Assessing and Finding Sources for Human Rights & Humanitarianism

Nicole Branch, Social Sciences LibrarianANTH 11A

Image courtesy of Flickr user throgers.

Today we will…

• Distinguish between different types of sources

• Define searchable key words for human rights topics

• Identify & search relevant databases

Background image courtesy of Flickr user Paree.

My Topic

Image courtesy of Flickr user Michigan Municipal League.

Source types.

Image courtesy of Flickr user sky noir.

Breaking Down Source Types

• Scholarly

• Popular

• Trade/Practitioner

• Reference

Scholarly• author: experts (such as academics)

• audience: scholars and researchers in the field

• purpose: make available original research

• references: frequent citations or extensive bibliography

Popular• author: journalist or freelance writer

• audience: general, non-expert readers

• purpose: entertain, persuade, or inform readers

• references: no citations or bibliography

Reference• author: usually editor, not author, listed

• audience: general, non-expert readers

• purpose: provide background information on a topic

• references: sources either not cited or a short bibliography provided for further reading

Trade/Practitioner• author: practicing professionals (e.g. teachers, nurses,

business)

• audience: working professionals in that profession

• purpose: share techniques or trends within profession or industry

• references: sources sometimes cited.

Identify the Source Type

• Go to the Pop Quiz link on the guide for this class

• Try to identify the types of sources listed

• Review

Define, Refine & Focus Your Topic

• Define Flint, Michigan water crisis

• Refine Environmental racism and the Flint, Michigan water crisis

• FocusHow …Why …. In what ways does the Flint, Michigan water crisis reflect

environmental racism?

Identify Key Words

In what ways does the Flint, Michigan water crisis reflect environmental racism?

Identify Key Words

In what ways does the Flint, Michigan water crisis reflect environmental racism.

Refining Keywords

https://vimeo.com/85564795

Refining Keywords

• Broader terms

• Narrower Terms

• Synonym Terms

Finding the conversationImage courtesy of Flickr user spyros papasyropoulos.

Identify a Database

• Determine primary subject areas

• Identify specialized databases

• Search multiple sources

Search & Refine

• Identify subject terms

• Use subject limiters

• Identify key figures in the conversation

• Grab citations & permalinks

Nicole Branch, Social Sciences Librariannbranch@scu.edux5436

Image courtesy of Flickr user Thomas Hawk.