About

The American Studies Research Portal is an online directory of resources for individuals and scholars researching topics related to the United States.

Aims
The American Studies Research Portal project was initiated in March 2003 by the Institute of United States Studies and is funded by a grant from the School of Advanced Study (University of London) Initiatives Fund. The project was founded with the intent to collect, co-ordinate and present information and materials to an online research audience of American Studies academics. We hope that the site will be useful to all humanities and social science research scholars in the field of American Studies and United States related topics in the United Kingdom.

The site aims to facilitate academic communication within the multi-disciplinary field of American Studies by providing professional information about individual scholars. A key goal of the site is to make information about research resources in the UK, and in some cases the resources themselves, more accessible to researchers by bringing together existing information and filling gaps identified by the project team.

It is our hope that the ASRP will make a significant contribution to the development of web-based postgraduate resources in the UK through the provision of a site that offers valuable information, which is easy and efficient to use.

Audience
The ASRP provides information and resources targeted to meet the needs of MPhil and PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and established academics whose research focuses on the United States.

Timetable
The current ASRP site represents information gathered in the first phase of the project. Later developments will include the expansion of the Publication's section to offer a list of completed theses and a database of recent publication abstracts. The site will eventually include a moderated notice board where members will be able to post notices relating to any aspects of their research or academic life. Users will also be able to join topic specific mailing lists.

The Institute of United States Studies
The Institute of United States Studies was founded in 1965 and is part of the School of Advanced Studies at the University of London. The Institute of United States Studies works to promote American Studies in the United Kingdom through postgraduate training and by providing a forum for research and debate on all aspects of the field.

For a list of individuals and organisations involved in the development of the project, please see our Acknowledgements page.

Information that appears on the ASRP has been collected in accordance with the following broad criteria:

1. Information has notable American Studies or United States significance.
2. It pertains to research or postgraduate resources, materials or scholars.
3. Materials are useful to researchers and scholars based in the United Kingdom.
4. Topics covered include both the humanities and social sciences.
5. Information is current.

Particular criteria have been applied to information that appears in different sections of the ASRP.

Academic Researchers
1. Academic Researchers' scholarly work focuses on or incorporates significant study relating to the United States.
2. Academic Staff are employed by a British University and are based in the UK.
3. PhD Students/Researchers must be registered at or affiliated with at a British University or US-focused organisation respectively.
4. PhD Students who have completed their thesis but do not hold an academic post are eligible to appear on the ASRP under the category PhD Students/Researchers.
5. Only Academic Researchers themselves can contribute and update information about themselves and their research to the ASRP to be assessed by the ASRP administrator.

Collections
1. Library and Museum collections must offer significant US-related holdings or archive(s) in either importance or size.
2. Collections are based in the United Kingdom.
3. The collection is accessible to the public.
4. A library collection holds sources other than books, or is associated with a University that runs an American Studies degree

Organisations
1. University Departments are based in the United Kingdom.
2. University Departments must offer a degree with a primary United States focus.
3. American Studies organisations are academic associations that co-ordinate scholarly activities within the field of American Studies or related topics.

Publications
1. Publications information pertains to academic work or materials that promotes or would support academic research of the United States.

Topics
1. Topics are drawn from Academic Researcher expertise categories.
2. A broad range of humanities and social science American Studies or US related topics have been incorporated in to the ASRP.
3. Resources can be categorised under more than one topic.

Postgraduate
1. Materials are of use to both prospective and current postgraduate students of US-related topics.
2. Information collected for this section of the site supports postgraduate professional development in terms of research skills and careers.

News
1. Conference and Events News links refer to sites with significant amounts of regularly updated information relevant to American Studies events.

Links and Online Research Resources
1. The site, or its page, offers a large selection of resources or materials in either amount or type e.g. a significant list of links to online texts or documents that cover an era or subject matter.
2. Sites are current, regularly updated and function well e.g. few broken links.
3. Sites do not require a subscription or registration to view. (This does not apply to journal links).
4. Material linked to includes:
a. Primary sources – texts, bibliographies, data sets/statistics etc.
b. Secondary sources – book reviews etc.
c. Reference materials - subject gateways, archive databases etc.
d. Research news/discussion – conference and events news, discussion forums etc.

Sources
1. The information on the site has been collated by the ASRP project team from Internet and hard-copy sources.
2. In some cases, information has been contributed by ASRP users e.g. about themselves and their research.

Updating
1. Information on the ASRP is regularly updated and current.
2. Only the individual that appears as Academic Staff or PhD Student/Researcher, can suggest information and updates about themselves.
3. Users are actively encouraged to contribute information to the site (see Contribute Page).
4. Users can Suggest an Update, or Suggest a New Resource by completing an online form.

Disclaimer
The ASRP is an ongoing project. As such, parts of the site present a wider breadth of information than others. This does not reflect the academic priorities of either the ASRP, or the Institute of United States Studies.

We have made every effort to make the ASRP accessible to all users. Our usability provisions are as follows:

1. Pages have been organised using headings, style sheets and a consistent structure.
2. The use of images has been kept to a minimum and the function of each visual has been described.
3. Text accompanies image map hotspots.
4. The site does not use applets or plug-ins.
5. The site does not use frames.

The minimum browser requirement for viewing all pages on the ASRP is 2+.

We are committed to developing a site that meets current accessibility standards. Any comments about the usability or accessibility of the ASRP should be sent to: administrator@asrp.info

Users may view, print, download or copy pages for their own personal use. Pages may not be reproduced for financial or commercial gain. Users may not modify documents or graphics, nor distribute data or quote information presented on the ASRP without indicating its source. Users may not copy ASRP design elements including its logo and layout.

External pages are subject to the copyright restrictions of the web site to which they belong.

Requests to republish any material taken from the ASRP must be sent to administrator@asrp.info

Disclaimer

Many thanks to those who have contributed information about themselves or a research resource to the ASRP. The inclusion of such data has been subject to our collection policy (see Collection Policy) and may have been amended in some instances to render it consistent with the site. The Institute of United States Studies (IUSS) reserves the right to remove, change or reorganise content on the ASRP at any time and for any reason without prior notice.

Whilst the ASRP has made every effort to ensure that the information provided on this site is current, accurate and reliable, the University of London and the IUSS can give no guarantee that this is the case, and can accept no responsibility for the consequences of the use of this material by users of the site.

Information offered by the ASRP and links to other research resources have been presented in good faith. However, where the ASRP provides links to external pages not controlled or influenced by the IUSS, the ASRP cannot be held responsible for the content or accuracy of those pages, or liable for the consequences of using them. Links to external pages do not indicate ASRP or IUSS support for the material, opinions or priorities of those web sites.