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For more assistance, contact: Chris Bombaro, Associate Director for Information Literacy and Research Services; East Asian Studies Liaison Librarian
Phone: 717-245-1868. Email: bombaroc@dickinson.edu. AIM: CBomb22.
More Liaison Information. Librarian's Website
Find reference works
Citing encyclopedia and other reference works is NOT considered a scholarly practice, therefore you are discouraged to include such sources in your research paper. However, if you are new to the field and do not know much about your research topic, reference works can be a good place to start. A good reference work can help you relate your topic to the large context of the discipline, and help you quickly identify key authors, key sources, and key issues on the subject. This kind of background information is useful for refining your research topic, coming up with a good research question, and identifying possible sources for further research.
- How to Find Reference Works
You can find print reference works via Catalog (limit your search to "Location=Reference Stacks"). The library also has a number of online reference works in the database list that are relevant to East Asian Studies, such as
- Credo Reference Collection: a comprehensive database of 500+ reference works that cover all disciplines taught at Dickinson;
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online: a general purpose encyclopedia that covers a wide range of subjects and topics;
- Country Studies/Area Handbook
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Literature Criticism Online
Find books for in-depth study on the topic
If you cannot find a good reference book on your chosen topic, you can always find relevant books on the topic. Read the introduction part of the book carefully, because that is where you may find a nice overview of the topic, including how the topic has evolved over time, and what major arguments have been made, and so on. Besides, you should always read the ending part of the book, the bibliography, carefully, because bibliographies can give you important clues as to what sources are available that may be relevant to your research. You may be able to find some sources this way that you may never find otherwise. Once you identify the sources (books and articles), it should be relatively easy to obtain them, either in our library or via interlibrary loan.
- How to Find Relevant Books
- For books at the Dickinson College Library, search our Library Catalog.
- For a complete list of books on a topic, search the database WorldCat.
- Google Books and Google Scholar are also very good sources for finding books.
Find journal articles for up to date, focused analysis
Once you have a broad understanding of the research topic and come up with a well refined research question, you should find as many scholarly articles as you can for up to date, in-depth studies on the topic.
- How to Find Relevant ArticlesThere are many databases in our library database list that contain high quality scholarly articles on East Asia. For example
- JStor: JStor includes 19 Asia related journals. It is full text, and covers publications about 1-5 years back from the current issue (not up to date).
- Project Muse: Project Muse includes 16 Asia related journal titles. It is full text, and covers mostly recent issues.
- Bibliography of Asian Studies Online: BAS has the most comprehensive coverage of mostly English language publications (including books and journals) on Asia. It is an index only database (no full text), and not as convenient to use as JStor and Project Muse. However, it is a most valuable source for any in-depth research on Asia.
- Need More?There are also many discipline based specialty databases that include publications on East Asia. For example
- For topics related to literature, you should also search MLA International Bibliography;
- For topics related to history, you should also search Historical Abstracts;
- For topics related to education, you should also search ERIC;
- For topics related to religion, you should also search ATLA Religion;
- For humanities in general, you can also try Humanities and Social Sciences Retro and Humanities Full Text;
- For social sciences in general, you can also try Social Sciences Citation Index in Web of Science and Social Science Full Text.
Find primary sources to support your argument
You can support your argument by quoting from secondary sources (studies done by other scholars). But if you want to make an original argument, oftentimes, you will need to cite primary sources to support your claim.
- How to Find Primary Sources
For primary sources published in books,
- General Search Strategy: search the catalog or WorldCat (preferred) with subject descriptor documents or sources. For example, if you are searching for primary sources on Chinese history published in books, search WorldCat with (keywords) "Chinese history" + (subject)"documents or sources."
For other primary sources other than books, search the databases:
- For historical news archives, try Historical Newspapers in ProQuest;
- For news reports from foreign sources, try World News Connection, which contains translated news from all over the world;
- For art images, try ARTStor;
- Primary Sources in Translation: China
- History
- China Reader: the Reform Era, Ed. by Orville Schell and David Shambarugh (1999). Call#: DS777.55. C4477 1999.
- China since 1919: Revolution and Reform, A Sourcebook, ed. by Alan Lawrance (2004). Call#:DS773.89. L39 2004.
- Sources in Chinese History: Diverse Perspectives from 1644 to the Present, by David Atwill and Yurong Atwill (2009). Call#: DS703. S68 2009.
- Twentieth Century China: a History in Documents, by R. Keith Schoppa (2004). Call#: DS773.89 .S36 2011.
- Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions: a Brief History with Documents, by Timothy Cheek (2002). Call#: DS778. M3 C47283 2002.
- Economics
- China's Economic Reform: a Study with Documents, by Christopher Howe et al (2003). Call#; HC427.92. C4514556 2003.
- Chinese Economic Statistics in the Maoist Era 1949-1965, ed. by Nai-Ruenn Chen (2008). Call#: HA4635.C424 2008.
- State and Economy in Republican China: a Handbook for Scholars, ed. by Kirby et al (2000). Call#: OverSize HC427.8 .S73 2000.
- China Maritime Customs and China's Trade Statistics 1859-1948, by Thomas Lyons (2003).
- Government Documents
- Major Documents of the People's Republic of China: December 1978-November 1989. Call#: JQ1519 .A52 M3 1991.
- Tracking the Dragon: National Intelligence Estimates on China During the Era of Mao, 1948-1976. Call#: DS777.55 .T62 2004.
