography
CU Oxford reference online : premium collection
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 1
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 2
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 3
CU Contemporary hispanic biography. Volume 4
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Also see:
Latino and Latina Writers. 2004 (2 volumes)
PS153.H56 L39 2004
Latin American Mystery Writers: An A-Z guide. 2004
PQ7082.N7 L352 2004
Latin American Science Fiction Writers: An A-Z guide. 2004
PQ7082.S34 L38 2004
Diccionario de autores latinoamericanos. 2001
PQ7081.3 .A37 2001
African, Caribbean, and Latin-American writers. 2000
PL8010 .A33 2000
Latin American Writers. 1989. (3 volumes)
PQ7081 .A1 L37
Diccionario de autores: quién es quién en las letras españolas. 1988
Z2693.3 .D53
Also see: Writers Literature Digital_text Biographical material
Books
To find books about a novel, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook under the author's name and under the title of the work (use both).E.g. Lope de Vega AND Fuenteovejuna
Once you find a record that looks useful you can search by the subject heading to find similar works, or physically browse the stacks around the call number.
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Spanish Literature History And Criticism Spanish Literature Women Authors Portuguese Literature 20th Century History And Criticism
Articles
To find critical journal articles about a novel, try the following databases. Look under the title of the work, as well as under the author's name.
Start Here: MLA international bibliography
Also:
CU Contemporary literary criticism
CU Hapi: Hispanic American periodicals index
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Books
Books about a specific poem generally are not found in the Library. However, sections of books which provide a critical discussion of an author's overall work may discuss a specific poem.
Do a KEYWORD search in Chinook under the author's name or the title of the anthology in which the poem is found
to find where those books are in the Library. Go to that area and look in each book's 'Index' under that specific Poem's title.
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings
Catalan Poetry 20th Century Portuguese Poetry History And Criticism Epic Poetry Spanish
Articles
To find articles about a poem, search in the following databases. Use the title of the work to see if there are specific references. Using the author's name may retrieve general critical discussion about an author's poetic work.
Start Here: MLA international bibliography
Also:
CU Columbia Granger's world of poetry
CU Hapi: Hispanic American periodicals index
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Web Resources
Books
To find books about a play, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook using the name of the director or do a TITLE search using the play's title.
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Feminist Theater Theat* (*replaces up to 5 characters-eg retrieve theater/theatre) Theater Latin America
Articles
To find articles or reviews about a play or director, use the following databases:
CU Hapi: Hispanic American periodicals index
CU International Index to the Performing Arts
CU MLA international bibliography
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Also see Theater and Dance Subject Guide
Web Resources
To access a specific newspaper, do a title search in Chinook. A list of databases where you can find the newspaper will appear.
E.g.
País (1134-6582)
Pais from 02/01/2005 to 12/07/2007 in LexisNexis Academic País - All Editions (Spanish Language) from 02/01/1995 to present in Factiva
Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. CU
Search in Factiva.com by Source, Region or Language.
Coverage includes: Spanish material from Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Latin America, North America, South America. CU
LANIC Latin American Network Information Center (University of Texas-Austin)
LexisNexis Academic
Offers full-text of national and international newspapers. To search Spanish language news sources select "Non-English language News" as a news category and then "Spanish Language News" as a news source. CU
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Find books and articles on Spanish film.
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Remote access information.
Original Works: e.g. Films, DVDs
To find a copy of a film, do a TITLE search in Chinook.
Research and Interpretation: e.g. Articles and Books
Books
To find books about a film, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook using the name of the director or do a TITLE search using the film's title.
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Use and adapt these subject keywords |
| Cinematography |
| Motion Pictures Spanish |
| Film Adaptations History And Criticism |
Articles
To find articles or reviews about a film or director, use the following databases:
CU Hapi: Hispanic American periodicals index
CU MLA international bibliography
CU RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Also see Film Studies Subject Guide
To access a specific newspaper, do a title search in Chinook. A list of databases where you can find the newspaper will appear.
E.g.
País (1134-6582)
Pais from 02/01/2005 to 12/07/2007 in LexisNexis Academic País - All Editions (Spanish Language) from 02/01/1995 to present in Factiva
Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. CU
Search in Factiva.com by Source, Region or Language.
