Making Faculty Connections
Below are a few suggestions for trying to identify and research faculty in a specific field.
- Professional societies or associations: Look for the professional society for a specific field. These can be international (Modern Language Association) or for specific countries (Indian Chemical Society). Faculty are often involved in these societies and their publications.
- Check University websites: Check the staff or faculty directories of institutions, or specific department/program websites. Often facultly include links to their CVs or summarize their research interests.
- Identify key academic journals: Determine the key publications for a specific field (view our help guide). Leading faculty are often involved in these publications or edit the journals.
- Speak to UChicago faculty or graduate students: Faculty and graduate students will know the prominent researchers in their fields.
Reviewing Faculty Work
Before reaching out to faculty at other institutions, it is best to familiarize yourself with their work. Look online for their CVs or meet with a librarian to learn how to conduct a literature search for books or papers by the faculty member.
Below are some additional resources to use.
- Cited Reference SearchingThis guide provides information on how to find articles that reference a particular author, article, or book. Use cited reference searching to determine who has cited specific papers or authors, identify seminal papers, find researchers with common interests, or assess the impact of a publication.
- Finding Dissertations and Theses at Other InstitutionsThis guide provides help on how to locate individuals' dissertations and theses, from institutions in the US and abroad.
- OpenDOAR: Directory of Open Access RepositoriesLinks to open access repositories at institutions around the world. Institutional repositories often contain publications by college or university faculty members.
