History of Anthropology

Welcome to the History of Anthropology research guide. My name is Brew Schoonover, and I am the anthropology librarian at FSU Libraries. I hope that this guide is helpful for you as you work on your research paper. I have provided some recommended sources for you, but more importantly, I hope this guide helps you to think about the process of research. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or if you would like to make an appointment to meet in person or on Zoom. I wish you the best!

Research is Process:

• Be strategic; don't just start Googling and take the first 10 sources you find
• Take the time to develop a good thesis and brainstorm your keywords (don't shortcut this process)
• Save your searches and save your citations
• Think critically about your sources
• Good research takes time; do the work and don't wait until the last minute (you may need something that we can only get through Interlibrary Loan)

Developing a clear and concise thesis or research question will help you to focus your research and your writing.  

• Write out your thesis statement or question in one clear sentence
• List the keywords from your thesis and brainstorm alternatives and synonyms (you will use these keywords for your searching)
• Use a thesaurus, think of historical or taxonomy terms, terms from textbooks, go broader or more narrow