Coverage includes: Spanish material from Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Latin America, North America, South America. CU
LANIC Latin American Network Information Center (University of Texas-Austin)
LexisNexis Academic
Offers full-text of national and international newspapers. To search Spanish language news sources select "Non-English language News" as a news category and then "Spanish Language News" as a news source. CU
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Find facts and figures on Mexican business, (including marketing, finance and company statistics) as well as business research articles.
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Remote access information.
Facts and Figures: e.g. Statistics
BBC Country Profiles
History, economy, and politics of countries and territories.
Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military figures.
Country Commercial Guides (U.S. Commercial Service)
Market Research (economics, politics and market analysis)
Foreign Information by Country
UN Data
Quick information on all the member countries of the United Nations.
CU Euromonitor Global Market Information Database (GMID)
Marketing, business and economic information for over 200 countries.
CU Global Development Finance Online (World Bank)
External debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, and key debt ratios
International Monetary Fund Home Page
IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators
UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade)
International trade statistics
United Nations World Investment Report
Foreign direct investment statistics
CU Mergent Online
Foreign (12,000+) company information, annual reports to shareholders (1997 to date), searchable SEC EDGAR filings (1993 to date) and Country Profiles.
Research and Interpretation: e.g. Articles and Books
Doing Business (World Bank)
Measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 183 countries.
Reports, books and documents about countries worldwide.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) IN SPANISH
Alianzas Públicas-Privadas, Crecimiento Ecónomico, Finanzas, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, Sector privado.
Felipe Herrera Library: Finanzas, Integración y Comercio, Macroeconomía, Sector Privado
UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL/ECLAC)
IN SPANISH
Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. CU
Search in Factiva.com by Source, Region or Language.
Coverage includes: Spanish and Portuguese material from Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Latin America, North America, South America. CU
LANIC Latin American Network Information Center (University of Texas-Austin)
LexisNexis Academic
Offers full-text of national and international newspapers. To search Spanish or Portuguese language news sources select "Non-English language News" as a news category and then "Spanish Language News" as a news source. CU
CU HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index
Articles about Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.
Scholarly journal articles in business, marketing and management.
Marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics.
From the American Economic Association
Accounting, labor relations, marketing, management, operations research, and risk assessment.
To find books about a topic do a broad KEYWORD search in Chinook
e.g. developing economies and agriculture, privatization and South America,
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material CU doesn't have through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
Or do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to browse the subjects in the catalog:
Use and Adapt these Subject Keywords |
| Small Business Developing Countries |
| Free Trade Latin America |
| Economic Development Environmental Aspects |
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Find facts and figures on Mexican politics and development issues, (such as poverty, environment and gender issues) as well as development reports and research articles.
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Remote access information.
Facts and Figures: e.g. Statistics
BBC Country Profiles
History, economy, and politics of countries and territories.
Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military figures.
Country Commercial Guides (U.S. Commercial Service)
Market Research (economics, politics and market analysis)
CEPALSTAT
Social, environmental and economic statistics
Inter-American Development Bank- Statistics
Key indicators, governance, social, trade and other statistics.
UN Data
Quick information on all the member countries of the United Nations.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Organization of American States (OAS)
UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL/ECLAC)
Andanzas al Web Latino
New Mexico State University. Border Studies, Environment and Crime resources
LANIC (Latin American Network Information Center)
Intute (Search United States and Mexico)
US Latino Websites
Iowa State University
Research and Investigation: e.g. Articles and Books
Doing Business (World Bank)
Measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 183 countries.
Development policy, practice and research around the world
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Water, Climate Change, Rural Development, Education, Children and Youth, Poverty, Health.
Felipe Herrera Library: Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Social development and poverty, Education, Social Inclusion, Environment.
Organization of American States (OAS)
UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL/ECLAC)
Reports, books and documents about countries worldwide.
CU Lexis-Nexis Academic
National, international, and regional news
9,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages
Newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic, minority and native presses.
CU Alternative Press Index
Alternative, radical and left wing periodicals, newspapers and magazines.
Articles about Mexican-American topics and the broader Latino experience
CU HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index
Articles about Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.
CU International Political Science Abstracts
Political science articles
Publications on global policy and social issues.
Papers from university research institutes etc
To find books about a topic do a broad KEYWORD search in Chinook
e.g. water and Peru, education and South America,
Search WorldCat to see what other libraries hold, and request material CU doesn't have through Prospector or Inter-Library Loan.
Or do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to browse the subjects in the catalog:
Use and Adapt these Subject Keywords |
| Bolivia Politics and Government |
| Latin America Economic Policy |
| City planning -- Developing countries |
