Library Guides: AFAM 147: The Life and Thought of Malcolm X: Identify and Develop Your Topic

Identify your Topic

♦ Look at your syllabus for topic ideas.

Try These First
a list of online resources that will help you find background information about your topic

♦ Talk to your instructor or librarian.

Identify Keywords, Synonyms, and Related Words

Example: use "Malcolm X" or "El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz" (with quotation marks) as your keyword search.

Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog) This link opens in a new window
find books, videos, periodicals, maps, music, digitized works, microfilm titles, and other formats that are in the University Libraries' collections. Note: you will not find articles from magazines and journals in The CAT.
This is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records. Updates: Continuous up-to-the-minute as new records are added.
LionSearch This link opens in a new window
an integrated search of books, e-books, research articles, newspaper articles, and other publications.

Malcolm X: Selected Resources
find more information in the Libraries' subject guide about Malcolm X.

Other keywords, synonyms, and related terms that may be helpful for your research:

PanAfricanism
Malcolm Little [Malcolm X's given name]
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz [Malcolm X's Nation of Islam name]
Black Power [term related to PanAfricanism]

Combine keywords, synonyms, and related terms with Boolean terms AND or OR when searching for books, encyclopedias and other reference works in The CAT, or when searching for articles in databases.

Examples:

Malcolm X AND PanAfricanism
Malcolm X OR Malcolm Little OR El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz AND Pan-Africanism
Malcolm X AND Black power