Library Research for History 650/90: The Practice of History

The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. 2 vols.

A selective guide to the literature. See the subject index in volume two.
Ref. [q.] Z6201 .A55 1995

The Historian's Handbook; A Descriptive Guide to Reference Works.

Aimed at both students and scholars in the social sciences, and includes major reference works from history and allied fields. Dates from the days of card catalogs, so some of the information is older, but still a useful tool.
Ref. Z6201 .P65

Reader's Guide to American History.

Presents a series of brief essays that describe and evaluate significant literature on over 600 topics. Be sure to use the general index.
Ref. [q.] Z1236 .R43 1997

Sources of Information for Historical Research.

A selective guide to historical reference for researchers at all levels. Arranged by Library of Congress classification, so the call numbers you're familiar with will lead you to more sources.
Ref. Z6201 .S64 1994

Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing. 2 vols. Ref. [q.] D 14 .E53 1999
A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing. 2 vols. Ref. [q.] D 13 .G47 1998

Both titles are guides to important historians and historical debates. They include information on historiographical questions within national histories and topical areas.

This is only an extremely brief list of the most general sources. To find more, try a Keyword search in LUCIA using terms that apply to your topic combined with (su dictionaries or su encyclopedias). You might also try looking for more of the publications in the Cambridge and Oxford history series; you can do this by doing a keyword search for ti cambridge and ti history or ti oxford and ti history. The information below on Finding Books will help you.

Historical periods:

• The Cambridge Ancient History. 2nd ed., 13 vols.     Ref. D57 .C252
• The Cambridge Medieval History. 9 vols.     Ref. D117 .C3 1924
• A Dictionary of Contemporary History 1945 to the Present.     Ref. D 842 .T69 1999
• Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols.     Ref. [q.] D114 .D5 1982
• A Dictionary of the Roman Empire.     Ref. DG 270 .B86 1995
• A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century World History.     Ref. D419 .P32 1997
• The New Cambridge Modern History. Multiple vols.     Ref. D208 .N4
• The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 3 vols.     Ref. DF521 .O93 1991

• Africa
  • Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa.     Ref. DT2 .E53 1997
• Japan
  • Modern Japan : An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.     Ref. DS805 .M63 1998
• Great Britain
  • The Columbia Companion to British History.     Ref. DA34 .H64 1997
  • The Oxford Companion to British History.     Ref. DA34 .O93 1997
• The Americas
  • The American Heritage Encyclopedia of American History.     Ref. E174 .A535 1998
  • Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols.     Ref. HN57 .E58 1993
  • Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. 5 vols.     Ref. F1406 .E53 1996
• Russia and the Soviet Union
  • The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. 55 vols.     Ref. DK36 .M55 1976
    Continued by The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian History.     Ref. DK36 .M55 1994
    

It's not always easy to say what is a primary source; be sure to check with your professor and discuss just what might be considered primary source material for the purpose of your research. Generally, primary source materials are considered to be those things--speeches, articles, diaries, news reports--produced at the time of the events you are investigating. The material produced after the fact to explain or explore an event is generally referred to as secondary source material.

See the guide to Library Research for History 90: Primary Sources. In addition, consider looking at biographical material; see the sources listed below for Biographical Information

Top

You can search LUCIA, the library's online catalog, in either a command line or Telnet format or a Web format. The searches given here are described for the Telnet version of LUCIA. Try a Subject search, for example, s=world politics. LUCIA will list other subject headings (and subheadings) which may be of interest. LUCIA will also suggest related terms which can be searched. For advanced research you should consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings, or LCSH, a multi-volume guide to the terms commonly used in catalogs like ours. The LCSH can be found on the LUCIA octagon on the first floor of the library. See this page for an example from the LCSH for United States-History.

To combine terms for a different kind of search, try a Keyword search. In keyword searching, LUCIA will look for the terms you specify anywhere in the important areas of the cataloging records, and display a list of those records. Try a search for the phrase manifest destiny. You might want to try searching for some of the terms you find in the LCSH, or try targeting your keyword search by telling LUCIA to look for the terms in the subject area of the records. Compare a keyword search for terms the terms marriage and famil? with a keyword search for su marriage and su famil?. The question mark acts as a truncation symbol and tells LUCIA to search for all words starting with famil: family, families, familial, familiar, familiarity, and so on. The field marker su tells LUCIA to search for the specified term(s) in the subject area of the cataloging record.

Books are arranged on the library's shelves by Library of Congress Classification. This is a system which organizes materials by general subjects. Once you have a call number from searching LUCIA, see this guide to call number locations at Mudd to find out where a book might be on the shelves.

Search LUCIA for materials in our library; try WISCAT or WorldCat to find materials beyond the Mudd. See a reference librarian if you need help.

Top

Be alert when searching non-western names or names of rulers, as you may need to use varying forms of these names.

American National Biography. 1999. 24 vols.

The major national biography covering persons important in the history of the United States.
Ref. CT213 .A68 1999

Biography and Genealogy Master Index.

An electronic version of the printed index, containing citations to useful information in standard biographical sources. It is a great place to begin searching for biographical information about anyone.

Biography Index.

This index contains citations for biographical articles in books and periodicals. The print version of this index covers 1946-1984 and is arranged alphabetically by the last names of individuals. The electronic version of Biography Index contains information published since 1984.
Reference Indexes or electronically via FirstSearch

The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia.

Contains over 15,000 alphabetically arranged entries; of international scope. Special sections labeled Ready Reference, Connections, and Contemporaries are provided to set the historical contexts for important persons.
Ref. CT103 .C26 1994

Dictionary of National Biography. 22 vols. with supplements.

