About HRAF World Cultures
The eHRAF Collection of Ethnography is a cross-cultural database containing descriptive information on cultures and ethnic groups of the world. eHRAF is unique because each culture contains a variety of source documents (books, articles, and dissertations) that have been indexed and organized according to HRAF's comprehensive culture and subject classification systems: the Outline of World Cultures (OWC), and the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM). The most important aspect of the eHRAF database is its OCM index and search system. Each and every paragraph in eHRAF is indexed with 3- and 4- digit OCM subject codes that identify the content of a paragraph. Therefore, using an OCM, rather than a keyword, in a search enables the user to search eHRAF more effectively and retrieve more valuable ethnographic information. These retrieval systems extend search capability well beyond keyword searching, allowing for precise culture and subject retrieval, even in a foreign language. As a multicultural database, eHRAF appeals to many academic disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, medicine, and any other area with an interest in cultural diversity. NOTE:
Click here for and abbreviated version of the OCM list (pdf). The Library maintains the complete guide at the Reference Desk. Please call 610-683-4165 for information.
This database purchased with student technology fees.