English 102/103 Process Guide

Step 4

Finding Information About
Countries/Cultures

Back to Main Contents Page

 

Introduction

We want now to consider sources that will help us find information about the country and society in which our literary work is set.  The steps we'll take here are similar to those we took for the literature sources:

  • Browse through the available reference and recommended Internet sources
  • Check the databases for more specific topics
  • Look for books on your country in the library catalog

Fortunately, because of the familiarity with the processes that you have already gained, you should be able to go through these steps in short order, with little additional explanation.

Databases, eReference Sources, and Websites
The following sources are probably the best place to begin your search for information about the country and culture portrayed in your book.

 
Daily Life Online Explores everyday life, both past and present; browse by country, region, and time period, as well as by topics like family life, religion, housing, clothing, etc.
CultureGrams Online For each country, provides information on the population, religion, customs & courtesies, dating, marriage, lifestyle, even recipes; much statistical data as well
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life For each country or ethnic/cultural group, provides an excellent overview of history, politics, customs, religion, education, human rights issues, teen life, etc.
Countries and Their Cultures Provides for each country in-depth articles on government, peoples, social classes, marriage, family, religion, education, etc.
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations In-depth analyses of each country: climate, population, government, economy, education, religion, etc.
Gale Virtual Reference Library Cross-search dozens of high-quality reference sources from a variety of fields; construct your search like this: columbia and women
Library of Congress Country Studies Outstanding book-length studies of each country: history, society, religion, customs, marriage & family, social classes, etc.
History Electronic Page If your book is set in an older time period, you may find the links on our special history page especially useful

Additional Country Sources
We have lots of other reference sources and databases on our Countries/Cultures subject page that you can search. Just follow the links below:

 

 

Books about Countries/Cultures
This shouldn't be too tough.  Just as you did a subject search in the library catalog for your author, you will want now to do a subject search for your country.  Just enter the name of your country in the search box.  We have a number of series that feature the history and culture of individual countries.  Look in particular for titles in the Culture and Customs and Culture Shock! series.  We have these for almost every country. 

Search the Catalog now

Want still more books? Again, you might want to try our fantastic borrowing service, Pascal Delivers

That's all, folks
I hope that you now have a good group of sources to work with. If you need still more material, or you have questions, email me at nhoyle@tctc.edu. Best of luck on your project!

Back to Main Contents Page
"));