Ethnographies can be difficult to identify in the catalog because there is no specific subject heading for "ethnography". So, here are some tips for searching for them in the library catalog:
- Identify the correct name of the group you are researching.
- The most often-used subject heading subheading for ethnographies is "Social life and customs".
- Another sub-heading that is useful is "case studies". Although most case studies are not ethnographies, some are. You will have to go to the stacks and look at the books to determine if they are actually ethnographies.
- Try a keyword search with "ethnograph*" in addition to your subject. However, unless the book has "ethnography" as part of the title (and most don't), you won't find much.
- Do a keyword search combining the name of the group with the aspect of the culture you want to research. Hopefully some ethnographies will turn up. However, the catalog record won't necessarily tell you this and you will have to look at the book to determine if it actually is an ethnography.
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