A search term can be used in combination with another search term to improve the relevance of your search results in databases, the Library's Discover and Catalog searches, and even in Google and other search engines.
To find materials about race identity among Americans of African descent, start with the search term "African Americans" then add a second or even third search term.
Examples:
Try searching "African Americans" as a subject instead of a keyword to limit results to materials that are about African Americans. A keyword search only means that your searched term appears somewhere in the text of the books and articles in your results.
To broaden your results to materials that are likely to cover other demographics, a search term like ethnicity, "ethnic groups," "racial differences," or minorities may be effective.
As an example, here are just a few of the subject terms we noted when retrieving the books listed on this page:
| African Americans -- Intellectual life | African Americans -- Race identity |
| Race relations in literature | Racism |
| Criticism, interpretation, etc | Women, Black -- History |
| Women, Black | Women, Black -- Social conditions |
| Women, Black -- Social life and customs | African Americans -- Education -- Social aspects |
| African Americans -- Race identity | Educational equalization -- United States |
| Ethnicity -- United States | Power (Social sciences) -- United States |
| United States -- Race relations | Group identity |
| Identity politics | Identity (Psychology) -- Social aspects |
| Cultural pluralism | Multiculturalism |
The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Race and Gender by 
An Autoethnography of African-American Motherhood: Things I Tell My Daughter by 
The Routledge Companion to Black Women’s Cultural Histories by 
The Future is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity, and Radical Hope in Education by 
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by 
The Fire Next Time by 
Routledge Handbook of Identity Studies by 
Routledge International Handbook of Diversity Studies by 
The Souls of Black Folk by 
Books and articles not found in UTD Library collections can be requested at no charge through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Delivery time: Books/Media: 5-10 business days; Article/Chapter PDF: 1-2 days.
