History  Tags: history primary_sources secondary_sources africa europe asia united_states america latin_america world_history  

This guide was developed to help you find library resources to do general history research.  Clicking on the tabs above will lead you to resources suggested by a librarian.

History: The discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes.

-Encyclopaedia Britannica

Historical research involves the use of primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is a first hand account, report or original data on or about an event. These sources are often created at or near the time of event. Examples may include:

• Journals
• Interviews/transcripts
• Diaries
• Art work
• Speeches
• Letters and other correspondence
• Newspapers
• Data

A secondary source is a second-hand account or interpretation, opinion or analysis of an event. Good secondary sources are based on the interpretation of a wide variety of primary sources. Examples may include:

• Books
• Research articles
• Professional and popular articles
• Histories
• Commentaries
• Encyclopedias
• Textbooks
• Statistics

 A variety of these sources can be found through the MC Catalog, our collection of databases, and in our research guides (libguides).

For more information about the History curriculm at Montgomery College, contact the departments at each campus: