Below are some quick links to help you get started with your research and information about the content on this guide. Please get in touch if you have any questions!
Getting Started with the Emory Libraries Website - https://libraries.emory.edu
Library catalog - search here for e-books, print materials, and other resources at the library. See the Finding Books tab for help with locating books
Research Guides - African American Studies is inter-disciplinary. See our full list of research guides for different subjects and topics here.
Library Databases - we have hundreds of databases where you can find articles, data, streaming videos, newspapers, archival materials, and more. See the Finding Articles tab for more information and recommended databases.
Academic Search Complete - one of our most general databases and a great place to start your research
Subject Librarians - see a list of our librarians and the subjects in which they specialize. Always feel free to contact a subject librarian for help with your particular research project.
Developing a research topic can be tricky. Here are some tips to help you get started with developing your topic.
Explore and test out your topic idea - try searching for your topic online and in library databases to see what you find. Are you finding information that you can use for your research project? Is what you are finding interesting to you?
Scope your topic - sometimes a topic can be too broad or too narrow. Refine your topic with these tips
Talk to an expert - connect with faculty, grad students, and librarians at Emory who specialize in the area(s) you are researching. Reach out via email and see if they have the time to chat with you about resources, texts, or authors you should look into while you are researching your topic. While they may not be able to read your research proposal, they may be able to recommend additional reading to help you develop your research topic.
Think outside of Emory - depending on your topic, you can research or connect with organizations outside of Emory that specialize in your topic. For instance, you might find a museum in Atlanta that has an online exhibit up on your topic.
We conduct research for a variety of reasons, and our final research products can take many different forms. From research papers, to presentations, to op-eds, to blog posts, to websites, to digital exhibits, etc. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you work on a research project.
Research assignments often occur in stages, such as beginning with a proposal or an annotated bibliography. For more information on annotated bibliographies, and how they can help you with your research assignment, see this guide from Purdue OWL.
This video was created by the NCSU Libraries and is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license.