Historical Research: Best Sources and Services

Course Number:

HST 500

Instructor:

Pollard, Lisa

Historical research is complex, and with the advent of digitization of sources for the web, new resources are continuously becoming available. This guide is intended to get you started, not to be comprehensive!

Articles & eResources

America: History & Life

U.S. and Canada. Indexes 1700 journal as far back as 1910.

Historical Abstracts

Historical literature from 1450 ouside the US and Canada. Indexes 1700 journal as far back as 1910.

JSTOR

excludes latest 3-5 years; 290 full-text history journals.

Project MUSE

72 full-text history journals

Academic Search Complete

4,500 journals indexed; 3,700 in full-text -- all disciplines

Encyclopedias and Reference Sources

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia

Sage eReference

ABC-CLIO E-book Collection

Biographical Information

Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)

HeritageQuest

WorldCat

Popular Articles published during a historical period or event

New York Times Archive

from 1851

HarpWeek

1857-1877

Palmer's Full Text Online

Full text of the Times of London, 1800-1870, indexing for 1790-1905

Pennsylvania Gazette

1728-1800

Readers' Guide Retrospective

indexes the most popular periodicals in the U.S., 1890-1982

Book Reviews

Academic Search Complete

MasterFILE Complete

LexisNexis Academic

newspapers, including NYT Book Review

Using the Library Catalog

Click here to search the Library Catalog

Click link to search UNC Coastal Library Consortium
(UNCW, Fayetteville State University, UNC Pembroke)

As you start with keyword searches, look at the subject headings attached to each record. Using the controlled vocabulary of subject headings, while not natural language, typically lead to the most relevant works on your topic. You can also search for subject headings at Library of Congress Classification Web.

Books & Library Materials

Print Indexes for Book Reviews

Book Review Digest

Book Review Index

Index to book reviews in the humanities

Print Indexes for Government Information

Monthly catalog of United States government publications

Catalogue of the Public Documents of the 53d Congress

Print Indexes for Popular Articles

Poole's Index to Periodical Literature

Palmer's index to the Times newspaper (London)

The library has this print index for the Time of London from 1801-1925. The online database provides indexing from 1790-1905 and full-text access from 1800-1870.

Virginia Gazette

Videos, DVDs & Music

You can use the Video search tab on the library home page to search for videos. Or, after doing a search, choose to modify or limit the search and select videorecording in the Format selection.

Websites

The WWW Virtual Library: History

Book Reviews

Choice Reviews Online

Amazon.com

Popular Articles published during a historical period or event

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1902

Cornell University Making of America (MoA)

Making of America (University of Michigan)

Government Resources

Catalog of Government Publications (CGP)

(1976-date)

WorldCat

LexisNexis Congressional

LexisNexis Academic

(for Legal Research)

Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation

Thomas

FDsys

Statistics

Historical Statistics of the United States

International Data Base

Library Catalog

Primary Sources

American Slavery

ARTFL

Digital National Security Archive - (DNSA)

Historic Documents

In the First Person

limited full-text access

North American Women's Letters and Diaries

Datasets, Maps & Imagery

Google Images

Maps and other images from across the web can be easily found using Google Images.

David Rumsey Map Collection

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (University of Texas)

American Memory Project

North Carolina Maps

Sanborn Maps

Citation, Writing & Presentation Resources

Citation Guides:

Citing Sources Using Turabian

UNCW University Learning Center (ULC)

DePaolo Hall

EndNote Web

A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations

Elements of Style (Strunk)

Other information

Publications not in Randall Library's collections?
- ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Service (linked in WorldCat)
  UNC Coastal Library Consortium -- Place a Hold
  UNC Cooperative Lending Service
  Search Other Library Catalogs
Reserve Readings for my course?
- ERes Course Reserve
  Readings may be posted in Blackboard or SeaPort
Where are archival collections I should contact and/or visit?
- Randall Library Special Collections,
  WorldCat,
  Search Other Library Catalogs
  Bibliographies in secondary works
  Repository websites
What do I have checked out? When is it due? Renew items?
- "My Library Record "
Where can I make prints & photocopies?
- iPrint - 100 free copies/semester (printing only)
  Copy Room (ID Card); Circulation & outside Special Collections (ID, Coins, $1 bills)
Where can I add money to my ID?
- Machine near exit (cash); Online (credit card)
Where can I find theses other students in UNCW's Graduate History Program have completed?
- Randall Library Catalog: Subject Search: " Thesis History"
  Browse UNCW General Collection LD3971 .H5 (outside the Graduate Computer Lab)
  ETD's
Where can I get a good cup of coffee?
- JavaCity (behind the Circulation Desk)