ARCH 273: Archaeology of the New World
Instructor: Dr. Ross Jamieson, Spring 2006
This guide has been designed as a starting point for the research that you will need to do to complete your course assignments.
If you need help, please contact Lindsay Tripp, Liaison Librarian at 778.782.7322 or ltripp@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian.
Table of Contents
- Choose a topic which interests you most: Sounds simple but it's tempting to gravitate toward the assignment which looks easiest. Don't do this!
- Identify the gaps—What do you already know about your topic and what do you need to find out?
- Grab a coffee, soda, glass of water/beverage of your choice and think about your topic. Write down some issues/terms/events related to your topic that interest you. Discuss it with your instructor, your classmates or your friends.
- Review your course readings, your class notes and have a look at the bibliographies cited in the articles or text books for further information. Have a look at encyclopedias or dictionaries for background information.
- Know that help is available but don't wait until the last minute to ask for it.
- Archaeology of Prehistoric Ancient North America: An Encyclopedia : Bennett Reference E 77.9 A72
- Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: Bennett Reference F 1218.6 A73 2001
- Books tend to cover a subject thoroughly and are usually easy to obtain.
- Use the Library Catalogue to find books and reports owned by SFU.
For works on a topic, search first by KEYWORD. Here are some sample keyword searches:- inka and agriculture
- prehistor* and "latin america" and (agricultur* or pastoral* or cultivat*)
- s:indians of south america and agricultur* [this search looks for versions of the word "agriculture" in the authorized subject heading field "indians of south america]
- Look at the authorized or standard SUBJECT HEADINGS used in the records. Is there one that describes what you are looking for? If so, click on it to find other books on your topic.
- Use the bibliography or end/footnotes(referenced articles and books) as guides for further reading.
- The SFU Library Catalogue Search Guide will give you a step-by-step guide to searching for books here at SFU. You could also try the online tutorial: Using the SFU Library Catalogue.
- Goals are to entertain and inform, and also to sell advertising space and/or copies of the publication by choosing interesting or controversial subjects.
- Authors are usually professional writers not subject experts and content may be opinion or anecdotal rather than factual
- Articles are not peer-reviewed and rarely have bibliographies
- Popular journals usually have colourful covers or interfaces and contain many pictures and advertisements
- Examples: Archaeology, Discover or Time
- Goals are scholarly communication and to provide a platform where scholars and researchers share their findings with one another and the public.
- Articles general describe new research and include background information, methodology, research results and significance
- Articles almost always have references in the form of bibliographies or footnotes
- Often require specialized knowledge or vocabulary to be understood
- Scholarly journals usually have plain covers or interfaces and normally contain more charts and graphs than photographs
- Scholarly journals often have the word "journal" in the title and are often are published by a scholarly association and usually contain few or no advertisements
- Articles submitted to scholarly journals are peer-reviewed. An editorial board asks experts to examine articles for the excellence, novelty and significance of the research and request that the article be revised before publication or reject the submission entirely
- Examples: Journal of Organizational Behavior, International journal of comparative sociology, Sociological Quarterly
- Where can I find American Antiquity?
- The library has access to American Antiquity electronically until 2000. For more current issues, from 2000-present, we have American Antiquity in print on the 6th floor of the library. All of our print journals are arranged alphabetically by title so for American Antiquity, you go to "A". You can search for articles in American Antiquity through any of the following databases: Anthropology Plus, America: History and Life, and GeoRef.
- The library has access to American Antiquity electronically until 2000. For more current issues, from 2000-present, we have American Antiquity in print on the 6th floor of the library. All of our print journals are arranged alphabetically by title so for American Antiquity, you go to "A". You can search for articles in American Antiquity through any of the following databases: Anthropology Plus, America: History and Life, and GeoRef.
- How do I cite sources properly?
- You need to cite your sources in American Antiquity format available from the "Editorial policy and style guide for American antiquity." American Antiquity April (1983): 429-442.
- You need to cite your sources in American Antiquity format available from the "Editorial policy and style guide for American antiquity." American Antiquity April (1983): 429-442.
- If an item I want is unavailable, now long does a request item typically take to get?
- This depends on whether or not the book was taken out on a term long loan or a three week loan and how long the item was out when you placed the request. Term long loans are out for a minimum of three weeks. If the item has already been out for three weeks when you place your request, the item should come back within seven days. If the item has not been out for three weeks, the person who has it will have three weeks before they have to return it. If the book has been checked out on a three week loan and you place a request, the book should come back within a week.
- This depends on whether or not the book was taken out on a term long loan or a three week loan and how long the item was out when you placed the request. Term long loans are out for a minimum of three weeks. If the item has already been out for three weeks when you place your request, the item should come back within seven days. If the item has not been out for three weeks, the person who has it will have three weeks before they have to return it. If the book has been checked out on a three week loan and you place a request, the book should come back within a week.
- How many things can I request at a time?
- As many as you like.
- As many as you like.
- How can I tell if an arcticle I find online is scholarly?
- This is a bit trickier, as we found out in the tutorial, than looking at the article in the print journal but the same points should apply. If you're using one of the article databases the SFU Library subscribes to, it should be a bit easier. Use the points outlined in the Popular Vs. Scholarly section above. Check to see if the author's affiliations are indicated (what University is he/she associated with or is the author a freelance writer); is the article lengthy and does it use academic language; is the article heavily referenced and does it seek to educate rather than inform or persuade. Articles or Web sites on the Internet can be particularly difficult to assess. More information is available on our "What is a Scholarly Journal" guide. And, you can always ask if you're not sure!
