Skip to Main Content

ANTH 125 - Carpio-Hernandez - Fall 2024: Ethnographies in OneSearch

Overview

Now let's apply the approach outlined to finding ethnographies using the OneSearch Library Catalog, starting with simple search terms and then taking advantage of the filtering options. 

First, a short discussion on:

Followed by OneSearch examples for:

 

Each example given below includes: 

  • The initial search results
  • Followed by results filtered for the resource type book of books
  • Then filtered for the resource type of books and the subject of religion 

With each of the example tabs containing a search result screenshot image that's clickable, launching the depicted search in OneSearch. 

Search Terms

There are two general sets of search terms you'll use to find ethnographies on a particular topic: 

  • Words representing ethnography 
  • Words representing the topic (group/people, region, subject area, etc.) 

 

Since there's no guarantee that an ethnography will refer to itself using that word, it can often be necessary to use other words that are commonly used to identify or reference ethnographic studies. Here are search terms that can be used to search for ethnographies: 

  • ethnography, ethnographies, ethnographic <== note: can use the wildcard: ethnograph*

  • social life and customs 

  • case studies <== note: not every case study is an ethnography, so will need to do additional filtering 

  • cultural anthropology

Note: an easy way to represent multiple variants of a root word without putting each and every one in the the OneSearch Library Catalog search box is to add the wildcard asterix (*) after a commonly shared the shared root, which for ethnography, enthnograpies, and ethnographic would be ethnograph*. Additionally, sometimes when OneSearch sees a particular search term it will automatically include search results from other search terms it believes are related (such as including cultural anthropology when it sees ethnography); when this happens you can chose not to include them, if you prefer. 

 

If you're getting either too many or not enough search results on a particular topic, consider using or including a different word for the topic. 

Since words have meaning, which can vary depending on the person or the subject, it's possible that the word one person has in mind to represent a topic could be different from other person... which could also be different from the author of an ethnography. 

When brainstorming for alternative search terms, there are many ways to go about coming up those words:

  • From sitting down and thinking by yourself, 
  • To using a thesaurus, 
  • To doing a Google search,
  • To reading a Wikipedia or virtual encyclopedia entry.

Just keep in mind that the search term more useful doesn't necessarily have to be a direct, analogous replacement, but could be narrower or broader in scope or meaning. 

For example, rather than using the general word religion: 

  • The specific religion could be used (Buddhism, Christianity, etc.) or 
  • The type of religion could be used (monotheism, polytheism, etc.) or 
  • The belief system (atheism, agnosticism, etc.) 

 

ONESEARCH: ethnography

OneSearch Library Catalog search results for: 

  • ethnography
  • ethnography + filtered for books
  • ethnography + filtered for books & religion

Note:

  • Actual search results may vary from those in screenshots, since future OneSearch content might be different. 

ONESEARCH: ethnograph*

OneSearch Library Catalog search results for: 

  • ethnograph*
  • ethnograph* + filtered for books
  • ethnograph* + filtered for books & religion

Note:

  • Here the wildcard search term ethnograph* is used which will included variants like ethnography, ethnographies, enthnographic, etc. in the search. 
  • Unlike the previous search for ethnography, the ethnograph* search doesn't include "cultural anthropology" by default, resulting in fewer initial results and highlighting different items when sorted by relevance.
  • Actual search results may vary from those in screenshots, since future OneSearch content might be different. 

ONESEARCH: ethnograph* religion

OneSearch Library Catalog search results for: 

  • ethnograph* religion
  • ethnograph* religion + filtered for books
  • ethnograph* religion + filtered for books & religion

Note:

  • While the filtered search results for ethnograph* and ethnograph* religion have the same number of items, the initial items shown sorted by relevance differ. 
  • Actual search results may vary from those in screenshots, since future OneSearch content might be different. 

NEXT: Other Options

While the OneSearch Library Catalog can be a great place to start your search, it isn't the only game in town. Learn about other options available for finding ethnographies on the next page. 

Proceed to the next tab: Other Options