Subject Liaisons are librarians who focus on specific topics. They have a robust knowledge of library resources and are happy to assist with research and answer questions, large and small!
Today we’re interviewing Christine Slaughter, who is the Social Science Research Librarian.
Subject Specialties
- Politics
- Psychology
- Sociology
Contact: christine.slaughter@virginia.edu
What are some of the specific ways you can help people learning and working in your subject specialty areas?
Christine Slaughter
Finding relevant secondary sources, primary sources, data, or methods sources for your research projects; how to use subject-specific resources and databases to get the best bang for your buck; Google Scholar tips and tricks; how to use citation managers like Zotero and qualitative analysis software like Dedoose or NVivo.
What’s a key message you’d like people at UVA to know about the Library?
People don’t spring from Zeus’s forehead knowing how to best take advantage of library resources. When I started reading up on librarianship late in my Ph.D. program, I discovered so many things that would have been so helpful earlier on in my grad and even undergrad student career. Can’t find the right paper to cite, the right policy papers or government documents, the right archive? Don’t know if they even exist? Ask a librarian! We are the grease that can help keep your research process running smoothly.
We can also help out in the classroom, equipping undergrads with library and broader knowledge about how to find, use, and create scholarship and other information. Send your students to consult with us on their papers and other assignments! It’s literally our job and we love opportunities to help members of the UVA community do their best work.
What’s a resource you think people aren’t very aware of, but would find useful?
The library recently acquired the online 2nd edition of the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. This thing is a behemoth—it includes hundreds of articles by leading scholars that review the trajectory and current status of scholarship in dozens of academic disciplines and subfields, covering the social sciences as well as some humanities fields. It’s great for quick overviews, studying for comps, or preparing literature reviews. The encyclopedia covers everything from law to linguistics, economics to psychology, archaeology to religious studies, sociology to education! Take a peek!
What’s a recent book you’ve read that you’d recommend?
If you’re into graphic novels, memoir, psychoanalysis, or Virginia Woolf, Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama (2013) is a fantastic read and worthy follow-up to her captivating Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2007).
What do you enjoy about your job?
I love getting to hear about all the interesting research projects that faculty and students at UVA are undertaking, and I hope to do my part to make them a little better than they were before.
Enthusiastic endorsements…
“It was really so great to have your comments and thoughts—so on the mark, helpful, etc.” – Sociology faculty
“This is fantastic! You are my lifeline!!!” – Politics faculty
Visit Christine’s staff directory page.