Ways into the collection: Databases: Reading Race, Collecting Cultures - Research Skills Series

The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre (AIU Centre) is an open access University of Manchester facility which is both public and academic facing. The Research Skills Series of blog posts is designed to promote insight into how the Centre's collections can enrich the work of students and researchers. The blog post 'Ways into the Collection: Databases' is the second of four 'Ways into the Collection' pieces. It explains the different ways of discovering what the AIU Centre holdings contain that is relevant to particular research interests. The Centre is a one-stop-shop for archival collections and books touching on a range of race relations topics, and the post takes the reader through different search options. Starting with the Centre's specialist subject area resource lists, it moves on to suggest the best database options for building up a list comprising solely Centre resources relevant to a particular topic, outlining the different approaches necessary to finding books as well as items in the archive collections. Finally, it introduces other databases which feature the Centre's resources alongside those of other providers, as well as further research aids and links to related collections. Other 'Ways into the Collection' pieces cover: Questions to ask yourself; 'Human Interface'; Serendipity.