Professor Serena Zabin
Spring 2009

• Primary Sources
• Secondary Literature
• Keeping Track
• Citing
• Librarian

Primary Sources

No matter how interesting or exciting your topic, your proposed topics will not be feasible unless you identify a group of primary sources.

Use Bibliographies, Notes, and References

The bibliographies and notes of relevant secondary literature can be one of the best sources for identifying existing and relevant sources that can be used to explore your questions.

Digitized Collections 

The library provides access to a number of rich documents collections online.  

• Early American Imprints, Series I  (1639-1800)
• Early American Imprints, Series II  (1801-1819)
• Early American Newspapers  (1690-1922)
• Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers 
• American Periodical Series (1741-1900)
• Women and Social Movements (1760-1859)

Finding Primary Sources in the Library

Search BRIDGE 

• Do an author search for persons, organizations, or group central to your topic.

• Do a keyword search for words representing your topic and words that indicate primary source (source, letters, narrative, laws)

• Do a subject search using a LCSH, then limit your search to publications produced during the era you are researching.

Center for Research Libraries 

The Center for Research Libraries has a number of microfilmed collections focusing on Early American history. Explore some of their collections focused on U.S. history.

Scholarship 

There are many avenues into the secondary literature on a topic. 

• Secondary Literature 

  Look at the notes and bibliographies of monographs and articles which you are already familiar.  Search for these titles in BRIDGE. 

• Indexes
  

  America History and Life
  Most comprehensive resource for searching secondary literature in American History.  It is an index, so does not include full text of most articles, but gives you the bibliographic information about the items.  To find the text of the article, click the "Find It" button.  This will tell you if we have the article online or in print.

  Some Tips:

  • Generate many keywords
  • Notice subjects in relevant records
  • Use subject index to find more
  • Advanced Search: Use time period limit, especially for concepts like gender, power, race, citizenship
  • Advanced: Use document type limit
  • Advanced: Historiography and Review articles can be useful subjects

• Other broad, multidisciplinary databases

• Academic Search Premier
  Broad multi-disciplinary database includes history. Excellent source for book reviews.
• Humanities International Complete
  Indexes humanities journals from around the world. 
• Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences Citation Index
  Use AH and SS Citation Indexes to find out who has cited a given work. Also, an excellent source for book reviews.

• Reference Books

  Helpful for giving an overview of a topic and pointing to relevant secondary literature:

"Reader's Guide" series, like the Reader's Guide to American History and the Reader's Guide to Military History, have historiographical entries with substantial bibliographies.

Specialized Subject Encyclopedias like the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas,  Encyclopedia of American Social History and Encyclopedia of European Social History have lengthy entries with bibliographies.

Keeping Track 

There are several and varied options for keeping track of your research. Many people find text documents or handwritten notes meet their needs. Below are some other options for managing your research. Find something that works for you and fits into how you work.

• EndNote or EndNote Web
• Zotero
• Online Bookmarks (like delicious )

Citing Your Sources

Chicago Manual of Style
Online and in Reference (Ready Ref: Z253 .U69 2003)