HIST 200: Find Sources

Unlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. You'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas: the keywords.

Keywords are individual words or short phrases that represent the main ideas in your topic, thesis, or research question. 

Example Question: What was the role of women during the industrial revolution of America? 

Keywords: women role, American industrial revolution 

After you've identified your main ideas and some keywords to start with, think of additional search terms for each concept. These can be synonyms, related ideas, broader terms, or narrower terms. Since a database will match only what you type, using different terms for similar ideas can help you find more articles. 

Example Search Terms: 

• women role: women rights, feminism, feminist growth, female workforce
• industrial revolution: late 18th century, early 19th century, industrialization, manufacturing development 
• America: American, United States, U.S. 

Now that you have identified keywords, you will enter them in your chosen search tool's search box. Try more than one combination to find different sources.

Use the search operators AND & OR to combine your search terms. ​Use quotation marks to search for a specific phrase, with the words in that exact order: "social media" 

Research Skills & Tips:

Filter Results:

To make your results more manageable, use the database filters to limit your search results. For example:

• Full-text access: To ensure that all items from your search results include the entire article or publication, select "full text" from filtering/refining options on the search results page.
• Source types: If you know you only need peer-reviewed journal articles, select peer reviewed. Or, if you want to see only magazine articles, e-books, or another type of source, you can select only what you need. 
• Publication date: If your sources must be from within the last five years, you can set the year of publication to reflect that. 

These options may be found in different locations of a database’s results page. In RaptorSearch, filter options are found on the left.

You can also set these options before you search from the Advanced Search screen in most databases. 

Sort Results:

Most database search results will be sorted by relevance. You can change this to sort by newest first, oldest first, etc. Look for the sort options near the top of the results list. 

When & Why to Use Scholarly Books:

• You need to understand a complex topic (these are easier to read than journal articles)
• You need very in-depth analysis of a topic
• You need a broad understanding of one or more topics
• You need a summary of existing research on a topic

Where to Go in the Library for Books on History:

General books on U.S. History are organized chronologically in the section labeled "E" and "F".   

American history from the colonial period through 1865 is in sections E186 to E655.

Browse the library shelves in these call number areas to find materials relating to the history of the U.S. and its regions.

E 186 - 199          Colonial history (1607-1775)

E 201 - 298          Revolution, 1775-1783 

E 300 - 453          Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861

E 456 - 655          Civil War period, 1861-1865

F 1 - 975              United States Local History 

Search:

Research Skills & Tips:

Articles and Book Reviews in Academic Journals:

Also known as scholarly articles, or academic articles. Some journal articles are "peer reviewed," which means they've gone through an extra review process before being published. 

When & Why to Use Journal Articles:

• Information is based on research and expertise
• Information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
• The peer-review process (mostly) ensures that the information is accurate
• They add to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas 

Search:

Publications Information:

You can find very short reviews (usually one paragraph) in Books in Print, but these are not from scholarly journals. If you cannot find a review anywhere else, sometimes a reference to a review is listed on Title Reviews page in Books in Print.

Reviews from magazines like Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, or School Library Journal are intended for librarians and booksellers that are purchasing books for their library or bookstore.

Investigate the Historical Period in More Sources:

Newspapers are another good source of articles and reviews on current topics. 

Primary sources are original materials from people who have a direct connection with the event being investigated. Examples include speeches, diaries, letters, images, artwork, interviews, music, or other items created during the time of the event. 

When & Why to Use Primary Sources

• Scholarly research should be based on facts and observation. Primary sources bring you into contact with the first­hand accounts of an event.
• Primary sources expose you to multiple perspectives on issues of the past and present. Using primary sources encourages critical thinking and analysis in comparing sources that represent differing points of view.

The MC Library has access to streaming videos and audio (as well as DVDs and CDs). You can find documentaries, educational videos, and mainstream movies. 

When & Why to Use Videos:

• You need to include an expert's point of view, and a documentary on your topic includes an interview 
• You are doing a presentation and need to include a visual

Search: