Research Guides: Anthropology & Archaeology: Background Information

Background Information

Encyclopedias and the articles in Annual Reviews are excellent starting points to learn about a topic or theory and to find lists of articles and books on your topics. Even if you think you know a lot about your topic, there are likely some useful sources listed in these items to help your research progress.

Getting started

Background Inforamtion

Find quick background information and thorough reports on many topics in anthropology with this selection of encyclopedias and literature-review databases:

Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Thorough literature reviews on many topics within the sciences and social sciences. Each year, multiple articles are added within anthropology and related fields, to provide a quick overview of recent publications relating to a wide range of topics. These articles are great ways to get the big picture of research on a topic as well as a reliable source of citations to important books and articles. Be sure to select the Anthropology option under "in selected journals" when starting your search.
Anthropology This link opens in a new window
The Alexander Street Anthropology collections offer comprehensive, multimedia resources for the study of anthropology, including the largest collection of ethnographic videos and previously unpublished archival field materials.
eHRAF Archaeology This link opens in a new window
eHRAF Archaeology focuses on in-depth descriptive documents of archaeological traditions from around the world. eHRAF is unique in having subject indexing at the paragraph level. This allows detailed and precise searching for concepts not easily found with keywords.
eHRAF World Cultures This link opens in a new window
eHRAF World Cultures contains ethnographic collections covering all aspects of cultural and social life. eHRAF is unique in having subject indexing at the paragraph level. This allows detailed and precise searching for concepts not easily found with keywords.
Global Plants This link opens in a new window
Provides more than two million images of plant type specimens from herbaria around the world.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Hhundreds of language and subject dictionaries and encyclopedias from anthropology, and across the social sciences. (Note: we subscribe to a selection, but not all of the content.)
World Heritage Sites: Africa This link opens in a new window
World Heritage Sites: Africa links visual, contextual, and spatial documentation of African heritage sites. The collection includes more than 50,000 photographs, 3D models, GIS data, site plans, aerial and satellite photography, images of rock art, excavation reports, manuscripts, traveler's accounts, historical and antiquarian maps, books, articles, and other scholarly research.

We also have access to many specialized encyclopedias both online and in print, so be sure to also search the library catalog for additional resources. The above are just a few options with very broad coverage by topic - but we also have more focused options such as encyclopedias of food, of masculinity, of fashion, of lgbtqqia topics, and more.

Research Methods

SAGE research methods foundations This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods Foundations is a major benchmark work and a significant addition to SAGE’s research methods program. This ambitious resource brings together, in one place, authoritative essays and entries with comprehensive coverage of methods and methodologies across the social sciences. It provides a reference resource for all levels, from undergraduates learning the concepts of research, to postgraduate students honing their skills and scholars and practitioners exploring cutting-edge developments and specialist techniques.

About the Profession

AnthroGuide
This guide to the profession/field of anthropology features anthropology programs (BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD, and certificates), lists of anthropological experts or future advisers by research interests, museum and research collections, and field schools, internships, and study abroad opportunities.

The AnthroGuide also includes statistical data on degrees awarded by anthropology programs, and a list of recently awarded PhD dissertations and Masters theses

(Language taken from AnthroGuide)

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