Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America contains 175 essays (that's 25 more than the previous edition) on specific minority and ethnic groups in the U.S., with an emphasis on culture (religions, holidays, customs, language) in addition to information on historical background and settlement patterns. The Encyclopedia also covers ethnoreligious groups such as Jews, Chaldeans and Amish. Each essay has been completely updated and contains a listing of organizations and research centers; names addresses and contact information for periodicals, radio and television stations; and a list of suggestions for further reading. Also featured are more than 350 photographs and illustrations, sources for further study and a general annotated bibliography.
Description: A multidisciplinary online collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference books that can be searched simultaneously by keyword or title. Subjects include multiculturalism, public health, small business, U.S. history, space science and many more.
Research Tips
Brainstorm keywords for your search. Think of alternative words for your major concepts, ie, Hispanic-American, Latino, and use these when searching databases.
Use truncation: if you put an asterisk at the root of a word in OneSearch, you will retrieve all possible endings, ie, disparit* will retrieve disparities, disparity..
Background information about your group can be found in books and encyclopedias. OneSearch is a good starting point.
Articles about health disparities can be found in OneSearch, CINAHL, Medline and PsycInfo, among others.
Become familiar with your topic and read with a critical eye. Examine each source closely for authority, reliability, currency and objectivity. Pay extra attention to these things when using web sources.