This research guide was designed with your course and research topics in mind. You'll find listings of specific books and databases to use, as well as tips on how to research your topics. You'll also find suggestions for other ways and places to look for information Finally, please contact me if you have any questions - whether it's finding materials or talking about your topic or brainstorming ways to search. Use the contact information underneath my picture to get ahold of me. -Julie
Reference books are shelved on the main floor of the Library on the Beck Hall side. Use reference books to gain an overall sense of your topic as well as search terms and data. Reference books can't be checked out but you can scan pages and email them to yourself.
Here are some recommended books. Find more by browsing the shelves near the ones listed below and by searching the library catalog.
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America by 
Religion and American Cultures by 
Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States by 
Asian Americans by 
Encyclopedia Latina by 
American Immigrant Cultures
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History
Atlas of American Migration by 
The Working Class by 
Issues in U. S. Immigration by 
Encyclopedia of American Immigration by 
Undocumented Immigrants in the United States by You will want to do a number of searches in the library catalog, since it will get you to all kinds of materials in the library related to your topics. We have lots of material on various immigrant groups and about human migration in general. You can also go to these call number areas to browse materials on immigration (the JVs are all on the third floor):
You should also try searching in the catalog for materials about specific ethnic groups.
Search for articles through our library databases. Read the descriptions for each database to understand what kind of material it contains.
This guide from Purdue University provides an overview of plagiarism and best practices for avoiding it.
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/spmaterials/
Learn how to distinguish between scholarly, popular, and trade articles. From the North Carolina University Libraries.
Tips on how to recognize reliable sources by evaluating them in terms of relevance, currency, audience, and credibility.
Materials not available at Gustavus may be borrowed from other libraries and sent here for you to use. Location: Library -- Main Floor.
If doing research in the library and at the college level is relatively new to you, have no fear. You can always ask for help in the library, either at the Reference Desk or, if no one's at the Reference Desk, at the Information Desk. Both are right inside the front entrance of the library.
You might also find this guide useful in answer basic questions about how the library (and research) work.
Above all, use the resources available to you. Take initiative. Explore the information sources on this guide, search the library catalog and databases, talk to a librarian, visit the Writing Center, ask your professor for advice, talk about your topic with classmates and friends...the possibilities are endless.
Remember, research is a conversation and YOU are a part of that conversation. For more, here's a great video from the UNLV libraries.
