*European Cultural Studies

Welcome to Brandeis Library's guide for European Cultural Studies research. 

Use this guide to find research resources for your assignments and papers. The tabs on the left side of the page are suggested starting points; Background Information, Finding Books, Finding Articles and Databases, Archives and Special Collections, and Non-Library Online Research. 

If you have any questions or need any help with your research or citing your sources please reach out to me! My contact information is on the left side of the page, beneath the navigation. Feel free to email or make an appointment.

Happy researching!

Before you jump into searching, it can be helpful to spend a few minutes thinking about your research question and brainstorming for keywords that you can use in your searching. You can use our Finding a Research Question and Keywords handout that are attached at the bottom of this box, or save your own copy of the Google Doc version, found here.

Think about your topic as a research question and then identify the key concepts.

Example research question: How does use of social media affect the grades of undergraduate students?

With this example research question, the key concepts would be:

social media AND grades AND undergraduate students

Once you have identified your keywords, brainstorm for additional terms.

For each of the keywords you recorded in your previous answer, think of synonyms or alternative terms.

Try to think of terms that are broader in meaning, as well as terms that narrower in meaning. These broader terms may help you expand your search if you are not finding enough information, while narrower terms may help you focus your research.

For this example research topic, you might identify these keywords:

social media → Facebook, Twitter
grades → academic achievement, GPA, academic performance
undergraduate students → college students

As you read information about your topic, note the suggested terms that come up in some of the databases. These terms might be good to use in future searches.

Citing your sources:

• Allows you the opportunity to acknowledge the authors who have influenced your thinking

• Builds context for your argument, thesis statement, or research question

• Allows readers to examine your thinking and make their own judgment about your conclusions, and to follow up on the facts & figures you cite

• Helps you and your readers to see how your writing fits into a larger conversation

Before you cite your generative AI source, make sure that you double check the following list: 

• Make sure you're allowed to use generative AI or an LLM in your assignment. If you're unsure, consult your professor, research advisor, head researcher, or publication journal.
• Fact-check any content or sources that the generative AI or LLM provides for you.
  • This includes finding and reading any provided citations, as well as fact-checking any provided information, which may be lacking context, be taken from an accurate piece of research but cited incorrectly, or wholly made up. Generative AI and LLMs are still consistently providing false or contextless information. This is sometimes referred to as "AI hallucination."
• Provide context in your research indicating that you used generative AI or an LLM to gather information, including text prompts you used and how you used the tool.
  • This may not be in the body of your paper, but in a footnote or appendix, depending on the style. Check your specific style using the tabs on the left-hand side of this page. Consult your professor if you're unsure how to include this information. 

We've included guidelines from the major citation styles below but be aware that this world is changing quickly, and citation styles may lag behind. If you're not sure how to cite something, reach out to your professor or instructor. 

Consult the flowchart below, or use the accessible PDF linked in this guide here for more tips