Strategies

There are many ways to locate books that are relevant to your research topic.

• One strategy for finding useful books is to do a simple keyword search in a library catalog and browse your results to find a few books that look relevant. Open up the record for these books and scroll down the page to look at the "Subjects." These are standardized terms which you can then use in an advanced search. Enter the terms into the search box and select "Subject contains" from the drop-down menu. This will gather together books that are about the same topic.
• A second strategy is to locate reference books in your area. Look up your topic to see what terms they use (these could make good keyword searches) and scan their bibliographies. Reference books on Asian Studies, Asian History, and Asian Literature are located in these call numbers:
  • DS 561-589 (Thai History and Culture)
  • DS 701-799.9 (Chinese History and Culture)
  • DS 801-897 (Japanese History and Culture)
  • DS 901-937 (Korean History and Culture)
  • PL 493-459 (East Asian Language and Literature)
  • PL 501-898 (Japanese Language and Literature)
  • PL 908-998 (Korean Language and Literature)
  • PL 1001-3397 (Chinese Language and Literature)

• Another way to find relevant books is to browse the shelves near the useful books you've already identified because books are arranged on the shelf in subject order.
• A fourth strategy is to look at the bibliography of books you have already identified as useful. Authors may cite other useful books on similar topics to yours.

Resources

BRIDGE (English)
Look here for books and other resources available from Carleton and St. Olaf. WorldCat (English)
Look here for books and other resources available from many libraries in the United States and some libraries outside of the United States (including foreign language resources). When you have identified an item you would like to use, first check Bridge to make sure we don't have access through St. Olaf. If the item does not appear in Bridge, you can order it through Illiad, our Inter-Library Loan system. Du Xiu Book Search (Chinese - Simplified)
This catalog searches Chinese-language books. When you have identified an item you would like to use, check Bridge to see if we have it. WebCat Plus (Japanese)
For Japanese-language books, look here. When you have identified an item you would like to use, check Bridge to see if we have it. National Diet Library (Japanese)
National Diet Library (English)
For more Japanese-language books, look here. If you would like to search in English, try the English mirror site. When you have identified an item you would like to use, check Bridge to see if we have it.

Reference Books

Bibliography of Asian Studies
(ref DS501 .B49)
Use the bibliography and index of each volume to find out what was written on specific topics each year from 1960 to 1991. If you find relevant entries and want to find out what has been written recently, search one of the catalogs for one or more of the books in this bibliography, scan their subject headings, and search for more books having those subject headings. Alternatively, you can search the Web of Knowledge to see who has cited your example books recently.
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
(Ref DS4 .E53 2002)
Without assuming Asian unity or uniformity, this six-volume encyclopedia covers a broad range of topics, including politics, economics, education, the arts, international relations, and the like. Articles are signed and include bibliographical references.
Encyclopedia of Asian History
(Ref DS31 .E53 1988)
This three-volume encyclopedia is intended for a non-specialist audience. It contains bibliographical references and all articles are signed. The Cambridge History of China
(Ref DS735 .C3145)
This history begins with the first imperial regimes and proceeds to the late 20th century. It's essays are quite lengthy and include copious bibliographical citations. It does not include such topics as the history of Chinese art and literature. Use the table of contents and index to navigate these volumes. Modern China: an Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism
(Ref DS755.2 .M54 1998)
Signed articles and bibliographic references deal with the trends and issues of modern China in the 20th century. The subject list and chronology in the beginning of the volume, coupled with the index at the end of the volume, help to guide you to appropriate articles. The Cambridge History of Japan
(Ref DS835 .C36 1988)
Essays, complete with numerous bibliographic citations, cover Japanese history from the pre-Jomon period to the mid-20th century. It does not include such topics as the history of Chinese art and literature. Use the table of contents and index to navigate these volumes. Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism
(Ref DS805 .M63 1998)
Signed articles and bibliographic references deal with the trends and issues of modern China in the 19th and 20th centuries. The subject list and chronology in the beginning of the volume, coupled with the index at the end of the volume, help to guide you to appropriate articles. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture
(Ref DS822.5 .E516 2002)
The signed articles and bibliographic references focus on Japan since the end of World War II (with historical context). If you don't want to browse the alphabetical list of entries, use the thematic entry list at the beginning and the index at the end to navigate by subject.

Journal Articles

Some databases provide access to the full text of the journal article while others index the articles and provide access to the article citation. If you find a citation but not the full text, check Bridge and Find Electronic Journals to see if we subscribe to the journal and have the issue that contains the article.

To search for journals that deal with Asian Studies, try searching the Bridge for the subject "Asia -- Periodicals"

To search for articles, try one of the databases below. English Language Databases

Bibliography of Asian Studies (English)
Indexes articles from 1971 to the present. Historical Abstracts
Indexes and abstracts articles from 1955 to the present. JSTOR (English)
Covers 15 Asian Studies periodicals in full text from the first issues of the journals through 5 years ago. MLA International Bibliography (English)
Indexes articles from 1963 to the present. PAIS International
Indexes and abstracts articles of a political or sociological nature. Covers 1972 to the present. Periodicals Contents Index
Indexes over 100 journals in Asian Studies (including central and southern Asia). Project Muse (English)
Covers 7 full text journals dealing with East Asian Studies. Sociological Abstracts
Indexes and abstracts articles from 1963 through the present.

Chinese Language Databases

Chinese Academic Journals (Chinese - Simplified)
Click on "Visitor" button to search article citations in Chinese. Dragon Source (Chinese - Simplified)

Japanese Language Databases

Zasshi Kiji Sakuin (Japanese)
Zasshi Kiji Sakuin (English)
Click on the link that says "Search the Japanese Periodical Index" to search this database.

Newspaper Articles

LexisNexis Academic (English)
In the Guided Search menu, select "World News" as the News Category, and "Asia/Pacific News Sources" as the News Source. Be sure to notice the date limit at the bottom of the search screen because the default is set at "Previous Six Months," and this may not be adequate for your needs. ProQuest Newsstand Complete (English)
This database includes many familiar news sources from East Asia. You can specify particular sources by clicking on "Publications" near the top of the screen and then searching for the publication by title, or by entering the title of the publication into the main search box and selecting "Publication Title" from the drop-down box to the right of the search box.

Internet Guide for Chinese Studies
Published by the Sinological Institute, Leiden University, Netherlands
This gateway collects free web resources for Chinese Studies. It is maintained by the Sinological Institute, Leiden University, in the Netherlands. JGuide
Published by Stanford University
Stanford University maintains this site, collecting links to free web resources Japanese Studies.