Asian American Studies
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
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Reference and Background Information
Use the Simmons Eresource called [http://0-refuniv.odyssi.com.library.simmons.edu/ Reference Universe] to search for information about your topic in all of our Reference sources.
or, search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- The Columbia documentary history of the Asian American experience
Level 1 Reference E184.A75 C63 2002
This work brings together essays, interviews, and speeches from many different Asian American groups, as well as a collection of varied primary source documents, such as political cartoons, sheet music, laws, and court decisions, relevant to Asian American history and to broader racial and ethnic issues in the US. The work is organized into thematic units that correspond to specific periods in Asian American history.
- Dictionary of Asian American History
Level 1 Reference E184.A75 D53 1986
This work contains some 800 entries on the major events, persons, places, and concepts related to the Asian American experience. The principal focus is the individual and organized experience of major Asian groups (e.g., Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Asian Indian, and Korean).
- Statistical Record of Asian Americans
Level 1 Reference E184.A75 S73 1993
This source presents charts, graphs and tables on 19 Asian nationality groups, and 14 topics (attitudes, business and economics, crime/civil rights, domestic life, education, employment, health, housing, immigration, income, military life, population, public life, and religion).
- Asian-American Almanac
Level 1 Reference E184.A75 A824 1995
The Almanac compiles comprehensive information on all major aspects of the life and culture of Asian Americans, from early Chinese immigrants in the 1830s to the present day. Topics discussed cover a wide array of historical, political, social and cultural issues, with biographical information on important figures also provided.
- Notable Asian Americans
Level 1 Reference E184.A75 N67 1995
Biographies of accomplished Asian Americans such as Amy Tan, Gary Locke, and Vera Wang.
- Asian American Writers
Level 1 Reference PS153.A84 A845 2005
Provides literary biographies on over 50 Asian-American authors, predominantly 20th century.
- Asian-American literature: An anthology
Level G Books PS508.A8 A83 2000
This work provides a collection of stories, poems, memoirs, and plays produced by Asian-American Authors over the past century.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Bibliography of Asian Studies
Simmons Eresource
The on-line version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) contains over 545,000 records on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia. Various special projects have contributed substantial numbers of additional records to the database.In addition to using the powerful search function, users can browse by country-subject, or by journal title.The BAS is updated regularly, with batch posting of thousands of new entries in each upload.
- Ethnic Newswatch
Simmons Eresource
A comprehensive collection of newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press in America - now with expanded international coverage. Includes 932,000 articles (over 203,000 of them in Spanish) from 275 publications with titles in both English and Spanish. Approximately 7,500 new articles are added each month. Updated monthly.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
- Social Sciences Index
Simmons E-resource
A database of abstracts and full-text articles from several social science publications. Updated weekly.
- Sociological Abstracts
Simmons Eresource
A key resource for finding published research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database draws information from an international selection of over 2,600 journals and other serial publications, plus conference papers, books, and dissertations. Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
Selected Journals and Magazines
- Journal of Asian American Studies
Simmons Eresource
A scholarly journal that explores all aspects of Asian American experiences. Articles are usually related to new theory, research, and public policy concerns.
- a_Magazine
Simmons Eresource and Free Online
A magazine that covered popular Asian American issues and culture, aimed at a younger generation.
- Yolk
Simmons Eresource
A popular magazine that focused on modern Asian-American culture, particularly on the west coast.
- Asianweek
Simmons Eresource
A newspaper that reports news about and related to the Asian community. It also has a frequently updated blog -- http://asianweek.com/.
- The Asian Reporter
Simmons Eresource
A weekly newspaper that reports on international Asian news, as well as news about the Asian American community.
- Asian Pages
Simmons Eresource
A biweekly newspaper that reports on art, education, finance, and more, and aims to provide stories of interest to over twenty Asian ethnicities, such as Chinese and Thai, as well as non-Asians.
- Asian American Policy Review
Simmons Eresource
From Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, this journal focuses on analyzing the public policy issues that effect Asian-American communities.
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you to find Asian American Studies information on the free web. Use this Asian American Studies Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the same time:
You can also go directly to, or bookmark, the Asian American Studies Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