The essays in this dictionary are about deceased persons of British or Irish origins who played major roles in British history. Bibliographies are included in many of the entries.
Ref. DA28 .D4

To find biographical books about a certain person, search in LUCIA, for the person as a Subject, i.e. s=luther martin. Browse through the subject headings to find the subheading which corresponds to your specific interests. Again, be alert when searching non-western names or names of rulers, as you may need to use varying forms of these names. Many times, LUCIA has cross-references for these.

For autobiographical books by and about a certain person, search in LUCIA for persons as Author, i.e. a=oppenheimer j robert. Be sure to consult the library's guide on Biographies for further ideas and information.

Top

Most United States Government Documents are not cataloged in LUCIA. There are several ways to search for government documents, but the two listed below will be the most direct. Some documents will also be indexed in the Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) discussed below under Finding Articles. You might also want to take a look at the library's Guide to Understanding the Government Document Numbering System before you head to the Documents shelves on the second floor.

GPO Monthly Catalog

Catalog of US government publications, covering 1976 - current. Searchable in many ways, via FirstSearch.

MarciveWeb DOCS

Another version of the catalog of US government publications, covering 1976 - current. Can be searched by keyword or browsed.

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications.

An annual index is included at the end of each yearly volume, or you can search the Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1900-197l.
Index Tables

The best index to use will depend on your topic. Be sure to check the Electronic Resources page for other options. Two of our resources, JSTOR and Project MUSE provide complete full text. Some of our indexes include:

EBSCOhost.

A single Web source for multiple databases. Contains broad and specialized coverage of academic and general periodicals. Use the GO button on your browser after exiting EBSCOhost to leave the system.

Expanded Academic ASAP.

Broad coverage of academic periodicals. Includes full text of some articles.

Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life.

The essential indexes to the scholarly literature of history, in books and proceedings as well as journals. Includes short summaries of the works indexed. Historical Abstracts includes citations of articles on African, Asian, Latin American and European history. Beginning in 1971 the paper version was divided into Modern History Abstracts and Twentieth Century Abstracts. Since 1964 America: History and Life provides corresponding access to literature on the United States and Canada. The two indexes are not mutually exclusive--some material is indexed in both, and both should be consulted when you're searching on historical topics of international scope.

Humanities Index.

Basic index to journals in the humanities.
Reference Indexes and on FirstSearch (1984- ).

Iter

Provides indexing to journals and books pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).

Public Affairs Information Service

Indexes articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs and international relations.
Reference Indexes from 1915-1976 and on FirstSearch as PAIS from 1972 to near current.

Social Sciences Index.

A standard index to the social science literature.
Reference Indexes and on FirstSearch (1983- ).

The American Historical Association

Just in case you're wondering what professional historians do.

Horus' Web Links to History Resources

From the University of California, Riverside Department of History. A BIG list of links.

INFOMINE Scholarly Internet Resource Collections: Social Sciences & Humanities

From librarians at all nine of the University of California campuses and Stanford University. INFOMINE provides "organized access to important university level research and educational tools on the Internet."

Internet Resources for History

Sources chosen by the librarians here as starting points for historical research.

Voice of the Shuttle: History Page

Voice of the Shuttle is a widely-respected resource for Web pages in the humanities produced by Alan Liu, Department of English, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Of course, there are many more web resources available that might be useful in your research. You might want to try looking at sources that select the best of the Web, like these:

• Scout Report
• Infomine
• Librarian's Index to the Internet

It's important to think carefully about any information you find in any format, and to evaluate resources for their accuracy, applicability, and so forth. Evaluation of web resources is especially important. You may want to consult this guide to Evaluating Internet Resources, or this bibliography on Evaluation of Information Sources. You can often learn a lot about a page (and a site) by parsing the URL.

Top

Academic Citation and Writing

Style manuals of the humanities, physical sciences, and the social sciences in the Seeley G. Mudd Library.

The Chicago Manual of Style.

A standard source for bibliographic format.
Ref. Z253 .U69 1993

Citing Electronic Documents

This page provides guidance on citing electronic documents and links to other guides, some on specific styles of documentation.

Material related to your work will be drawn from many fields besides history; be prepared to look at materials from anthropology, political science, philosophy, religious studies, and cultural studies, just to name a few related disciplines. In addition to consulting catalogs and indexes, be sure to look at bibliographies supplied at the end of relevant articles, chapters, and books, and to search library catalogs for book-length bibliographies.

Remember that in any written work you produce your sources must be fully documented. It may help to look at the information on style before you start your research, so that you will have all the details required for documentation at hand when you need them. Then as you write, go back to the resources on style for details on the exact format of your citations.

The sources listed below were chosen for the broad coverage they provide. Direct links are provided to Internet resources and searchable databases, as well as links to LUCIA, the library's online catalog. Be sure to check the library's Electronic Resources page regularly to see new databases and indexes; some of these will only be available to users on the Lawrence campus. Also, you may want to take a look at guides on related topics from the Library Research Guides page.

Evaluating the resources you find is an essential part of the research process. See this guide to hints on evaluation of books and articles and this guide to evaluating Internet resources.

As always, if you have any questions be sure to ask a Reference Librarian.

Top

Ref. = Reference collection, first floor
RRef.= Ready reference, shelves behind the reference desk
Periodicals = Current issues; Periodicals Level A
Periodical Back Files = Titles A - C on Periodicals Level A, C - Z on second floor
GovDoc = U.S. Government Documents, second floor
Reference Indexes = Alphabetically arranged at the end of the reference collection
Microform Area = Reading room east of the reference desk, near microform drawers
q. = Oversized books: interfiled in reference; at end of classes in other collections

Top