This library research guide is for students enrolled in History 418, Global Campus. Use the tabs to the left to to access to the various sections of the guide.

Additional library guides that explore topics and resources related to this course are listed below:

These databases index many key history journals and are a good place to search for scholarly articles related to your topic.

Note: Historical Abstracts and America History and Life can be searched simultaneously. After logging in to either database, click on the "Choose Databases" link at the top left of the screen to select additional Ebsco databases.

If you are searching for a scholarly article, look for the following attributes in your search results:

• The article may begin with an abstract
• The institutional affiliation of the author provided
• The article includes footnotes, or concludes with a bibliography, references, or a works cited

Most (probably all) historians in the U.S. use the Internet to access at least some of the sources they utilize in their scholarship and teaching. You are in an online course and will use the Internet in your studies! 

The internet has brought many positive changes for us and fantastic tools for the historian of the 21st century. But, as you know, just about anyone can place anything they want on the internet, which is not necessarily a good thing for those of us doing serious research. Paying even the slightest attention to the news today reveals that some of our great social and political struggles are over internet content and how and whether to regulate it.

This all means that one should approach the internet critically when trying to do legitimate historical research and locate legitimate primary and secondary sources. There are no hard and fast rules other than simply taking time to investigate and assess the websites’ content, asking yourself who has created it, under what auspices it is operated, who is contributing to it, and what is the website's purpose. One helpful STARTING point for determining a site’s legitimacy is by looking at the URL (web address) extension.

Here is a short guide:

• .gov = is used by the United States federal government. Thus, the Library of Congress, for example, an excellent source for American history, is https://www.loc.gov/

• .org = usually is for a non-profit. Many historical societies and public libraries use this. In the region of the Pacific Northwest, where WSU is located, the Oregon Historical Society’s URL is https://ohs.org. The Washington State Historical Society’s URL is http://www.washingtonhistory.org/. The Seattle Public Library’s URL is https://www.spl.org/.

On the other hand, Wikipedia also uses .org. As you know, anyone can post anything to Wikipedia, whether true or not. Although the site can be very useful for getting some background and perhaps figuring out where to go next in the pursuit of knowledge (by using the references list at the bottom), it is not considered a legitimate authority for research in History 318.

• .edu = post-secondary educational institutions. Washington State University uses .edu, for example.

• .com = generally refers to “commercial,” a website for a business that is for-profit. Generally, one should be wary of using such sites for historical research.

Tips for finding books in Search It:

• Using quotations around standard phrases, such as "New Deal" can narrow your search to relevant results.
• When you find a book that is on-topic, take a look at the subject headings assigned to the book; you can use them to identify other relevant titles. Subject headings can be general, or very specific. Some examples of Library of Congress subject headings include:

                    United States History - -1933-1945

                     New Deal, 1933-1945

                     United States - - Social Life and Customs - 1918-1945

                     World War, 1919-1918 - - Participation, African American

Primary sources often reflect the individual perspective, experience, or viewpoint of a participant or observer. A book that was written during the time period you are researching may be considered a primary source.  Published letters, personal narratives, diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, and documents are some examples of primary sources that are commonly published in book format.

To find primary sources through Search It, use the "advanced search"  feature. Combine your keywords with specific subject terms, such as diaries, sources, memoirs, letters, personal narratives, speeches, correspondence, interviews, etc.

As with secondary sources, Library of Congress subject headings can be useful for identifying additional primary sources. Some examples include:

• War correspondents -- United States -- Diaries
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

Click here to access library research tips, tutorials and more.

Follow the links below to view brief instructional videos on navigating the research databases:

• How to Search JSTOR
• How to Search Project Muse
• How to Search America: History and Life, and Historical Abstracts

Project Muse:

JSTOR

America: History and Life

Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide - 17^th Edition - Notes and Bibliography

Books

One author

Two or three authors

Four or more authors

List all of the authors in the bibliography; in the note, list only the first author, followed by et al. (“and others”):

Chapter or other part of a book (reference book entries)

Book published electronically

If a book is available in more than one format, cite the version you consulted. For books consulted online, list a URL or the name of the database. If no fixed page numbers are available, you can include a section title or a chapter or other number.

Articles

Article in a print journal

In a note, list the specific page numbers consulted, if any. In the bibliography, list the page range for the whole article.

Article in an online journal

Include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if the journal lists one. A DOI is a permanent ID that, when appended to - https://doi.org/ - in the address bar of an Internet browser, will lead to the source. If no DOI is available, list a URL, or include the name of the database (e.g., JSTOR) at the end of the citation as a substitute for a DOI or URL.

Newspaper or popular magazine articles

If you consulted the article online, include a URL or the name of the database. Page numbers, if any, can be cited in a note but are omitted from the bibliography entry.  If no author is identified, begin the citation with the article title.

Website

It is often sufficient simply to describe web pages and other website content in the text (“As of May 1, 2017, Yale’s home page listed . . .”). For a source that does not list a date of publication or revision, include an access date.

(All of these examples taken from the Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide, consult the guide for more examples)