The following does not claim to be definitive or exhaustive of all that is involved in finding Southeast Asian peoples dispersed throughout the world. Instead, the following is only a first step in finding Southeast Asian Peoples. (A step further than EXAMINE is EXPLORE which provides tips on how to dig deeper and to make objective observations and conduct cultural sensitive interviews when encountering when Southeast Asian Peoples).
Search Strategy
It is always good to have a search strategy in place before beginning one’s search of Southeast Asian Peoples. A few personal statements to help formulate your search strategy may include:- I want to know about people from a specific Southeast Asian country.
- I want to find people who adhere to a specific religious beliefs (Islam, Buddhism, Animism) and have their origin in a specific Southeast Asian country.
- I have already encountered a specific Southeast Asian people group and want to know more about who they are and how many of them there are.
- I am going on vacation to a Southeast Asian country and want to know more about the country and the people who reside there.
- There seems to be a lot of Asians moving to my city and I want to know who they are.
- Some Asians have moved next door to me and I want to know some of their cultural distinctives in order to know what to say to them.
Search Tips
When using internet database search sites (e.g. Google, Google Advanced, Google Advanced Scholar, Alta Vista, Dogpile, etc.), there are a few tips that one should keep in mind.The use of the asterisk (*) is a "wildcard" that most databases use to search a root word and variable endings in order to be more efficient.
- For example, a Google Advanced search of "Vietnamese*" will retrieve "Vietnamese language," "Vietnamese people," "Vietnamese culture and history," "all Vietnamese recipes and cuisine," etc.
- For example, a Google Advanced search of "Vietnamese food or clothing" retrieves a variety of results concerning the food, clothing, culture of Vietnamese in general.
- For example, a Google Advanced search of "Vietnamese food or Dallas" retrieves a listing of all of the Vietnamese restaurants within the Dallas, Texas (USA) area.
- For example, a Google Advanced search of "Thai religious sites or Dallas" results in sites to various Buddhist related sites, which might or might not necessarily mean that those places are of Thai ethnic background.
- For example, an Alta Vista search of "Pacific Islanders and Nashville, TN" retrieves sites that speak of the statistical information, articles, and etc of Pacific Islanders in or near Nashville, TN (USA).
- For example, a Google Advanced search of "Laotian and Los Angeles" provides location, sites, cultural elements, etc of Laotian people near Los Angeles, California (USA).
- For example, a Google Advanced Scholar search of "(Los Angeles or San Fernando Valley) and Vietnamese*" retrieves classes, restaurants, etc that concern the Vietnamese people near Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley area.
Search Keys
Beginning any search with the broad terms “Asian,” “Southeast Asian,” or “Pacific Islander” can have a variety of results and in essence these terms have a variety of meanings. For example, the terms "Asian" and “Pacific Islander” are used by the U.S. Federal government for statistical purposes to refer to people who have their heritage from any of several regions: Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific Islands. To complicate things further, each one of these regions is sub-divided into different countries and each country is further sub-divided into different people groups.Therefore, beginning any search with only the broad terms “Asian,” “Southeast Asian,” or “Pacific Islander” is not necessarily the best place to begin. However, it is one place to begin.
But remember that you should narrow down your search. Therefore, look back at one of our web pages (e.g. Top UUPGs, Research Needs, Cluster Maps) and begin your internet search using the exact “People Group Name” listed and then add one or more parameters of “Southeast Asian,” “Country Name,” “ State Name,” or “City Name".
So, begin using the above listed search tips and center the search around five parameters concerning who people are: 1) ethnicity (their historical ethnic background such being Chin or Karen of Myanmar or Burma), 2) linguistic (the language they consider their mother tongue or how they presently communicate with others), 3) socio-cultural (festivals they celebrate, food they eat, clothing they wear, etc.), 4) religion (what they believe such as Buddhism, Islam, Animism, religious sites, sacred people, sacred places, sacred objects, relics), 5) geo-political norms (where they reside such as country, city, regional, continent).
The main purpose of using any one or more of the five parameters is to help narrow down the distinctiveness of the people group under consideration, the location they reside, etc.
The following are a few examples using different combinations of the five parameters.
- Burmese American*
- Thai and (American* or United States)
- Filipino* and (England)
- Vietnamese*
- Thai* (Davidson County TN and Thai Restaurants)
- Laotian* and (American* or United States)
- Polynesian* or Samoan*
- Micronesian* or Charmorro*
- Melanesian* or Fijian*
- Laotian* and (festivals* and Los Angeles)
- Indonesia* and (Batak and Christian*)
- Buddhist* and (Central Thai* and language*)
- Burmese* (Nashville and Religious Site)
Reference and Population Sources
Several reference and population sites exist that would help in discovering people groups residing within the United States. A few include:- American Factfinder (Population, housing, economic, and geographic data.)
- Community Information by Zip Code (links to sources of demographic data by zip code, which is useful for finding information)
- FedStats.gov (Gateway to federal sources of statistics.)
Other reference and population sites help one in understanding general information about a people groups country of origin, their demographic size, other pertinent demographic characteristics of the area in which they reside, their culture, language, etc. The following external sources offer assistance:
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Other good sources for this first step include the four related people group databases (those being: the IMB Global Database, Joshua Project, Ethnologue, and Ethnopedia).
Tools
EXAMINE involves getting a lay of the land and the people and seeks to answer serveral pertinent questions. A few include:- What kind of Southeast Asian Peoples reside in a specific location)?
- How many people are there?
- What do they do for living?
- What is the climate and environment in which they live?
- Are any of them evangelical Christians?
- Etc.
Critique Guide
In addition to databases and web sites listed above, the Internet can be valuable sources of information. In fact, the information is so abundant that one could become overwhelmed with the sites that could result in the search process. Therefore, continue to drill down your searches until you are beginning to retrieve search research that cover your desired outcome.However, remember to think critically about the authority, accuracy, objectivity, and coverage of the information you find.
CAUTION: Please note that sources will vary concerning specifics of data. (READ MORE . . . about how data sources vary concerning specifics of data.)
RECAP
So, in this first step, EXAMINE, let's recall the above steps of finding Southeast Asian Peoples whether they reside near or far from you.
- Formulate a Search Strategy using the above Search Tips and Search Keys.
- Pick a geographical location you want to conduct the Internet search (country, state, province, city, etc).
- Pick a people group from the lists on this site (e.g. Home page, Top UUPGs page, Cluster Map page, Research Needs page).
- Add parameters to the search strategy (See the Search Keys for some ideas concerning parameters).
- Browse the retrieved sites recording on paper the vaious data that is unearthed.
- Compare and contrast the data for close consistencies and patterns (e.g. saying the same thing).
- Critique and evaluate the retrieved data.
After completing this step of finding Southeast Asian Peoples, then it is time to begin encountering them in order to verify, modify, and correct the data.
In conclustion, as a result of how internet sources vary, it is critical to go beyond this first step of EXAMINE to the second step of EXPLORE.
RESEARCH TOOLS LINKS
