Finding background information
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Credo ReferenceGrowing collection of electronic reference books -- dictionaries, encyclopedias, bilinguals, almanacs, handbooks, atlases, and directories.
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Gale Virtual Reference LibrarySearch hundreds of encyclopedias and other resources; especially useful for biography and historical background. This database may not be compatible with Mozilla Firefox.
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Oxford Reference OnlineSpecialty encyclopedias, handbooks, thesauruses and dictionaries; emphasis on American Literature and Western Civilization.
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SAGE Reference E-BooksGrowing collection of topic and subject encyclopedias online. Note: To search only UIC subscribed titles, please click the Available to me button on the right.
Finding books
The following techniques can improve your success in searching the catalog for books:
- Use author and title searches for books cited in readings. For example, your syllabus may list Anna Guevarra, Marketing Dreams, Manufacturing Heroes: The Transnational Labor Brokering of Filipino Workers.
- Use Proper Nouns. Proper nouns like Indira Gandhi or Qing Dynasty usually narrow a search and can lead to primary sources.
- Subject Headings. The display of subject headings can suggest search terms and perspectives on your topic. Subject headings bring together books on your topics.
- If one term does not work, try a few others. Experiment with different vocabulary related to your topic. Brainstorm ideas for relevant keywords and use background sources such as encyclopedias for suggestions.
- If the UIC copy is unavailable or if UIC does not have what you need, search I-Share. The I-Share catalog tells you what 70+ academic libraries in Illinois have and you can request online most of the books.
Finding statistics
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American FactfinderAmerican Factfinder includes population, housing, economic, and geographic data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Census DataOfficial U.S. site of data from the last census. See also: Historical Statistics of the U.S. elsewhere in this guide.
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Cook County ConnectDemographic data for Cook County. Includes geospacial data and well as ESRI Business Analyst.
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National Center for Education StatisticsThe purpose of the National Center for Education Statistics' website is to provide clear, complete information about NCES' mission and activities, and to serve the research, education and other interested communities.
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Chicago Community AreasThe following Community Area maps include tables that show demographic profiles compiled in 1990 and 2000 by the U. S. Census Bureau, and feature data changes in population, housing, social, and economic characteristics.
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SimplyAnalyticsSimplyMap is now SimplyAnalytics. Mapping application that allows users to customize interactive maps & reports using thousands of data variables. To save your searches, you need to sign up for an account using your UIC email address. Access restricted to 5 concurrent users.
Finding journal articles
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JSTORDigitized back issues of scholarly journals with a rolling date of five years ago. Covers a wide variety of disciplines. A portion of this resource was acquired with funding from the Library/IT Assessment.
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Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI)HAPI Online combines current information about Latin America with in-depth coverage from 1970 to the present. This resource was acquired with funds from the Library/IT Assessment.
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SciELOSciELO is an electronic library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals.
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Google ScholarUse this link to connect to UIC e-resources!
Pros: Familiar, intuitive search
Cons: Haphazard selection of academic journals -
MLA International Bibliography with Full TextProduced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the electronic version of the bibliography dates back to the 1920s. The database contains millions of citations as well as full text for 1,000 journals.
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Clase and Periodica Index of Latin American journalsLatin American journals specializing in social sciences, humanities, science and technology.
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America: History and LifeAmerica: History and Life provides articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
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Handbook of Latin American StudiesSelected works on social sciences and the humanities in Latin America (1936 to present).
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SciELO Citation Index (1997-present)SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) Citation Index provides access to scholarly literature in sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities published in leading open access journals from Latin American, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
Subject Librarian
Finding primary sources
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Digital Library of the CaribbeanThe Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative of partners within the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean that provides users with access to Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials held in archives, libraries, and private collections. dLOC comprises collections that include newspapers, archives of leaders and governments, official documents, data for ecosystems, scientific scholarship, hist maps, oral and popular histories, literature, musical expressions, and artifacts.
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LANIC: Latin American Network Information CenterThe Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) is based at the University of Texas at Austin. It strives to provide access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America. While many of the resources LANIC provides facilitate research and academic endeavors, the site is a gateway to Latin America for primary and secondary school teachers and students, private and public sector professionals, and anyone else looking for information about the region.
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Princeton Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean EphemeraThe Princeton Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean Ephemera was originally created around the turn of the 20th century and the bulk of its material dates from that time. Yet it also includes material from as late as the present century. A wide array of activists, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, political parties, think tanks, and other organizations created the content to publicize their views, policies, and activities. The formats most commonly included are pamphlets, flyers, leaflets, brochures, posters, stickers, and postcards.