AAAD 315: Political Protest and Conflict in Africa: Home

Start with a keyword search in the catalog. Once you have located a relevant item, you can look at the Library of Congress Subject Headings within the full record tab and follow those links to find related books.

You can also refine your results by using the facets on the left side of the screen. If you are looking for online sources only, narrow down your search by clicking the box next to the "available online" facet. 

• Keywords: Protests -- Africa
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Political participation -- Africa, Sub-Saharan"
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Protest movements -- Africa, Sub-Saharan"
• Keyword: Rwanda -- Genocide
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Rwanda -- History -- Civil War, 1994"
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Rwandan Civil War (Rwanda : 1994)"
• Keyword: Mau Mau
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Nationalism -- Kenya -- History"
  • Associated Subject Headings: "Kenya -- Politics and government -- To 1963"

You can search Articles+ AND the library’s catalog through our website here:  https://library.unc.edu/ 

You can find links to individual databases that may be helpful on the E-Research by Discipline page of our website

Searching for Sources Effectively

• Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information efficiently is to follow the citations or references from one source to another. The author's bibliography can lead you to other sources on the topic
• Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog or article database, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to addional materials with the same subject/topic.
• Identify keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, take a few minutes to write down all the words that describe your topic. Use these words and synonyms in keyword searches. 

Questions to consider:

• What made this item worth paying attention to?
• How is it relevant to your research topic?

Scholarly resources have the following features:

1. They are written by experts - look for an author's credentials or affiliations.

2. They are written for other experts or people in academia. Think of each scholarly work as a voice in an ongoing conversation to which you will add your voice when you write a paper. 

3. They use scholarly language with technical, discipline specific vocabulary.

4. They provide verifiable and reliable evidence for claims. Even if the resource is a general history/overview it will contain well researched information that the reader can verify.

5. They may be peer reviewed. Many journals go through an editorial process where other experts review and assess the information. 

Some databases will let you check a box to limit to peer reviewed articles. You can also look at the journal's website which will explain the editorial process including whether or not the journal is peer reviewed. 

What to look for:

• Bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, date, volume and issue number)
• Author credentials and affiliations (what and where of expertise) 
• An abstract stating a summary of the article
• Science and social science articles will most likely have an introduction, methodology (how research was conducted), results, discussion, and conclusion
• Notes, references, or works cited; This information is provided so readers know where the information was obtained, can verify sources, and/or use information for their own research. 

From California State University Library

Institute for Advanced Study, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.  Makandaphd2015@gmail.com

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