Searching for ethnographic research is complicated by the fact that many studies we think of as ethnographies do not use the word "ethnographic" in their title or descriptions (for example, We, the Tikopia), while increasingly we find studies relying on a methodology described as ethnographic that are not focusing on small traditional societies. So, what is an anthro student to do?
First, consider the various names you might use to search. Use a reference book or google to identify variations that might be based on spelling, misunderstandings, historical changes, etc. For exampe, this Wikipedia page helps us identify many variants of Amazonian indigenous group names.
Second, consider the regional terms and names. These too might change over time, and might reflect different sizes of territories. For example: Oceania, Melanesia, New Hebrides, Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, Luganville.
Third, if combinations of names and/or regions do not identify some ethnographic research, then start experimenting with terms such as ethno* anthro* cultur* or relig* magic* spirit* shaman* or agric* subsistence hunt* and so forth (using the *asterisk at the end of a word in most databases functions as a "wild card" symbol to stand in for any string of letters: cultur* will retrieve culture, cultures, cultural, culturometric, etc.).
Mostly, however, once you have found one or two key articles or books, you'll want to use citation tracking to find related publications. See more on citation tracking below!
Recommended Search Tools:
Subjects: Anthropology Archaeology, Linguistics
Info type: scholarly articles
Access Tips: No Findtext+, use the Journal Titles Search to find articles.
Archive of back issues for many journals, some academic ebooks, and research reports.
Subjects: Covers most subjects
Info type: scholarly journals, professional periodicals, ebooks.
Access Tips: Usually the most recent 3-5 years are not available in JSTOR. However, EMU may have a current subscription. Check the Journal Titles search.
Citation tracking is an excellent technique for discovering how scholars converse and debate issues in their publications. Scholars cite each others' work each time they build on existing research, compare, contrast, evaluate or otherwise relate to the ongoing academic conversation.
To track back in time, choose a book or article that seems important, and start looking up the listed references. Identify a reference that seems central or significant, look it up, then work back to the resources listed in its reference list or footnotes, and so on.
We can get help in this technique from many databases. For example, in Esearch, look for a link to "references" in the record of some articles. In ProQuest databases, look for the "references cited" or "related articles" links on the right column.
To track forward in time, we need tools that will show us what articles have cited the work we have in hand. Quite a few databases, as well as Esearch, provide such tools, including Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Proquest. Keep your eye out for the tell-tale "cited by" link.
EMU short video tutorial: Finding Articles by Tracking Citations
RECOMMENDATION for papers with more than five sources: keep track of the references you gather using a bibliographic tool such as EndNote or Zotero.
