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This page
contains links to:
HOMER
Databases
eJournals
DD/ILL
Turabian Guide
MLA Guide
UConn Resources

Subject Databases:
Britannica
Online

America: History and Life

Historical Abstracts

JSTOR

InfoTrac

Oxford
Reference
Online

WilsonWeb

History Sites:

Avalon Project

American Memory Project

EuroDocs

Hanover Project

Encycl. Philosophy

History Project

Helpful Sites:
Library Online Tutorial

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

American History Since 1877: A Survey
HIST 232/232W
PROFESSOR: Dr. Blumenthal
LIBRARIAN: Janet Swift

Contents:

Research Strategy

Research papers do not grow out of your personal experiences...

1. Begin the research process with background reading in reference sources from the reference collection located on the main level of the library. The purpose behind preliminary research is to refresh or introduce you to the subject so that you can search for library resources using relevant keywords or subjects.
   
   Recommended Print Reference Sources:
   AHA Guide's to Historical Literature/Ref D20. A43 1995
   Encyclopedia of world history/Ref D9 .D53 2000
   Dictionary of European history and politics, 1945-1995 /Ref D1051 .U79 1996
   American national biography/Ref CT213 .A68 1999
   World of ideas: Dictionary of important theories, concepts, beliefs, and thinkers/Ref B41.R64 1999
   Historical dictionary of France/Ref DC35 .R39 1998
   Primary Library of Congress Classification: D: History
   
   Online Reference Sources for History:
   Britannica Online
   Oxford Reference Online (includes links to Dictionary of Contemporary World History, Dictionary of Political Biography
   Oxford Dictionary of Popes, Dictionary of World Hist, Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics, Dictionary of Psychology
   Dictionary of the Social Sciences, Dictionary of Sociology, and more)
   
   
2. Find and use the Library Homepage.
3. Learn to use HOMER and the Databases.
4. Know how to Track Down Full Text Materials.
   
5. Cite print and electronic sources accurately.

    

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Searching for Books

• Set Search Limits to Location: Waterbury Library
• Use ? to truncate search terms (histor? can be history, historical, histories, etc.)
• With titles, ignore the words A. An, and The at the beginning of titles (Tale of Two Cities)
• For authors, enter last name first (Dickens, Charles)
• For Keyword - Relevance searches, use quotation marks around phrases ("French Revolution")
• For Keyword - Boolean searches, use AND, OR, NOT between keywords to customize your search
  "French Revolution AND Bastille | "French Revolution and (church OR religion)
  
  Keyword Searching:
  Keywords can be parts of titles. names, subjects, concepts, or dates related to your topic. An advantage of Keywork Searches is that you can search for sources even if you are unsure about the exact wording of a title. It can also broaden your search to include books on related topics.
  
  
  

Click here to learn more about How to Use HOMER UCAT.

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Searching for Articles

Research should not be limited only to books since periodical articles can be more current, they usually focus on a specific topic in more detail than books, and they are likely to be available online.

Magazine and journal articles are indexed in Databases. Each database has its own format, cover different dates, and uses its own set of search commands. From the Library Homepage click on Shortcuts to access several popular databases as Infotrac. To access more specialized databases click on Databases, select Social Sciences, and History to find a complete listing of Databases for History.

Journals & Magazines: How to Tell the Difference
To obtain some familiarity with the subject, magazine articles are appropriate, however, for your research paper, limit your database searches to "peer-reviewed" journal articles.

If your goal is to find scholarly information, focus on articles by experts in the field. If you're unsure of what the publication, evaluate the language of the citation to determine if the source is directed at a general or academic reader.

Memorandum to Woodrow Wilson: US involvement with self-determination in Eastern Europe ---Time, Nov 14, 1994 v144 n20 p104(1)

VS

Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and an American conception of national security ---Diplomatic History Wntr 2001 v25 i1 p1(31)

The following databases include many full text articles and abstracts to history and political science publications:

InfoTrac
Provides access to many full text articles, abstracts, and citations from over 1600 magazines and journals from 1980 on. Limit to "peer-reviewed journals" to ensure that your search identifies scholarly journals. Keyword searches can often be too broad for certain historical topics. If your search is unsuccessful, use the Subject Guide to narrow your topic.

Historical Abstracts provides historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present published since 1954.

JSTOR offers full text from backfiles of core scholarly articles in the social sciences, beginning with the first issue up to a ‘moving wall’ of 2- to 5- years.

Project Muse full text, keyword-searchable access to scholarly journals in the social sciences.

WilsonWeb (JREF) full text access to journals in the social science is available from OmniFile Full Text.

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Tracking Down Full Text Materials

If you come across a citation in a bibliography for an article, or if only an abstract or extended citation is available, search for the full text of the article from the library home page. Keep in mind that you are searching for the title of the publication, not the article itself.

• eJournal Locator to check if the journal is available online

Where can I find the complete article?

Hanley, Wayne "Of Anglo-Saxons and Revisionists: A New Interpretation of the French Revolution Emerges." Midwest Quarterly 40:2 (1999).

Search eJournals from the home page to see if you can locate the article online

eJournal Identifier indicates that Midwest Quarterly is available online and in full text in two databases..

Search for the article in either InfoTrac or Wilson OmniFile

Click the link to access the full text article.

• HOMER to see if the library subscribes to the journal so that you can find it in print. Click here for a listing of Journals on
  Current Subscription in HISTORY available in print in Stamford or other UConn Libraries.
  
  
  
  Some journals are not available online. Search HOMER for the journal title. History Today 1989 would be found in the journal area in the library.
  
  
  There will occasionally be journals and books that are not available in Stamford. You would need to request an interlibrary loan. Click DD/ILL to initiate your requests. The standard time for material to arrive is 3 to 10 business days.
  
  

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How to Cite

Turabian Style
Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History and the Humanities
Citation Guides for Electronic Documents (IFLA)

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History on the Web: About the Internet...

Even though scholars often publish material on the web, anyone with access to the Internet can also create a website. When searching the internet, carefully evaluate information.

Not everything is on the web. Most articles from scholarly journals are not available without fees or passwords. The library subscribes to databases that offer you what is not available on the Internet

Suggested Websites:

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Using the Library From Home

If you have questions or comments, please contact: janet.swift@uconn.edu Liaison Librarian Waterbury Regional Campus Library University of Connecticut 99 East Main St. Waterbury CT 06710-2311 VOICE: (203)-236-9902 FAX: (203) 236-9905 MAIL TO: janet.swift@uconn.edu