Historical Methods

This easy to follow guide will help you find the resources you need to complete your research in Historical Methods.

Contents:

1. Background Information
2. Books
3. Primary Sources
4. Articles
5. Citing

Take the time to think about your topic and find resources to help you better define it.  Searching for "the Civil War" is too broad, but it can be your starting point to finding a specific person, battle, or group of people you want to learn more about.  When you do this background information searching it will be easier to create your research questions.

Use a timeline to get a perspective on your topic:

You can use on of the library's databases of Reference Sources to find some helpful background information for your general topic:

Searching for books is easier when you have a more specific topic.  You can also consult the Library of Congress (LoC) classification system to fidm your topic:

All Books at Rowan

To find books use Library Search and limit the Material Type to Books. You can do this either from Advanced Search (use the Material Type drop-down menu on the right) or from a search results page (use the Resource Type limiter).  

Select E-Books at RU

See search tips on e-Book Central's homepage.

Can't find it in Library Search? You can get the book on loan from another library through E-ZBorrow (12-week loan) or Interlibrary Loan.

Use Worldcat to search for books at libraries across the world.

There are resources with free access to e-books, you can search in here for your topic:

A Primary Source is a item produced from the time you are researching.  It can be a photograph, a letter, government documents, and much more.  Looking at actual sources from a specific time helps to get the firsthand account of what was happening when it was happening.

For more in-depth guidance see the Primary Source Research guide.

Below are good starting points for finding primary sources on a wide range of topics.

Background Sources for Gaining Context

If you have a general topic and need background information, these reference databases have short articles that often include references to primary sources or to secondary sources that may lead to key primary sources.

Online Research Tools for Primary Sources on Most Topics

If you have a specific topic in mind, you use a search engine like Google for primary sources or digital collections on the topic (search examples: "digital collections" "atomic bomb", "primary sources" "atomic bomb").

See the Research Tools page for a fuller list of recommended resources.

Primary Sources Database Lists (Alphabetical/By Subject)

Note: Some primary source databases include a large number of subcollections. See Subcollections in Large Databases for details on the following databases: Accessible Archives, AM Explorer, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Gale Primary Sources, HIstory Vault, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, and ProQuest Primary Sources. 

General Primary Source Databases

(Cover a wide range of time periods and topics)

Time/Topic Specific

American History Primary Sources

World, Government, and Law Primary Sources

Newspapers give insight into how an event or issue was reported on at a given historical moment.

Historical Newspapers

Current Newspapers

You can use Google!  One of the best ways to do that is by using the Advanced Search option.  This helps you choose specific websites or domains (.org, .gov, .edu) to find information better suited to your needs and look for primary source documentation. 

Scholarly articles, in comparison to books, are shorter and usually discuss a more focused topic. Below are library resources that provide access to scholarly articles and other resources that are often unavailable on the open web.

• Databases: See the history-focused databases listed in this page, or search the Database Finder.
• Journals:
  • Journal Finder: Find journals by title, ISSN, or keyword.
  • BrowZine: Search for or browse select scholarly online journals to which the Libraries subscribe.
• Citation Linker: Use to find and access a specific  journal article, journal or book.

If the Libraries do not have access to the article, please submit an interlibrary loan request by clicking the "Go to ILLiad" link on the Interlibrary Loan page.

The library databases listed on this page provide access to find scholarly articles, as well as other types of information. If you don't see a Full Text link below the article citation, look for a button labeled "Get it!" This application will check for access to the full text of the article within the library's subscriptions.

If you see a message that we don't have access, choose the Campbell Library Interlibrary Loan Request link to order the article from another library. Often we can get an electronic copy of the article quickly.

You can use library databases to find scholarly articles, which are often peer-reviewed. Below are the top recommended databases for History. Many of these databases also include other source types like book chapters.

Peer-reviewed articles:

• Published in academic journals
• Use the language of the field they were published in
• Written by professionals for professionals
• Reviewed by professionals before publication

Articles are often more specific and can be easier to read instead of multiple books.

By using library resources, you can easily find peer-reviewed information!  Many of our article databases have boxes to check that will help you:

The library has access to the full Chicago Manual of Style Online!  Just go to the database to use it:

We also have this Chicago/Turabian style guide:

Still need some help?  Try the Purdue OWL website's section on Chicago Style:

You can use RefWorks to manage your citations for any class. Use the link below to create an account and get started.