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The purpose of this guide is to familiarize you with
finding historical research resources in the library and on
the internet for your project and presentation. Refer to Dr.
Elwood's HIST
318 page for her requirements and help pages for each
group.
Getting Started
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Think about what you know on your topic so far from
the lectures and readings and select an focus that interests you
and meets the requirements for this assignment. Look for terms,
personal names, and specific time periods
in your notes and readings. Before committing to a focus on
the topic,
you will need to do some beginning research on the topic
to be sure appropriate and sufficient resources are
available.
Books
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Any well researched project uses books to support your
thinking and writing. There are two locations of books you can investigate in the library--reference
and circulating. To find books on your topic
regardless of location, 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.
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.
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 and will want to
locate scholarly works as opposed to general fiction or
entertainment-type materials.
Finding Books
CSUSM Library Catalog
Do a KEYWORD search on the topic by typing the word
or phrase in the search box. 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. While looking at each
item, note authors who are writing on your topic and the
call number for browsing the stacks. Check to see that
they have bibliographies (listing of the research
sources used) to substantiate the book's claims. A
scholarly publisher is helpful also! |
Example of Catalog Screen
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 San Diego Circuit
This shows materials you may borrow from other San Diego
County universities. 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. You may request the item
online to be delivered to CSUSM for you. |
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Melvyl
Catalog of
holdings for the entire University of California library
system. |
Journal Articles
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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. Some databases do not offer
full text of the articles. Use the
 button
to check our other resources for full text.
Interlibrary Loan is available for documents that we don't own full
text.
Most Useful
Historical Abstracts
Abstracts of journal articles covering world history, from
pre-history to the present with
to full-text when
possible. This database covers materials published since the
1970s, but addresses 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
Academic
Search Premier (via EbscoHost)
Full-text. A multi-disciplinary database
offering full text for nearly 1,850 scholarly journals,
including more than 1,250 peer-reviewed titles. Use
peer-reviewed limiter to focus on more scholarly materials.
History
E-Book Project
Full-text.
Approximately 500 full-text e-books in the area of history.
Each title is also included in the library catalog.
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
Also Useful
(Specific
subject areas
within history)
Military & Government Collection
Provides full text for hundreds of military related
periodicals and general interest magazines.
Womens
Studies International
Includes over 204,000 records drawn from a variety of
essential women's studies databases. This database is
provides limited full-text.
See the librarian for help in locating resources mentioned
in this database.
Primary Sources on
the Internet
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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.
The Primary Sources
page (part of the
CSUSM History Subject Guide page) or
"Using Primary Sources on the Web" from the Reference
Users Services Association can help you learn
more about primary sources and how to find them.
Following is a list of
some of the best sources on the internet:
Searching the Internet
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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), or .org (museums and
associations).
- 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!
- Carefully evaluate what you find for bias,
conflicting, 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. Many historians use the
Chicago Manual of
Style for consistent resource citation. There are two
forms in Chicago, the documentary note (use of
footnotes or endnotes in the text) or the author/title
(more like the APA citation style with a 'tag' in the text
pointing to the References.) Dr. Elwood prefers the
documentary note style. CSUSM has a collection of
quick summaries for a variety of citation styles, but
here is information on Chicago (also referred to as
Turabian.)
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Chicago manual of
style. 15th ed. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2003
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Need More?
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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 time)
OR
come by the Research Help Desk (3rd floor of the
Kellogg Library)
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