The course, Research Methods in Japanese Studies, has two primary goals: students will learn
These goals are reflected in the course structure; the first half is more focused on general tools, while the second half focuses on both how knowledge is produced and how to access it, by focusing on a specific discipline each week.
A Guide to Reference Books for Japanese Studies. International House of Japan Library, 1997. Rev. Ed.
A well annotated guide to reference books in English and Japanese. Organized by subject. Japanese and English reference books indexed separately. Also includes a list CD-ROMs, Internet sites and Databases, as well as a list of Select Libraries in Japan with addresses, hours and URL's.
Japanese studies in the United States. Tokyo, Japan : Japan Foundation, 1995.
A three volume description of faculty and programs (also library collections) in Japanese studies. Useful for brief faculty biographies and for extensive descriptions of major programs.
Makino, Yasuko and Masaei Saito. A Student Guide to Japanese Sources in the Humanities. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1994.
Structured around reference questions, it provides an introduction to many important reference works, though without much discussion of strengths and weaknesses.
Webb, Herschel. Research in Japanese Sources: A Guide. Columbia University Press, 1963.
The traditional source, it remains useful for some topics. Focuses mostly on the humanities, including history, literature and law. Particularly useful for people doing work on premodern eras with long discussions of nengo and weights and measures. The discussion of sources for modern history is dated, but the discussion of Japanese laws is good.
Monumenta Nipponica Style Sheet
Information on word division and romanization: There are two primary systems used for romanizing Japanese: Hepburn and Kunrei.
Japanese-English Kenkyūsha dictionaries have a table which details the differences.
A Guide for Researchers (Sharon Domier)
This guide details what the standard elements to include in an interlibrary loan request and explains the standard format for romanization/transliteration, including a brief guide to word division.