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United States: 1877 to Present

Course Number: HI209

Subject: History

General search tips

Think of the best keywords to enter and be ready to change them (e.g., synonyms) as you gather results. Try using a subject encyclopedia or handbook (see below) for specialized terminology. Most databases support the following search techniques:

  • Use quotes to search for phrases (example: "industrial revolution”)
  • Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to broaden or narrow your search
  • Use truncation (example: archiv* will find archive, archives, archival, archivist)
  • Sort results by date or relevance
  • Browse subject headings
Gather Background Information

Most reference resources are considered "tertiary" source materials aimed at providing background information and overview of a subject or concept. Tertiary sources have been compiled from secondary sources and are meant to be consulted to clarify terms and concepts about a particular topic. Tertiary sources can include bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and manuals.

Wikipedia can be a helpful starting point, and in particular the sources cited section at the bottom of a page. (e.g, Sources, the Cold War)

Specialized Encyclopedias & Handbooks

In these sources, coverage is limited to a specific subject or field of study and contain more developed entries written by scholars and experts within the field. For this course, some examples include (but not limited to):

To identify more titles like this, use the Omni Advanced Search, and in the first line change the field to Title and enter: encyclopedia OR handbook, and in the second line, enter your search term (e.g, "cold war").

Primary Sources

A primary source is generally defined as document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.

Where do I find primary sources?

For this course, while it is not impossible that you could come across a physical primary source in someone's possession, or in a library, archive, or museum, you are more likely to encounter surrogates of primary sources. Surrogate sources are either

  1. Analogue
    • books, microfiche, microfilm (as well as ebooks as discreet publications) 
  2. Digital 
    • commercial or not-for-profit databases

Analogue primary sources

In general, these will be found within published books, and you can find them searching Omni and combine your topic keywords with terms such as sources, documents, correspondence, diaries, or "personal narratives" 

e.g. "United States" AND "vietnam" AND correspondence (use "quotation marks" to search for phrases)

Results will include printed books and ebooks. 

Digital primary sources

Laurier has many commercial primary source collections, the following of which might be helpful for this course depending on your topic:

Primary sources - newspapers

A lot of newspaper content has been digitized and made available. A great place to start is the Library's subscription to the New York Times (1851-)

For earlier topics, take a look at Chronicling America (1836-1922) which includes over 1,400 U.S. newspapers.

Contact the history librarian to learn about other newspaper sources.

Primary sources - Government information

Various United States agencies have content in their virtual reading rooms:

Secondary Sources

While there are several ways to effectively search for primary sources, for this course searching Omni should be enough.

Books

Articles

JSTOR

Searching JSTOR can be helpful since it searches for your terms across the entire full text of all the journal contents, not just the metadata (author, title, subject, etc.) that Omni searches. Keep in mind:

  • JSTOR has over 2000 journal titles, but the Library subscribes to many more than this, so also search Omni (and then link to the full text in other databases)
  • you can also search JSTOR for primary sources, since all the content is for the very first issue of each title
Annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents, where each citation is followed by a brief (~150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph (the annotation). The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. NOTE: annotations are not just summaries, they are descriptive and critical! In general, the process looks like this: 

  1. Locate resources may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Examine, review, and then choose items that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
  2. Cite the item in Chicago Style (see the Laurier History Department’s Style Guide).
  3. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article, while conconsidering the authority or background of the author, the intended audience, a comparison or contrast with other items you are citing, and how this work relates to your specific topic. 

Page Owner: Greg Sennema

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