- Religion
- Chinese Religion: an Anthology of Sources, ed by Deborah Sommer (1995). Call#: BL1802. C5477 1995.
- Personal Narrative
- Window on the Forbidden City: the Beijing Diaries of David Bruce, 1973-1974, ed. by Priscilla Roberts (2001). Call#: E183.8 .C5 B73 2001.
- Death Throes of a Dynasty: Letters and Diaries of Charles and Bessie Ewing, Missionaries to China, ed by Ruoff (1990).
- Classics
- Library of Chinese Classics Collection (Chinese-English) (includes 100 titles of most important classics covering history, literature, and many other subjects). Call#: EA-Ref. PL2663 .L8 Z43 2005
- History
- Primary Sources in Translation: Japan
- Statistics
- Historical Statistics of Japan, by Ministry of Internal Affairs, Japan.
- Economic statistics, 1900-1983 : United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, by Liesner, Thelma. Call#:HC106 .L68 1985.
- Japan labour statistics, by Nihon R¯od¯o Ky¯okai. Call#: HD8723 .N685 1974.
- Family income and expenditure in post-war Japan, 1946-1955, by S¯orifu. T¯okeikyoku. Call#:HD7057 .F36 1956.
- Religion and Philosophy
- Religion in the Japanese experience : sources and interpretations, by Earhart, H. Byron. Call#:BL2202 .R445 1997.
- Sourcebook for modern Japanese philosophy : selected documents, by Dilworth, David A. Call#: B5241 .S68 1998.
- Zen sourcebook : traditional documents from China, Korea, and Japan by Addiss, Stephen. Call#: BQ9258 .Z464 2008.
- History
- The Japanese discovery of America : a brief history with documents, by Duus, Peter. Call#: E183.8 .J3 J353 1997.
- Modern Japan : a history in documents, by Huffman, James L. Call#: DS881.9 .H85 2011.
- Meiji Japan through contemporary sources. Basic documents, 1854-1889, by Yunesuko Higashi Ajia Bunka Kenky¯u Sent¯a (Tokyo, Japan). 2 volumes. Call#: DS881.9 .M394.
- Pearl Harbor and the coming of the Pacific War : a brief history with documents and essays, by Iriye, Akira. Call#: D742 .J3 I76 1999.
- The Kamakura bakufu : a study in documents, by Mass, Jeffrey P. Call#: DS859 .M252.
- The Sino-Japanese negotiations of 1915; Japanese and Chinese documents and Chinese official statement, by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Division of International Law. Call#: JX1906 .A3 NO.45 no. 45.
- Documents on the Tokyo International Military Tribunal : charter, indictment and judgments, by Boister, Neil. Call#:KZ1181 .D63 2008.
- Education
- Japanese education since 1945 : a documentary study, by Beauchamp, Edward R. Call#: LA1311.82 .J39 1994.
- Politics
- Japan's contested Constitution : documents and analysis, by Hook, Glenn D. Call#: KNX2101 .J37 2001.
- Statistics
Find East Asian language resources
WorldCat includes a great number of East Asian language materials. Use the Chinese or Japanese interface of the database for easy browsing of the language materials.
- Chinese Language Databases
- CNKI: a tremendous database of academic journals, major newspapers, conference proceedings, thesis and dissertations,all full text, from mainland China. The index search is free. Please contact the liaison librarian for obtaining the full texts of the articles.
- China/Asia On Demand: a pay per view database for Chinese articles. Contact the liaison librarian for how to pay for the articles you need.
- Google Books and Google Scholar
- National Library of China: provides free access to government documents and valuable digitized archives, books, and magazines.
- Japanese Language Databases
- Koseisha Japanese Magazine Index Database: a major database for Japanese journal articles from 1868 to present.
- NDL Search: the online catalog and article database from National Diet Library of Japan;
- Webcat Plus: includes books held in academic libraries in Japan;
- Google Books and Google Scholar
- Japanese E-Resource Guide: courtesy of Duke University Libraries.
Digital Archives
Many public and academic libraries are now digitizing their archival materials and make them available free online. Here are some major resources from libraries that are relevant to modern China/Japan Studies.
China Studies
- Chinese Memory from National Library of China: the National Library of China publishes a great number of digitized primary source materials, for example, the magazine and book collection from Republic Era (1910s to 1940s).
- Modern China Studies: a digital collection of 37 titles of primary documents published in the early part of the 20th century in China.
- Tian'anmen Square and US-China Relations, 1989-1993: a digital collection reviewing US-China relations in post-cold war era and significance of Tian'anmen Square Incident in 1989.
Japan Studies
- Electronic Library at NDL, Japan: its various databases contain primary sources of all kinds from pre-modern eras.
- Japan at War and Peace 1930-1949: essential documents relating Japan's internal affairs during the war.
Organize your sources
Always document your sources carefully throughout the entire research and writing process. Check your Writers Manual or our library Citing Sources page for appropriate ways to document your sources in different styles.
On Reserves at the Circulation Desk there are always style manuals available for consultation.
Additionally, RefWorks is a useful tool for citation management. Current Dickinson College students, faculty, and staff can setup an individual RefWorks account. Please see our RefWorks FAQ or Consult a Librarian for further assistance.
About the Field: research centers and organizations
- Association of Asian Studies: the major scholarly association in Asian Studies.
- Council on East Asian Libraries: the major East Asian Libraries association. Its website includes many useful links and resources.
