Anthropology: Home

Welcome! This guide is an introduction to library resources specific to Anthropology, Archaeology, and related fields.

If you need help getting started with your research please reach out with your question. I'm available to meet in-person on campus or virtually via Zoom.

Please bear in mind that this guide is intended to help get you started, and is not meant to be exhaustive. 

Department of Anthropology

Official website for the Department of Anthropology at UCSB, which offers degrees with an emphasis in archaeology, biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology and a general anthropology degree covering all emphasis subfields.

Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) (authentication required)

A graduate student-run group, AGSA supports the academic and professional careers of graduate students in the Department of Anthropology and fosters community-building to improve the mental and physical well-being of the organization's cohort. AGSA also offers a Mentorship Program provides academic and professional support for undergraduate and graduate students in Anthropology and other departments. 

Anthropology Club (authentication required)

A student-run organization, the Anthropology Club fosters a dynamic and inclusive community of students who share an interest in the study of humanity, encompassing all of its diverse cultures, histories, and societies. Join via Shoreline.

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

Founded in 1902, AAA is the world's largest organization of individuals interested in anthropology.

Royal Anthropological Institute

The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world's longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense. 

Center for a Public Anthropology

Founded by Robert Borofsky (Hawaii Pacific University, emeritus) in 2001, the Center for a Public Anthropology is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization "that encourages scholars and students to address public problems in public ways." 

• When keyword searching, use key words that best describe your topic.  The objective is to get a small group of relevant records.  People, places themes, characters, time periods, events, types of information (i.e. ethnography) issues and more can be key words.  What words or phrases best describe your topic?

• For locating primary source material, consider these “subject keywords”: sources, documents, personal narrative, documentary history, archives, manuscripts, correspondence, speech*, oration, statistics, cartoon*, interview*, oral history*.

• Evaluate your search results.  Click on the title to view the entire record, including chapters and subject headings.  If you don’t see related materials in the top 10-20 items of your search results, reconstruct your search using alternative keywords, synonyms, narrower terms, more terms, etc.  

• Note the citation/source information (journal title, volume #, issue #, and date) before leaving the database, even if you just to go to another window.  The citation is the most important information in the database record and is required to locate the article text, online or in print.

• Raid bibliographies.  Books and articles have bibliographies and references.  Use them so you don’t have to spend hours searching databases.

• In the library, like materials are shelved together.  When looking for a particular book on the shelf, also scope out what’s shelved next to it.  Books and back issues of periodicals are interfiled on the shelves in call number order.

• Consult a librarian. We work across the disciplines and will refer you if necessary.  Librarians can help track down sources, explain library services, interpret citations, and suggest the most useful keywords.  The Ask a Librarian service provides 24/7 access to a librarian.