Research Workshop
Anthropology 002D: Culture & Gender
Some common research problems
+ how you can solve them
Simon Elichko
Social Sciences & Data Librarian
(they/them)
Some common research problems:
Paywalls
Poor-Quality Video
Broken Links
Confirmation Bias
Paywalls
"You've run out of free articles for the month..."
Paywalls → Library Subscriptions
You can get articles from thousands of newspapers, magazines, and journals through Swarthmore's Libraries.
Find a specific article or publication:
Explore publications:
Accessing pay-walled articles
Scholarly / academic journal articles
-
Search Tripod for the article title. Look for a matching result and follow links to access. (e.g. Teaching South African History in a Digital Age)
-
Can't find it in Tripod? Apply the search filter Include results without full text to see more results. (see this example)
Click on your article title if it appears in the results. Follow the prompt to login to Tripod, then click on Request via Interlibrary Loan.
- Still not seeing your article? Go to Borrow Beyond TriCo, then choose the journal article request link. Fill out the form to request a PDF of the article.
Accessing pay-walled articles
News articles
-
Search Tripod for the publication title (e.g. New York Times, The Economist, New Yorker), not the article title. (example search)
-
Look for the publication in your results. Click on the best match to continue. Find access links under "View Online." (example with links)
Feel free to use the chat button if you need help.
- Can't find the publication in Tripod? Go to Borrow Beyond TriCo, then choose the journal article request link. Fill out the form to request a PDF of the article.
Paywalls
Broken Links
Poor-Quality Video
Confirmation Bias
Paywalls
Broken Links
Poor-Quality Video
Confirmation Bias
Web Archives
If you come across a broken link, copy the URL + search for it using Wayback Machine.
For example: updates from a Greenpeace anti-coal campaign
in Greece
Paywalls
Broken Links
Poor-Quality Video
Confirmation Bias
Streaming Video Databases from the Libraries
+
McCabe DVD Collection
(DVD drives available to borrow)
Know what you want to watch?
Search Tripod for the
movie or show
Paywalls
Broken Links
Poor-Quality Video
Confirmation Bias
Confirmation Bias?
"...in a database containing millions of sentences, full-text search can turn up twenty examples of anything."
Underwood, Ted. “Theorizing Research Practices We Forgot to Theorize Twenty Years Ago.” Representations 127, no. 1 (August 2014): 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1525/rep.2014.127.1.64.
Confirmation Bias?
Try exploring a range of available resources, instead of just trying one usual pathway.
See the ANTH 002D Research Guide for links
How can you become a more skilled and critical researcher? Ask for help.
Get peer support from RIAs
Chat • Research & Info Desk • librarian@swat
RIAs are available at the Research & Info Desk in McCabe.