Searching in Relation to Ethnic Studies

Using Keywords to Search

The best way to search ScholarOne Search and academic databases is to use keywords. 

Keywords are words that represent the main concepts of your research topic and are often specific to a time and place. The language used to describe groups of people has changed over time and is constantly changing as Indigenous, Black, Asian, Latines, and Pacific Islander communities create and redefine words to describe themselves. 

Examples: These are common synonyms for keywords you may see or use related to Ethnic Studies. 

Note: Past/outdated terms may reflect racist, xenophobic, sexist, and homophobic narratives and attitudes. Using these terms is helpful when looking for articles or primary resources published during time periods when these terms were the norm. You do not need to use these terms when searching for research published recently about past time periods. These are only a few examples and do not represent an exhaustive list of terms and identities. 

Common Synonyms: 
Language We Use  Other Words You Can Use (similar or more specific)
BIPOC Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino/Latina/Latinx
(note that most databases will default to the masculine form of gendered terms)
Indigenous, First Nation, Ohlone Native American, American Indian, Indian
Black, African American Black, Afro-American, African American
Latines/Latinx, Latina/o, Chicana/o Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Hispanic
Pacific Islander Samoan, Filipino, Native Hawaiians, Tahitians
Asian, Desi, South Asian, Asian American Vietnamese, Napali, Pakistani

More Search Tip: Using Phrase Searching and Advance Search

To get the most out of searching databases different strategies and tools are key. One tool is to use phrase searching.

Phrase searching is when you include quotations marks is when you surround your search terms in quotation marks. You are telling the database that these words must appear as an exact phrase. You can then use Advanced Search to receive more results that are aligned with your topic.

Example: Searching in Ethnic NewsWatch (07/2023)

  • asian americans in media: 58,375 results
  • Using Advance Search
    • 1st Line: "asian americans"
    • 2nd Line: media: 15,334 results

Phrase searching can dramatically tailor your research. If you want to broaden your search using OR is extremely helpful. Let's say you having trouble locating sources for your topic, OR can increase the number of search results.

Example: Searching in Ethnic NewsWatch (07/2023). Let's say I was interested in exploring activism in Puerto Rico. Here are my search results as follows.

  • puerto rico activism: 1,391 results
  • Advance Search
    • "puerto rico" 
    • activism OR protest: 2,882 results

You can use as many synonyms as you want when using OR and can refine search terms over time as you explore different search tools.

Examples:

  • media OR television OR advertisement
  •  BIPOC OR Black OR Indigenous OR "person of color" OR "Asian American" OR Latinx

More Resources About Keywords and Ethnic Studies

Using Subject Terms

Subject terms are standardized words and phrases that create a shared vocabulary among libraries and help users discover more sources by grouping books, articles, and and other information into subjects. Just like keywords, subject terms are a product of society and are usually based on the Library of Congress Subject Headings and can often be antiquated and offensive. 

Below are some subject terms that will assist you with searching for information in Ethnic Studies. Try combining the Subject Terms below with other keywords and phrases that might match your topic. You can also look at the SUBJECT field of your results to modify or create new searches. 

Here are some examples:

  • Race
  • Racism
  • African Americans
  • Latin Americans
  • Islamophobia
  • Indigenous people
  • Ethnicity 
  • Asian Americans

Here is an example of what subject terms look like when searching the library's catalog and can be located under "details":

Subject terms will look different in databases, but can almost always be found in the details of the article or book. Below is an example of an EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete article:

Note: Subject terms are highlighted because you can perform a search by clicking on them and exploring the results.