Guides: INAF 100-11: Politics and Memory : Welcome

INAF 100-11

Welcome to the Politics and Memory course guide. If you'd like help with your research, please email me at rj425@georgetown.edu.

1. Identify your topic

Use class readings, newspaper articles, Wikipedia and online encyclopedias such as Credo Reference or Gale Ebooks (links below) to find out basic information about your topic. This will help you brainstorm keywords.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text online versions of general and subject dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Provides online, full text access to Gale subject encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Includes Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History; Encyclopaedia Judaica; Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy; Encyclopedia of American Industries; Encyclopedia of American Religions; Encyclopedia of Bioethics; Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security; Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues in Biotechnology; Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World; Encyclopedia of Population; Encyclopedia of Religion; Encyclopedia of Sociology; Encyclopedia of the American Constitution; Environmental Encyclopedia; Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America; Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology; New Catholic Encyclopedia; New Catholic Encyclopedia Jubilee Volume; New Dictionary of the History of Ideas; St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture; and West's Encyclopedia of American Law.

2. Brainstorm keywords

Come up with keywords around your topic to start searching. When searching, you can play around with different terms to see how it affects your results. Try searching with broader terms vs. more specific. Using regional and time periods as parameters as you go will help you narrow down your topic. Also, pay close attention to the vocabulary that scholars are using when you come across articles. Using those terms will help you when searching!

From Topic Idea to Keyword Searching

3. Search for scholarly articles

Put your keywords into the databases like ProQuest Political Science and Historical Abstracts (links in the "Scholarly Articles" tab on the left). Pay attention to who wrote the article, what journal it was published in and when it was published. When you consider the results, you need to evaluate different articles in order to find one that best serves your purpose. You should spend time on the abstract of articles that might be of interest and then skimming before you decide on what you'd like to read. Try different words in different databases and see what you discover. Give yourself time to enjoy this process!

Need a refresher on peer review?