Researching Appalachia

 
This is a set of resources and tips for researching Appalachia curated by Dr. Chris Green and Christopher Miller. Be sure to scroll all the way down!  If you still need advice, use the link to request additional help.  Also, Hutchins Library Reference Desk has a live chat available in the lower right corner.

This page was developed for Berea College students.  Access for students from other institution will depend on the subscriptions owned by your institution.  Berea College students who are off campus will need to authenticate with your Berea account to gain access to these materials.

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Dr. Green’s Tips for Appalachian Research

Think about what part of Appalachia you are researching:
  • Appalachia is a large region, and most often only those areas closer to the center of the region (eastern KY and TN, WV, western VA and NC, and recently southern Ohio) are identified as “Appalachian” in subject searches, and often not even then. Nevertheless, articles about most places in Pennsylvania, northern Alabama (i.e., Birmingham northward), etc., are Appalachian.
  • Figure out what sub-region or portion of Appalachia you are researching and use that information to narrow your searches.
  • Search for sources using other geographic terms, such as the name of the state, counties, cities, geographic sub-regions (e.g., eastern Kentucky or East Tennessee).
  • Often times “Appalachian” topics are not labelled as Appalachian. For instance, if you are researching the Shawnee people (a Native-American tribe who inhabited the Ohio Valley, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, etc.), you are researching a deeply Appalachian topic, although it is not identified as such.
And here are a few starting points:
  • High Mountains Rising is a good collection of informed introductory essays.  It is available in Project Muse.
  • The two scholarly journals specifically dedicated to Appalachian studies are the Appalachian Journal and the Journal of Appalachian Studies. Appalachian Studies is a discipline whose scholarship is cross- and inter-disciplinary.  Scholars in this field are informed by debates, questions, and scholarship specific to the study of Appalachia as a cultural-social region.  These journals are fully accessible via Academic Search Complete (which many people also call EBSCOhost).
  • The Appalachian Regional Commission has a wide set of research reports available as well as some important data about education and economics. However, the reports can be broad and do not include information about race.  See their section called Research, Maps, and Data.  You can also google “Appalachian Regional Commission Research and Data.”
Next, explore the detailed sections below.

Request Help

Use the link below to submit a request for help from the faculty and staff of the Appalachian Center.  Before requesting help, PLEASE read the information and advice below.  We may have already answered your question.

Submit a help request.

Scholarly Journals

Students off campus you will need to authenticate with your Berea account to gain access to these journals.

Tips for Finding Journal Articles Related to Your Appalachian Topic
  • Journal of Appalachian Studies is a refereed, multidisciplinary publication, which seeks to provide a written forum for quality scholarship on Appalachian history, culture, and society.
    Hint: The link above takes you to JSTOR.  Use advance search, put in your search terms, scroll down, put “Journal of Appalachian Studies” in the Journal or Book Title box to search for your topic only in this journal.
  • Appalachian Journal is an “interdisciplinary journal featuring field research, interviews, and other scholarly studies of history, politics, economics, culture, folklore, literature, music, ecology, and a variety of other topics, as well as reviews of books, films, and recordings.
    Hint: The link above takes you to JSTOR.  Use advance search, put in your search terms, scroll down, put “Appalachian Journal” in the Journal or Book Title box to search for your topic only in this journal.
More Info about Important Appalachian Studies  Journals

Journal of Appalachian Studies – The Journal of Appalachian Studies (JAS) is a refereed, multidisciplinary publication, which seeks to provide a written forum for quality scholarship on Appalachian history, culture, and society. It is the official journal of the Appalachian Studies Association (ASA).  It is actually published by The University of Illinois Press publishes for the ASA with financial support from Marshall University.  There are two issues per year.  The Journal of Appalachian Studies supersedes earlier publications of the Appalachian Studies Association, including Proceedings and the Journal of the Appalachian Studies Association (JASA). *Index and full-text are available through ECSCOhost: Education Research Complete and JSTOR*

Appalachian Journal – This publication is from Appalachian State University. This journal is an “interdisciplinary journal featuring field research, interviews, and other scholarly studies of history, politics, economics, culture, folklore, literature, music, ecology, and a variety of other topics, as well as reviews of books, films, and recordings – all dealing with the region of the Appalachian Mountains”. It is geared towards being accessible for scholars, educators, and researchers and stands at the center of Appalachian Studies. *Index and full-text available in JSTOR*

Appalachian Literature

Here are some sources for finding Appalachian Literature online:

  • Appalachian Heritage – This magazine is a constantly evolving, modern quarterly literary publication out of Berea College. Look here for current Appalachian literature pieces. They look into Appalachian diversity, cultural evolution, and how traditions have been transformed through the generations. You will find poetry, fiction, non-fiction, craft essays, and book reviews included here. Folks published in Appalachian Heritage do not need degrees or previous publications. Issues from 1973-2002 often published short essays about Appalachia. This is an easily accessible collection of literature for a common reader, not just scholars. *Index and full-text available in Project Muse*

E-books Available to Berea College Students

The leading Appalachian scholarship is often available in books, rather than journals.  Be prepared to look at some books.  Many important books, but not all, are available as full-text e-books.

  • You don’t have to read the whole book!  Look at the table of contents and the index to quickly determine which portions of the book may be applicable to your research.
  • Look at the footnotes or citations in applicable sections to find other books and articles that may be useful.

Students off campus you will need to authenticate with your Berea account to gain access to these e-books.

  • Several major university presses routinely publish important books in Appalachian studies.  E-books from several of these presses are available in the EBSCOhost eBook Collection.
    Click this link to see a list of over 80 worthwhile e-books.
    Hint: Click this link, then add your own search specialized search terms after the “AND”

News and Newspapers Related to Appalachia

Data Sources

Data is raw information curated or organized for researchers to use.  It will tell you facts, such as rates of poverty, health measures, etc, but does not tell you what those facts mean or how to interpret them.  It is up to you to interpret them!  Reports, typically by government agencies, organizations, or educational units, summarize the data and begin and suggest some interpretation.   These data are typically primary sources for student papers.

  • The Kentucky State Data Center provided by the University of Louisville Department of Urban and Public Affairs has a large variety of data and research reports about the Appalachian counties in Kentucky.
  • Use census.gov to find access data about counties and cities. You can also get Census data by congressional district, just google “census congressional district.”
  • Use various state government departments of health and education (and so forth) to access much more detailed data about communities. You can also access details about crime via searching the internet for “[your state’s name] state police data.”