Issues in Chinese Culture for Chinese Speakers (CHIN 3231) and
Research Project for Chinese Speakers (CHIN 3232)  

A Guide To Library Resources

Contents:

• Starting points
• Finding books
• Finding journal articles
• Finding newspaper articles
• Statistics
• Web resources

Other relevant library subject guides that may be helpful can be found here:
Asian Studies

Starting Points

When you need to define your topic and/or get some background reading try consulting a dictionary or encyclopedia. You can find information on locating these in the Chinese Studies : Encyclopedias & Dictionaries guide.

Finding Books in the Library Catalogue

Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. To find Chinese language materials you will need to limit your search to Chinese. For information about searching Chinese materials using Pinyin (拼音), please click here.

At the Basic Search or Guided Keyword Search screen click on the "More Limits" tab on the right hand side of screen. Select "Chinese" then select "Set Limits". Now when you search you will only retrieve Chinese language material.

Keyword searching is probably the best way of identifying material, and your results will be maximised by using keyword searching techniques such as truncation and Boolean searching, and by incorporating subject headings into your search where appropriate - here are some examples using the Basic Search option:

Keyword searching in the library catalogue:

Subject Heading searching in the library catalogue:

All Subject Headings in the library catalogue are in English. You can find information about searching Subject Headings
Here are some examples:

China Civilization
China Foreign relations
China History
China Politics and government
China Economic conditions
China Social conditions
China Social life and customs
Education China
Intellectuals China
National characteristics, Chinese
Popular culture China
Women China

Chinese fiction, plays, poetry and essays can be found at:

Finding Journal Articles Using Databases

Journal articles can be found through databases listed in the Databases for Asian Studies guide

China academic journals full-text database = Zhongguo qi kan quan wen shu ju ku = 中国期刊全文数据库 is essential for finding full-text articles in Chinese. It contains more than 7,200 journals sourced from core journals and speciality journals from mainland China. For help in using the database you will find the CNKI User Guide here.

The Bibliography of Asian studies is essential for finding articles about China in English. It does not have full text, but journal titles and book titles can be searched in our library catalogue. Many of the journals are online via the library. You can search by keyword or by country. Try browsing Country headings such as:

China : Anthropology & Sociology
China : Philosophy & Religion
China : Politics & Government
China : Science & Technology

Finding Newspaper Articles

The library Guide to Newspaper indexes provides help with searching for articles in English language newspapers.

China core newspapers full-text database = Zhongguo zhong yao bao zhi quan wen shu ju ku =  中国重要报纸全文数据库 is essential for finding full-text articles from newspapers in mainland China since 2000. For help in using the database you will find the CNKI User Guide here.

The library Guide to Newspaper indexes provides help with searching for articles in English language newspapers.

Statistics

China statistical yearbooks database = Zhongguo tong ji nian jian quan wen shu ju ku
Collects all important statistical yearbooks published by Mainland China presses, covering various kinds of census and survey data, such as investment, population, postal, information industry, trade, culture and sport.

National Bureau of Statistics China (NBS)
The site is provided in both English and Chinese 

State of China atlas : mapping the world’s fastest-growing economy (2009) [print]
Provides a unique visual survey of the profound economic, political, and social changes taking place in China.

Web Resources

Asia Resources on the World Wide Web - China

China Country Profile - facts, figures and analyses
Researched and designed by Dr. Gerhard K. Heilig

China Digital Times (CDT)
A bilingual news website. From the Berkeley China Internet Project

China Elections and Governance 
Maintained and updated by the Beijing Center for Policy Research since 2004

ChinaSite.com
The Complete Reference to China/Chinese-Related Web Sites

Inside China Today
Provides news and information about China

Internet guide for China Studies
Includes the China WWW Virtual Library

World Fact Book - China
Provides a social, political, demographic and economic overview  

Last update: 3 Aug 2009 Helen Attar and Qing Liang