Latin American Studies Journals

Vanderbilt has access to several databases which index and provide access to materials specifically from or about Latin America and the Caribbean.

HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index This link opens in a new window
Principal index to articles on Latin America and Hispanic Americans in the US; journals on Latin American and Caribbean themes in the social sciences and humanities published in the Western world. Book reviews also indexed.
Coverage: 1970 to present.
SciELO Scientific Electronic Library Online (Web of Science) This link opens in a new window
Scholarly literature in sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities published in leading open access journals from Latin American, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
Coverage: 1997-present.

Redalyc
Sistema de Información Científica Redalyc. Red de revistas científicas de Acceso Abierto diamante.

LANIC: Latin American Network Information Center This link opens in a new window
One of the largest guides for information about Latin American. Provides Latin American users with access to academic databases and information services, and to provide Latin Americanists around the world with access to information on and from Latin America.
Handbook of Latin American Studies This link opens in a new window
Primary database for research on Latin America, indexing books and articles on Latin America in the social sciences and humanities. Covers the principal research worldwide and is especially strong in its inclusion of Latin American publications, articles, etc. Includes abstracts. Includes unpublished volumes in draft form.
Coverage: 1935 to present.
Digitalia Hispánica This link opens in a new window
Full-text Spanish language electronic books and journals. Users will need to create a free account to download content.
Vendor Tutorials: https://www.digitaliapublishing.com/ar
PRISMA: Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanisticas This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference resource of articles in the social sciences and humanities for the interdisciplinary academic study of Hispanic and Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. Key titles in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Coverage: 1996 to present.

Tips for effectively searching the catalog

Building a Search String

To effectively use the library search, we will have to turn your research question into a search string. Most library, archive, and database searches do not work like a normal search engine -- typing out your research question as a full sentence will not work! On this page we will go through how you can use keywords, boolean operators, and filters to craft the best possible search.

Keyword Searching → Subject Searching

Take your research question and convert the most important topics and ideas into keywords and phrases.
- Notice that phrases are in quotations. Make sure to consider alternate spellings (ex. color vs. colour).

Research Question	Potential Keywords
How is the gender pay gap affected by the birth rate amongst working adults?	"gender pay gap" "pay gap" "income inequality" childlessness, children, "birth rate" women, mothers, "gender inequality" "gender gap"

Boolean Operators

AND	OR	NOT
Generates results that contain both of your search terms. ex. gender AND "income gap" Results will only show materials that contain gender and "income gap". This can be used to specify terms that are critical to your research topic, such as limiting your search to a certain geographical region or discipline area. AND is used to narrow your search & generates fewer, more specific results.	Generates results that contain one, or both, of your search terms. ex. income OR wealth Results will show materials that contain either income or wealth. This can be used for geographical locations or topics that may not have a standardized name, such as "United States" OR u.s. OR America OR "United States of America" OR is used to broaden your search & generates greater, less specific results.	Generates results that do not contain one of your search terms. ex. gender NOT income Results will show materials that contain gender but do not mention income. This can be used to exclude materials that may pertain to your subject, but are related to a region, discipline, or topic that you are not trying to study. NOT is used to narrow your search & generates less results. BE CAREFUL. Sometimes NOT can exclude relevant results.

AND

OR

NOT

Generates results that contain both of your search terms.

ex. gender AND "income gap"

Results will only show materials that contain gender and "income gap". This can be used to specify terms that are critical to your research topic, such as limiting your search to a certain geographical region or discipline area.

AND is used to narrow your search & generates fewer, more specific results.

Generates results that contain one, or both, of your search terms.

ex. income OR wealth

Results will show materials that contain either income or wealth. This can be used for geographical locations or topics that may not have a standardized name, such as "United States" OR u.s. OR America OR "United States of America"

OR is used to broaden your search & generates greater, less specific results.

Generates results that do not contain one of your search terms.

ex. gender NOT income

Results will show materials that contain gender but do not mention income. This can be used to exclude materials that may pertain to your subject, but are related to a region, discipline, or topic that you are not trying to study.

NOT is used to narrow your search & generates less results. BE CAREFUL. Sometimes NOT can exclude relevant results.

Crafting your Search

After figuring out your search terms, you can combine them with boolean operators to create an initial search string.
- ("gender pay gap" OR "income inequality") AND (childlessness OR children OR "birth rate") AND (women OR mothers)

Convert to Subject Searching

Use one of the item records from your keyword search to find the subject headings.
- Replace your key words with the applicable subject headings. Or, you can click on the link and all materials with that subject heading will appear.

Additional Pro Tips

You may notice that some database searches will try to autofill your keywords based off of their subject/topic tags. Try out their suggestions. The terms they give you may result in different search results -- sometimes they work better than the search terms you developed on your own.
You can put an asterisk to include any number of characters after a root word. ex. educat* will include educate, education, educator, etc. as part of the search. However, keep in mind the * will include any phrase afterwards, so it may include things that are not related to your topic.

ANTH 2106 - Culture and Power in Latin America - Zavaleta