BIS 364 Public Memory and Dissent in American
Culture
Research Guide
Table of Contents
Media & Blogs -- Current News -- Scholary sources --- Primary sources --- Sample searches --- Help & Quick Info
or click on the off-campus access link at the top of the page and enter your UW NetID
Workshop April 20, 2006
Part I: Historical Context - U.S. History Subject Encyclopedias
Quick Tips -
- In some of these online encyclopedias it can be more efficient to browse using the table of contents or index
- You can also use the asterisk * to search for word variations (japan* will search for japan, japanese or japans), and use AND and OR to connect keywords.
- Be on the lookout for "see also" references - this can be great way to find related entries.
Dictionary of American history (Gale) - UW Restricted
E174 .D52 2003 v.1-10 Ref StacksOxford Companion to United States History UW Restricted
Dictionary of World History and Dictionary of Contemporary World History (Oxford) UW Restricted
Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy (Gale) UW Restricted
Americans at War (Gale)- UW Restricted
Encyclopedia of U.S. economic history (Gale) - UW Restricted
HC 102 G35 1999 Ref StacksGale encyclopedia of multicultural America, UW Restricted
Oxford Companion to American Military History UW Restricted
American National Biography UW Restricted
U.S. Statistical Abstracts, from 1878+ - this is a great source for historical statistics!
Encyclopedia of World War II
D740 E516 2005 v. 1-5 Ref Stacks
GENERAL REFERENCE SOURCES
Greenwood Library of American War Reporting: a wonderful selection of primary sources from magazines and newspapers, including Time, Life, Christian Science Monitor, the Associated Press (AP), and more
D5 .G84 2005 v.1-8 Ref StacksFacts.com - (Facts on File World News Digest) UWB/CCC Campus Access Only
Summaries of top news stories. Coverage is from 1940+Gale Virtual Reference Library - UW restricted
A large collection of reference books - interdisciplinaryOxford Reference Books online UW Restricted
Browse the title list
Keyword search all or selected titlesMore subject encyclopedias (most will be in the Library's Ref Stacks on the 1st floor)
Part II: Searching
Searching the Historical New York Times, 1851-2001 UW restricted
Step 1: Select Advanced Search
Step 2: Enter your keywords in the first search box. Use the * to search for word variants (soldier*) ; Use AND, OR, NOT, W/n, W/para to connect your search terms. [Para = paragraph] For example:
pearl harbor w/3 japan* - this will search for pearl harbor within 3 words of japan, japanese, japans
Step 3: Click on the drop down menu for the second search box and change this from Citation and Document Text to Document Type
Step 4: Browse the document types - experiment with: article, front page, editorial article or editorial cartoon
Step 5: Limit by date
Step 6: Select several articles that look promising and skim them -
- How does the source support and/or complicate what you've learned from your secondary materials?
- What is the historical context in which the source was written and read? Who was the intended audience? How might the source have been interpreted when it first appeared, why might it be read differently today?
- Are there other contemporary sources to compare against this one? Do all of your sources tell the same story? If not, why might this be?
World War II Oral History Interview
An Interview with Samuel E. Blum, from the Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II
You can also do keyword searches for other oral history interviews
| Media: Documentary Archives and Blogs |
American RadioWorks Documentaries
Vanderbilt Television News Archive
Internet Archive
AlterNetMore online media resources: an excellent resource from our Media Studies Librarian!
Finding films: search tips and specialized databases
| Current News Databases |
Alt-Press Watch UW restricted - Full text alternative and independent press sources.
Ethnic Newswatch UW restricted - Full text ethnic, minority and native publications.
Lexis-Nexis UW restricted - U.S. and international newspapers, wire services, and more.
Proquest Newspapers UW restricted - U.S. newspapers, including Washington State papers.
Newspapers: Finding News Articles - A wide variety of ethnic, regional, and international news sources, both current and historical, are available from this site.
| Scholarly Books & Articles |
UW Libraries Catalog - Find books and films in any of the UW libraries. Use your library account number (the barcode on the back of your student ID card) and library PIN number to request books from other libraries. This is a free service.
Summit Catalog - A combined library catalog for academic libraries in Washington and Oregon. Search and request items unavailable at UW.
Humanities, Social Science & Multidisciplinary Databases
These are good starting points for research in American History:
America: History & Life UW restricted - history of the United States & Canada, prehistory to present
JSTOR search UW restricted - Retrieves full-text scholarly journals, some of which date back to the 1800's. Does not include articles from the last 3-5 years for most journals.
Project Muse Search UW restricted - Multidisciplinary
More databases and subject
guides:
Expanded Academic Index UW restricted - Multidisciplinary, general database
Research Library (Proquest) UW restricted - Multidisciplinary, general database
Additional Subject Guides - browse by subject (political science, communications, etc.)
Databases A-Z - the complete list of databases available through the UW Libraries
If you want to see
if we have the full text of a journal in our collections, and the database
you're searching doesn't have a link to "Check UW Holdings", try
this:
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As you read your scholarly sources keep these questions in mind:
- What questions does the author pose and answer? How do these questions contribute to an ongoing conversation about the materials at hand? What claims does the author make?
- What evidence does the author use to support his or her argument? The sources and methods used must be described or otherwise available to you as a reader to assess and evaluate.
- More tips for identifying and reading scholarly sources
| Primary Sources in American History |
Primary sources are materials contemporary with the topic or question you are researching. Examples include eyewitness accounts, decrees, letters and diaries, newspapers and magazines, speeches, autobiographies, works of art, films, photographs, cartoons, illustrations, government documents, recordings, and oral sources such as interviews.
As you read your sources keep these questions in mind:
- Where is the source from? Who "published" it? When? Where? What was the perspective/intention/ bias of the source's producer(s)? These questions can be easy, difficult, or impossible to answer depending on the source.
- How do you read the source? Look closely at it. Examine and isolate details. How do those details add to/contradict the source's overall argument(s)? How does the source support and/or complicate what you've learned from your secondary materials?
- What is the context in which the source was written and read? Who was the intended audience? How might the source have been interpreted when it first appeared, why might it be read differently today?
- Are there other contemporary sources to compare against this one? Do all of your sources tell the same story? If not, why might this be?
- Primary source analysis worksheets from the U.S. National Archives
If your topic is historical, try these links!
Primary Source Research Guide - Links to the major databases and websites in U.S. history, including U.S. government documents
Here are a few core databases and websites:
- Readers' guide retrospective 1890 - 1982 UW restricted - General-interest periodicals
- Historical New York Times UW restricted - Full text of the NYT from 1851-2001
- World War II websites
- U.S. History since 1865 websites
| Sample Searches |
Sample searches:
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(soldier* or military or army) and World War 1939-1945 war and (news or media or reporting or journal*) (terror* or war) and (psychological aspects or attitudes) and united states and history |
The * symbol will search on word variations, for example: terror* will also search for terrrorist, terrorists, and terrorism
This truncation or wildcard symbol varies across databases - always check the help section to see what it is! It might be a ! or a ?
| Help & Quick Tips |
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Getting
Started - This page goes over some of the basics that won't be covered
in class, including how to access UW Restricted databases
from home. Please ask if you have any questions!
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| Assessing Your Sources - This page provides some tips on evaluating the information that you find in your searches. |
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| Search Tips - This page covers some of the basics of searching online and how you can translate your research interest into searches that are "database friendly." |
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If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Sarah Leadley |
If I'm not available, we have many ways you can get help, in person, by phone, email or online chat.