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There are many resources available for Women's Studies research at Alden Library. This guide lists some specifically Women's Studies related resources that may help you with your research. If you are confused, you will want to talk to a librarian about a strategy specific to your needs. You can stop by the Reference desk or call for an appointment (see Departmental Contact). Because Women's Studies research is interdisciplinary, you may want to check other Research Guides on InfoTree for research strategies. Remember that there are many resources which are not specifically about women, but which will still be useful for your research.
To locate books on Women's Studies, search by keyword, subject or title on ALICE, the Library's computerized catalog. Because Women's Studies is interdisciplinary, you will find useful books in sociology, science, literature, politics, and all through the collection. Many general books are shelved in the HQ1100s on the 6th floor.
To fine tune your searching: Keywords often turn up needed information, but to do very thorough research you will want to use a specific "subject heading." To find the most appropriate word for a topic, first look up your subject in the Library of Congress Subject Headings volumes which are located near most ALICE terminals. Under the subject term "Women," you will see suggestions for hundreds of more specific terms to narrow your search such as "Widows," "Women in business," "Women authors," "Women in politics," "Women's rights," "Women--Thailand," "Sex differences," etc.
If you do not find what you're looking for on ALICE, repeat the search in the OhioLINK Central Catalog, a catalog of books in over 75 libraries in Ohio. If you find an item in the OhioLINK Central Catalog that you wish to borrow, follow the instructions on the screen. Within a few days the book will be sent to Alden Library and be ready for you to pick up. Remember to check your circulation record to learn when the book has arrived. If you are confused about borrowing from OhioLink, ask a reference librarian for help.
Other Book-finding tools:
Bibliographies are comprehensive lists of materials on a particular topic or by a particular author. Bibliographies are especially useful when you need to do extensive research on a particular topic. These are many bibliographies related to women's issues.
Finally, reference books can be great for finding background information or for finding specific facts.
There are many journals which specifically pertain to Women's Studies. You can browse a list of individual titles at the women's studies periodicals page. However, there are also many more general journals that have articles of interest for women's studies. To find titles, try a Keyword search in Alice, then Limit by Subject to "periodicals." If a particular journal looks interesting to you, you can find recent issues in the Current Periodials Dept. on the second floor. The journals here are arranged alphabetically by title. Older issues of the journal will usually be bound like books, assigned a call number, and sent to the General Stacks upstairs. You will need to know the call number for the journals to find it in the General Stacks, so check the title of the journal in ALICE, and make a note of the call number. ALICE will also tell you exactly which volumes and years of the journal we own and if any of these volumes are on microfilm on the first floor instead of in the General Stacks.
While you can find some good articles by browsing through issues of journals, it is usually better and saves time to consult an index if you need several articles on a particular topic. An index is a book or computer database in which you can search a subject and find which specific journal issues contain articles on that subject. There are many indexes/databases and you will choose one or more depending on your topic. To find electronic indexes/databases, click on "Find Articles & More" on the Library's homepage. Then choose from among the broad subjects. The best indexes/databases directly related to Women's Studies are found by choosing Gender Studies in this menu.
Under "Gender Studies," you will be able to access Contemporary Women's Issues or GenderWatch or Women Writers Online, all of which contain full text of articles. You will also be able to access Gay & Lesbian Abstracts and Women's Resources International which provide citations and abstracts rather than full text. Don't be intimidated--most indexes/databases are actually quite easy to use, and a reference librarian will be glad to help.
Bibliographies will often list journal articles as well as books, so remember these if you are having trouble with your topic or if you need to be comprehensive. Finally, many reference books, especially encyclopedias, contain journal citations after descriptions of a topic.
Instructional Media and Technology Services (IMTS) on the second floor of Alden Library (near the Park Place entrance) has many videos of interest. You may check these videos out overnight for free. Use ALICE to see if we have a certain title, or browse their listings in the IMTS office.
The Women's Studies program keeps an annotated list of IMTS videos related to Women's Studies which may help you to pick some titles to view. There's also a list of videos relating to queer issues. New videos are added each quarter, so check with IMTS for the very latest titles.
The Government Documents Department on the fifth floor houses publications from the U.S. Government, the United Nations, and the state of Ohio. Government publications include statistical information and research findings on everything from demographics, crime, health issues, smoking during pregnancy and divorce. You can link to some of our favorite sites here.
Check ALICE or the GPO Monthly Catalog on the Library's SearchNet machines to identify relevant titles, or talk to the Documents Department staff.
There are many resources related to women's studies available on the first floor of Alden Library in the Microforms Department. It is almost impossible to get primary sources anywhere except on microfilm without travelling extensively. While these sets are listed by title in ALICE, the individual items in many of them are not listed. You can browse the excellent Microforms Department site to discover what they have. Here are some very important (and large!) collections on women's studies.
The World Wide Web can also provide information for your studies. Try some of the search engines and directories located at the Library's Internet Search Tools page. Your task will be to pick the best, most reliable information. You may want to browse through these specially selected Women's Studies Web Sites.
Janet Carleton is the bibliographer for Women's Studies. You can reach her at carleton@ohio.edu or 597-2527. Her office is on the 5th floor of the Library, in Archives and Special Collections. Please contact her with suggestions (including suggestions for book purchases) or any questions you may have.
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Last updated: January 13, 2006 This page (http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/womenstudies/women.htm) is maintained by Janet Carleton. Please use our Feedback Form for your questions, comments, and suggestions. |
