Research in Southeast Asian Studies

Following is a selected list of research materials for beginning research in Southeast Asian Studies.

Starting Your Research (Using REFERENCE materials)

These sources are useful because they provide synopses of a research field, background information on a specific issue, or help you identify a research topic by perusing them.Encyclopedias

Scholarly encyclopedias are great for their short, information packed articles summarizing the history and scholarly views on a subject. Articles are usually written by an expert in the field, and often have citations to help you find further relevant information. There are many general encyclopedias, like Brittanica or Americana, with Southeast Asia content (ask @ the Reference Desk if you don't find what you need); below please find a select list of encyclopedias that focus on Southeast Asia.

TIP: You'll find many more resources near these on the Reference bookshelves, space limitations preclude listing all available sources):

Reference Books

If you're looking for biographical information on the King of Thailand, the history and cultural meaning of durian, statistical information on the Philippines, or thematic maps(atlas) of insular Southeast Asia the following list of selected sources can offer authoritative answers.ALMANACS:
 

ATLASES, MAPS, & GIS The MAP Department has extensive holdings on the Pacific Islands representing many different aspects of the Islands - their geography, environment, social/cultural issues, etc. The following selected general atlases can help you get started, please consult with MAP staff for further assistance):

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

BIBLIOGRAPHIES (Useful tools to easily identify books, etc. on various subjects, e.g., prehistory, religion, environment, etc. Also search the UO Library Catalog, Summit, or WorldCat (more information on this below) to find books, etc. on the Pacific):

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES:

CHRONOLOGIES (chronologies deepen understanding of a country through its important moments in history):

DIRECTORIES (identify key scholars or research institutes working in your area of interest; particularly useful for those going on to graduate school):

DIRECTORIES:

GUIDES TO FINDING INFORMATION (these guides go into much more exhaustive detail about doing research in Southeast Asian studies than this humble beginning research guide):

HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES (Great sources for succinct explanations of key historical events and figures. For more in-depth articles on the history of the Pacific search Historical Abstracts or Hawaii Pacific Journal Index:

LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES (There are many more dictionaries in the UO Libraries' collections, to find them search the UO CATALOG by subject, e.g. Vietnamese language dictionaries. Alternatively, browse the shelves between PL3900-6100):

LITERATURE/DRAMA/THEATER (The following titles provide general background information, on authors & literary criticism of their works. For additional literary criticism articles search the MLA Bibliography):

POLITICAL DICTIONARIES:

RELIGION:

BUDDHISM:

ISLAM:

STATISTICS (Following are selected general statistical sources to get started, there are many additional sources available depending on what type of statistic you are interested, e.g. agriculture, health, literacy, or statistical yearbooks published by a particular nation, etc. For further assistance please consult with Document Center staff):

Journals (CURRENT PERIODICALS ROOM, 2nd floor, Knight Library)

Browse through the table of contents of recently published Pacific Islands journals to identify a contemporary research topic for your research paper. These journals can be found in many different call number (subject areas) sections:

Finding ARTICLES (Using Databases & INDEXES)

To look for articles in journals, newspapers, or magazines, you will need to start with an index. An index will allow you to search by subject (guaranteed article largely or wholly about this subject), by keywords (like an Internet search, article will appear if it matches the exact words you typed in, no guarantee that it is the focus of the article), or by author, etc.

Following is a select list of indexes that focus on Southeast Asia. Because Southeast Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary field, there are many subject specific indexes (e.g. anthropology, history, literature, environmental studies) that will also be helpful in your research. Please ask @ the Reference Desk for assistance for help in finding or using index(es)!

Finding Books (Using LIBRARY CATALOGS)

• UO Libraries Catalog
  Identify books by topic, title or author; identify journals and magazines owned by the UO Libraries. To find journal articles on your topic, use the databases listed in the section above. Once you have a citation, you can check the library catalog by doing a title search on the name of the journal to see if we have it here.
  • If the UO Libraries does not own the journal, fill out an interlibrary loan form to request a copy of the article from another library.
  • If the UO Libraries does not own the book, or other material you want, try Summit or WORLDCAT and request through them.
     
• Summit
  Summit is the collection of a consortium of libraries in the Pacific Northwest whose combined collections greatly exceed the size of the UO Libraries collection. Request books and other materials (but not journal articles) through Summit if the UO copy is checked out, missing, or if UO doesn't own a copy.
  • Delivered within 3 *working* days or less
  • 3 week checkout period with renewal option
  • Free service for UO students, faculty, and staff
  • Click on REQUEST THIS ITEM link when looking at full record to borrow material.
• WorldCat
  Worldcat provides access to library catalogs from around the world AND you can request materials from most of them. The database contains more than 56 MILLION bibliographic records describing books, journals, maps, musical scores, manuscripts, etc. Once you are looking at the full record for an item you want you can request it by clicking on the ILL button (top button bar) and filling out the form. Delivery time varies, consult with the Reference Department or the Interlibrary Loan Department for more information.
   
• Browsing the shelves
  Try the following call number areas to get a taste of the UO Libraries' holdings (please ask @ the Reference Desk if you cannot find what you want):

  DS520-526 Southeast Asian: History & Culture

  DS527-530 Burma: History & Culture

  DS531-550 Indochina: History & Culture

  DS554 Cambodia: History & Culture

  DS555 Laos: History & Culture

  DS556-560 Vietnam: History & Culture

  DS561-589 Thailand: History & Culture

  DS591-599 Malaysia: History & Culture

  DS600-649 Indonesia: History & Culture

  DS646.5 Timor: History & Culture

  DS650 Brunei Darussalam: History & Culture

  DS651-689 The Philippines: History & Culture

  PL3851-4054 Burmese, Karen languages & literatures

  PL4111-4251 Thai language & literature

  PL4301-4351 Mon-Khmer language & literature

  PL4371-4379 Vietnamese language & literature

  PL5051-5490 Malay & Indonesian languages & literatures

  PL5501-6135 Philippine languages & literatures

Web Resources

For help finding additional regional or country information websites please ask @ at the Reference Desk.

TIP: To optimize retrieval when searching for Southeast Asia don't forget that the region is also generally referred to as South East Asia and South-east Asia (minute differences that do make a difference).

• East & Southeast Asia: An Annotated Directory of Internet Resources
• Digital Asia Library
• dmoz Open Directory - Southeast Asia
• Southeast Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library