- This is a bit trickier, as we found out in the tutorial, than looking at the article in the print journal but the same points should apply. If you're using one of the article databases the SFU Library subscribes to, it should be a bit easier. Use the points outlined in the Popular Vs. Scholarly section above. Check to see if the author's affiliations are indicated (what University is he/she associated with or is the author a freelance writer); is the article lengthy and does it use academic language; is the article heavily referenced and does it seek to educate rather than inform or persuade. Articles or Web sites on the Internet can be particularly difficult to assess. More information is available on our "What is a Scholarly Journal" guide. And, you can always ask if you're not sure!
- Is there a cross reference list of Canadian and American 'names' for the same traditions and periods?
- Unfortunately not. The closest thing to this I've come across is the introduction in Archaeology of Prehistoric Ancient North America: An Encyclopedia : Bennett Reference E 77.9 A72.
3.a. Structuring your search
3.b. Books and reports
3.c. Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles
4) Sources: Popular vs. Scholarly
5) Cite Right!
7) FAQ Answers to YOUR questions
1) Course Documents
Back to Table of Contents
2) Where to start:
Knowing where to start is often the most challenging part of doing any type of course work but can be broken down into easily digestible steps:
3) Research Process:
Choosing a viable topic is often the hardest part of doing research. If you're just starting out, try looking at encyclopedias for background information and for further references. Specifically, try:
3.a. Structuring your search
- Looking for information is a process. After you've identified terms relevant to your area of research, the next step is to use them either individually or in combination with each other until you locate information relevant to your research.
Too many or too few results? Go Boolean. Boolean is library speak for using AND, OR, NOT for linking search terms together. Use them to narrow or broaden your search.
AND: use to narrow your search when you must find one or more terms in combination with each other: "archaeology and agriculture and development" would require that each of these words be present somewhere in the document or record in order to result in a successful search
OR: use to widen your search—especially when you're using related terms: "agriculture or cultivation or pastoralism" would retrieve documents with ANY of these words.
NOT: use sparingly (if at all) as it will exclude any words you add after it.
Combining Terms: You can combine your Boolean searches to get better results. Remember to group like operators together within parentheses: "archaeology and (agriculture or cultivation or pastoralism) will retrieve documents with the first words and any of the following three words.
Need more? Try a little truncation. Truncation is a shortcut, expressed by a symbol, to help you search for variations and multiple endings for your search terms. Common truncation symbols are: $, ?, ! but the most popular is the *.
For example, econ* will retrieve economic, economics, economical, economy, economies, etc.
Modify your search terms as you search the databases and become aware of new terms to describe your topic.
After you've found some worthwhile results, look at them and scan them for Subject Headings or Descriptors. Subject headings and descriptors are terms that have been assigned to each article and are extremely useful for locating books or articles on the same subject. The SFU Library Catalogue and most, but not all, electronic databases use these.
Be careful of spelling - including alternate spellings. Most databases use American spelling - but you should try both versions (e.g. labour, labor).
Be prepared to find information that is not completely on topic, but may still be useful and relevant.
3.b. Books and reports
- The SFU Library will be your main source for books and reports, but you may also want to check other libraries (especially UBC or Vancouver Public Library) depending on your topic.
Tips:
3.c. Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles
Searching for articles on your topic isn't much different than searching for books—you just have more options available. And, as with searching for books in our catalogue, search these indexes first by KEYWORD, then by SUBJECT. The following databases are relevant to Archaeology but you may also want to look at the databases under Anthropology or Biological Sciences or Geography
Top Resources
Other Resources
Back to Table of Contents
4) Popular vs. Scholarly Sources
When you start researching your ARCH 273 assignments, you should recognize the difference between popular and scholarly publishing. The following points will give you a brief overview of what to look out for. If in doubt, ask.Popular sources
Scholarly sources
Use the checklists itemized above to evaluate your findings before citing them in your assignments. For the ARCH 273 assignments you should use only scholarly monographs and journals. The SFU Library collection includes research monographs as well as biographies, memoirs and travelogues. We also subscribe to the standard academic journals and the major trade magazines and journals. Be sure to critically evaluate your research sources before including them in your bibliographies.
Once you have a firm grasp on how these two genres differ, you will be ready to begin your research.
5) Cite Right!
Throughout the research process and for your research, it's very important to keep track of your sources. Many of the electronic databases you'll be using also offer you the option to e-mail, download or print your citations. This is a great way to keep track of the information you're considering.Most style guides requires you to note the following: title of article, book or document, journal title (if article), author or editor, publisher (if book), date of publication, place of publication (if book), volume and issue number (if journal), pagination (if article or document). For information on how to cite most documents, have a look at the Library's Guide to Bibliographies and Footnotes. If you come across something not covered here, refer to the style guide itself. The Library keeps reference copies of the APA Style Guide, the MLA Style Guide and the Chicago Manual of Style at the Information Commons Desk on the 3rd floor.
Learning how to properly credit others when you use their ideas is a difficult, but important part of research. Start with the SFU Library's interactive tutorial "Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism" to test yourself and to learn more about plagiarism. Also read the SFU Library Guide on Plagiarism for further discussion of this critical topic and for links to other plagiarism guides.
6) Getting Help
If you need help in finding information for your assignment, it's not far away and here's how to get it:
If you've just started your assignments and need help and you're in the library, try asking at the Information Commons Desk on the 3rd floor of the library. If you're at home and connected to a computer, you can contact SFU's reference librarians via email/chat/telephone through our Ask Us services. Complex questions will be referred to me and I'll generally be able to get back to you within one working day.
If your questions are more in-depth, e-mail me at cgraebne@sfu.ca and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Be sure to include details regarding your assignment and what you've done so far in trying to find information.
Not sure who to ask? It doesn't matter. Start with the contacts listed above and we will do the rest.
7) FAQ
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