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The purpose of this guide is to familiarize you with
finding historical research resources, in print and electronic format, for your
research project.
Getting Started
Before committing to a focus in your
topic, you will need to do some beginning research on the
topic to be sure appropriate and sufficient resources are
available. Look for alternate terms, personal names,
geography (cities, regions), events, and specific time
periods in your notes and readings. Sources and formats have
changed over time, so be flexible, imaginative and do not
hesitate to ask for help!
Books
Any well researched project uses books to support your
thinking and writing. There are three kinds of print
materials you can
investigate in the library--reference, government
document
and circulating. To find them, either do KEYWORD
searches using terms from your class readings and notes,
TITLE searches for specific works, or search for AUTHORS who
have been identified as authorities on the topic. With
government agencies and the information they have produced,
the United States government is the author and the agency is
the sub-author.
Finding Books
Reference Books (in-library use)
These are works like
encyclopedias, directories, and collections of reviews
that do not circulate from the library. They may be
quick overviews or in-depth studies and are frequently
useful for short facts or overviews, birthdates,
statistics and bibliographies of sources.
Government Documents (currently
in-library use, but some exceptions can be made)
This collection is
organized by issuing agency, rather than subject area
and you will be surprised by how many topics one
government agency can provide information on. The
research can be tricky due to changes in agency name,
responsibilities and how the information is presented
(and how much).
Circulating Books (check out and take
home)
Find books on your topic by
using KEYWORD or subject searches. Some books are now
available in full text through the catalog. When you see
a WWW connection offered, click on that link to read the
book online (access is in 2 hour increments.) You can
find primary document collections in book form,
especially correspondence, diaries and journals.
 CSUSM Library
Catalog
Do a KEYWORD search on the topic by typing
the word or phrase in the search box. Using the term
'American Indian' is going to be extremely broad, so try
adding some additional terms such as 'treaty'.
Since keywords can have multiple definitions and
therefore, uses, once you locate a useful title,
examine the SUBJECTS for precise 'labels' to
identify your topic.
Special Tip!
When searching specifically for government
information, after you get results from your first
keyword search, MODIFY the search to LOCATION "U.S.
Government Documents" |
Example of
Catalog Screen
 |
 San Diego Circuit
This
shows materials you may borrow from other San Diego
County libraries. Either search from the CSUSM
catalog by clicking on OTHER CATALOGS in the
beginning search screen, or you can extend your
CSUSM catalog search to Circuit by clicking on the
CIRCUIT button towards the top of the screen. If you
are already looking at a specific item in the
catalog, Circuit will only search for that item, so
be sure to work from the keyword search results list
to get broader results. The item online will be delivered to CSUSM for you. |
Journal Articles
History journals include some of the latest research in
the field and can be very helpful in your project but are
secondary sources, not primary documents. They're a good
source for finding very detailed information on your
topic. To find articles, you need to start with a
research database
and preferably one that indexes scholarly sources as they
are based on careful research and peer-review prior to
publishing. NOTE: most databases do not
cover material published prior to the early 1980's, so you
may need to use print resources to do some verification.
Some databases do not offer full text of the articles.
Use the
 button
to check our other resources for full text and
Interlibrary Loan for documents that we don't own in
full text.
Primary Sources & Newspapers (see the
Newspapers page as well)
Accessible Archives
A good source for 19th Century American History; includes
newspapers on the Civil War and African Americans.
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial
Times to 1970
Historical Statistics - currently being tested
LexisNexis Congressional
Comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information
including bill tracking, hearing testimony,
Congressional Record, and Federal Register. (1980-on)
Los Angeles Times (1881-1985)
Search the LA Times going back to the first issue, with
image reproductions of each page.
Making of America Project
A digital library of primary sources in American social
history from the antebellum period through reconstruction
(19th century imprints). Includes approx. 8,500 books and
50,000 journal articles.
Documenting the American South
A collection of primary source documents on Southern
U.S. history, literature and culture.
Most Useful
America: History and Life
Abstracts of journal articles covering US and
Canadian history, from pre-history to the present. This
database covers materials
published since the 1964-on, but covers history from
prehistory through modern times.
JSTOR
Full-text. Contains complete full-text back files
(EXCEPT for the latest five years) of core scholarly
journals in such areas as sociology, history, economics,
political science, mathematics, African-American studies,
Asian studies and others. This collection offers articles
published since the late 1800's.
Project MUSE
Full text. Scholarly article collection supplementing
the holdings on many titles in JSTOR by offering more
currently published materials.
Also Useful
Oxford English Dictionary
A guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over
half a million words, both present and past. It includes
etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and
shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic
Alphabet.
CQ Researcher
Explores a single "hot" issue in the news in-depth each
week. Topics range from social and teen issues to
environment, health, education and science and technology.
Earlier than 1991, the series was called Editorial Research
Reports and started in 1931 (see our print reference
collection.)
History E-Book Project
Full-text.
Approximately 760 full-text e-books in the area of history.
Each title is also included in the library catalog.
Primary Sources on
the Internet
A primary source is a document or artifact that reflects
the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer of an
actual historical event. They include diaries, letters,
memos, and books and commentary published at the time of the
event. These are valuable tools in verifying the validity of
information on another site. Many internet sites exist
providing access to a mix of primary and secondary sources.
For
more on primary sources, click
here.
Following is a list of
some of the best on the internet.
Federal Government sites
Non-government sites
Searching the Internet
There are ways to search the
internet quickly and effectively. Use Advanced or Expert
Search whenever possible to focus your results and
eliminate sites you can't use like those in languages you
cannot read.
Finding the better sites
- Limit your searches to high quality domains: .edu
(university servers), .org (museums and
associations),
.mil (military servers) or .gov (US and state
governments).
- Use appropriate language to accurately describe your
topic.
- Spell names or phrases accurately--be aware of
alternate spellings used in earlier time periods.
- Look for bibliographies or references to the works
used for the site's contents.
- Know your topic!
- Evaluate for bias or incomplete information
Citing Your Sources
As you write your paper, you'll need to cite passages and
ideas from the sources you've found. In order to cite
your resources properly, you need to follow the
style guide used by for this class, the Chicago
Manual of Style.
 |
Chicago manual of
style. 15th ed. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2003 |
Need More?
Judith Downie,
Humanities Librarian
(760) 750-4374
OR come by my office (KEL 3424), I am available if
my door is open (most of the day)
OR
come by the Research Help Desk (3rd floor of the
Kellogg Library)
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