Edwin H. Mookini Library

Anthropology Research Guide

This page lists only subject-specific resources for Anthropology. General information about academic research, searching for books and journals, finding specialized sources, and help with evaluating and citing sources, is available on the Guides page and in the menu options at the right (or at the bottom) of this page.

On this page:

A two-generation comparison of six major kinship systems (Hawaiian, Sudanese, Eskimo, Iroquois, Crow, and Omaha).

Image by Zander Schubert on Wikimedia Commons
A two-generation comparison of six major kinship systems (Hawaiian, Sudanese, Eskimo, Iroquois, Crow, and Omaha).

Getting Started

Many of the library’s resources require you to use the library’s links to get full access. It is important to start your academic research from the library’s website: going directly into a database (www.jstor.org) won't give you the same level of access that the library pays for. To use the library’s links to these resources, you must be registered with the library - this is different than being registered for class(es).

Please try to get into the library’s databases early in the semester - if you can’t, it will take a few days to process your account, so don’t wait until you need to begin finding sources.

Getting More Help - Don’t be afraid to Ask-the-Librarian! I won’t do your research for you, but I will help you figure out how to find what you need. My contact information is available at the top of the menu at the right (or at the bottom) of this page.

Related Guides

Journal Articles

See the Find Articles page for general information about finding magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, including how to:

  • search specialized databases
  • understand the difference between a scholarly journal and a magazine
  • request articles that are not immediately accessible

Journal Article Databases

You must select the link(s) for your campus! Why this is important...

UH Hilo

Also be sure to search some of the General Databases and related Subject Area Databases:
UH Hilo General | UH Hilo Subject Area

  • AnthroSource (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
    Full-text access to select publications of the American Anthropological Society.
  • HeinOnline LGBTQ+ Rights (UH Hilo access)
    Contains historical and contemporary materials regarding gay rights and issues, including books, pamphlets, reports, scholarly articles, interactive timeline, and more.
    "Throughout the LGBTQ+ Rights database, users may encounter items and viewpoints that they find offensive. These items are included in order to properly foster dialogue and to fully understand both the progress our society has made and the inequalities that still exist today."
  • Wiley Digital Archives (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
    "Wiley Digital Archives is a continuous program of new databases comprised of unique or rare historical primary sources, digitized from leading societies, libraries, and archives around the world, and made accessible in ways that tie directly to research outcomes and educational goals. All Archives are cross-searchable, and contain tools for searching, browsing, analyzing and visualizing primary source content."
    Subscribed Archives include:
    • British Association for the Advancement of Science (Collections on the History of Science: 1830-1970)
    • Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
    • Royal College of Physicians
    • Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers)
    • New York Academy of Sciences.
      More information about each archive is available.

HawaiʻiCC

Also be sure to search some of the General Databases and related Subject Area Databases:
HawaiʻiCC General | HawaiʻiCC Subject Area

  • HeinOnline LGBTQ+ Rights (Hawaiʻi CC access)
    Contains historical and contemporary materials regarding gay rights and issues, including books, pamphlets, reports, scholarly articles, interactive timeline, and more.
    "Throughout the LGBTQ+ Rights database, users may encounter items and viewpoints that they find offensive. These items are included in order to properly foster dialogue and to fully understand both the progress our society has made and the inequalities that still exist today."
  • HeinOnline LGBTQ+ Rights (Hawaiʻi CC access)
    Contains historical and contemporary materials regarding gay rights and issues, including books, pamphlets, reports, scholarly articles, interactive timeline, and more.
    "Throughout the LGBTQ+ Rights database, users may encounter items and viewpoints that they find offensive. These items are included in order to properly foster dialogue and to fully understand both the progress our society has made and the inequalities that still exist today."

Books

See the Find Books page for general information about finding books, including how to:

  • search LibCat
  • understand call numbers
  • locate books on the shelves
  • request books that are not immediately accessible

Ebooks

You must select the link(s) for your campus! Why this is important...

Academic and public library ebook collections, including some textbooks: UH Hilo | HawaiʻiCC

Open Access Ebooks

Dissertations and Theses

The library has access to the full-text of many theses and dissertations, most of which have extensive lists of references. Some examples of material available in full-text:

Brandt, Lokelani M.P.  Through the Lens of the ʻIliʻkūpono: Re-establishing Connections to Piʻopiʻo, Waiākea, Hilo, Hawaiʻi through Ethnohistory, Archaeology and Community. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.  2017. 

Clark, Matthew R.  Crossing the ʻaʻā: Connecting Cultural Landscapes and Community Values Along the Kula Kai Trails of Hīlea, Kaʻū, Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.  2017.

Garcia, Nicole M. “Talking Story” to Sustain Community Heritage: Connecting Museums and Rural Hawaiʻi Island Communities through Collaboration and Participation.    University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. 2021

Mello, Nicole A.  Koʻa Heiau Holomoana: Voyaging Set in Stone. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.  2017. 

Plunkett, Samuel, Jr.  Waimea's Heritage Landscape: Using GIS to Communicate Change and Significance of a Cultural Landscape in South Kohala, Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.  2018. 

Dissertations and Theses from ProQuest (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
Online access to full text of doctoral dissertations and graduate theses from universities around the world, including all campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi.

Streaming Academic Videos

You must select the link(s) for your campus! Why this is important...

UH Hilo

  • Alexander Street Press (Licensed for UH Hilo users only) - selected titles, including Whale Rider
  • Ethnographic Video Online, Vol. III: Indigenous Voices (UH Hilo access)
    A comprehensive resource of documentaries, feature films, and short films made by and for indigenous people and communities from around the world. More than 650 titles available.
  • Films on Demand (UH Hilo access)
    Provides educational videos in streaming video format. Searchable by title and segment. Each video has closed captioning and a transcript.
  • Kanopy (Licensed for UH Hilo users only) - selected titles, including Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands

HawaiʻiCC

  • Ethnographic Video Online, Vol. III: Indigenous Voices (Hawaiʻi CC access)
    A comprehensive resource of documentaries, feature films, and short films made by and for indigenous people and communities from around the world. More than 650 titles available.
  • Films on Demand (Hawaiʻi CC access)
    Provides educational videos in streaming video format. Searchable by title and segment. Each video has closed captioning and a transcript.

Websites

Ethnologue is where you can "find, read about, and research the world's 7,117 known living languages."

The Society of Linguistic Anthropology is "devoted to exploring and understanding the ways in which language shapes, and is shaped by, social life, from face-to-face interaction to global-level phenomena."

The Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History Department of Anthropology has collections that "are a vast and unparalleled resource for inquiry into the cultures, arts, and technologies of the world's peoples, from deep in prehistory to the present day."

UH Manoa's Center for Oral History has oral interview transcripts on a wide range of topics.