HIST 301: Methods & Writing (Strathman)

You have been given a great deal of freedom in selecting your research topic and this can be overwhelming. Recorded US History covers a large variety of topics and historians in American History have been prolific in both building collections (e.g., museums) and publishing research. This guide is to help in navigating the myriad resources you have to select from, but...

Before committing to a focus in your topic, you will need to do some beginning research on the topic to be sure appropriate and sufficient resources are available. With even a vague topic idea, you can brainstorm alternate terms, personal names, geography (cities, regions), events, and specific time periods. These can come from your notes and readings, personal knowledge, or current topic you find interesting in order to look at the historical antecedents. Sources in both access and formats have changed over time, so be flexible, imaginative, and do not hesitate to ask for help!

Important considerations besides are you interested in the topic and how much material might be available:

• Where is the material you need located?
• If not at CSUSM, can you travel to the collection or can it be lent out from the holding institution?
• How much of it is primary source? (Be careful about this--for more information, see the Primary tab.)
• Is information available on the full picture? (Some authors and collections will be biased in order to make a point.)

The collections listed below index scholarly secondary material, not primary sources.

Historical Abstracts
Abstracts of journal articles covering world history, from pre-history to the present. This database covers materials published since the 1970s, but addresses prehistory through modern times.

America: History and Life
Abstracts of journal articles covering US and Canadian history, from pre-history to the present. This database covers materials published since the 1964-on, but covers history from prehistory through modern times. 

JSTOR
Full-text. Contains complete full-text back files (EXCEPT for the latest five years) of core scholarly journals in such areas as sociology, history, economics, political science, mathematics, African-American studies, Asian studies and others. This collection offers articles published since the late 1800's.

Project MUSE
Full text. Scholarly article collection supplementing the holdings on many titles in JSTOR by offering more currently published materials.

These databases cover a broad range of topics and may not be applicable to your particular topic, but it never hurts to check them out. In the case of Academic Search Premier, you will find a mix of scholarly and popular materials.

Academic Search Premier (via EbscoHost)
Full-text. A multi-disciplinary database offering full text for nearly 1,850 scholarly journals, including more than 1,250 peer-reviewed titles. Use peer-reviewed limiter to focus on more scholarly materials.

History E-Book Project
Full-text. Approximately 760 full-text e-books in the area of history. Each title is also included in the library catalog.

Oxford English Dictionary
A guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It includes etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet

Selected Subject-Specific

Chicano Database
Abstracts for books, journal articles and other material about Mexican-Americans.

Military & Government Collection
Provides full text for hundreds of military related periodicals and general interest magazines.

Womens Studies International
Includes over 204,000 records drawn from a variety of essential women's studies databases. This database is not full text or SFX-enabled.  See the librarian for help in locating resources mentioned in this database.

More databases are available in the Research Databases Collection or ask your librarian for help.

Doesn't the name, Google Scholar, sound perfect for you, the college researcher? Of course it does--you are entering the field of academic scholarship, so anything to do with being a scholar is the right choice, right? Well, this is a double-edged sword in that it is a great tool, but...

A search in Scholar will reveal a large number of results, just like with any other internet search. You are getting a more focused portion of the internet which should improve your search results for relevancy and quality.  Problem is, Google, like all technologies, has its limitations and there are limits set on accessing the full text. You need to be aware of limitations and their workarounds before assuming everything is at your fingertips in this one source.

Google does:

• attempt to index every publication in the scholarly universe--it's not there yet, although they are trying!
• include citations to books and articles as well as full text of materials that are out of copyright or have provided permission for access.
• help you discover what has been published in books and articles as well as some non-published materials.
• provide links to access (there is a catch here, read on...)

Google does NOT:

• provide full text access to all documents found through a search using Scholar. There is a mix of fully-available, text snippets, and citation only.
• provide information on how results are ranked.
• automatically allow access to materials behind firewalls such as research databases (caveat here--if you are working through the campus link to Google Scholar, GET IT@CSUSM will work. This gives you access to the databases for which CSUSM has purchased access. This is automatic when on campus and can be set up for home use by following the instructions below.)
• sort results by topic area. A search on literary criticism of Hemingway returned works in the field of medicine, psychology and others that were not relevant. This happens because an author's name is Hemingway or other non-relevant connection.
• help you if you get stuck (such as a link-through not working).
• tell you if the material is available through other means via CSUSM if you are not using the GET-IT link.

Workarounds:

• Who else but your librarian? We are experts at solving the difficult and commited to providing access to the information you need. 
• Scholar at home--follow these steps to set up your Google Scholar to provide access to full text through CSUSM.
  
  • At the machine you intend to use, go to http://scholar.google.com 
  • Click on Scholar Preferences
  • Look for Library Links. Type in California State University San Marcos in order to get the choices given here. Then check the selection box and SAVE to make it active.
    

Here is a sample of some results on the search literary criticism Hemingway and what they mean:

Google Scholar at Home for the CSUSM User

Follow these steps to set up your Google Scholar to provide access to full text purchased by CSUSM. (Note, this is not going to work for materials held in licensed databases CSUSM hasn't paid for. Materials in that case will need to be ordered through Interlibrary Loan which is explained in the last bullet.)

• At the machine you intend to use, go to http://scholar.google.com.
• Click on Scholar Preferences, just to the right of the search box.
  
• Look for Library Links. Type in the phrase California State University San Marcos and click on one or both boxes (one name has a comma in it) to select.  
• Click on SAVE Preferences at bottom of screen.

Make sure your pop-up blocker is set to allow pop-ups from csusm.edu

Conduct your search, using appropriate terminology or authors' names. 

When you find something you want, click on the GET-IT @CSUSM link. (Note in the screen shot above that the link can be next to the title, or on a line underneath...wherever you find it, click on it.)

A new screen opens with the options available for accessing full text.

• If it is a book, the link will take you to our library catalog and you will need to come in to retrieve and check out.
• If it is an article, a screen will open (this is a pop-up) and you will be asked to log in  with your campus log in and password. Retrieve the document and you can close the document window and use the back button on the GET-IT.
• If CSUSM does not own the material and/or it is not available through Circuit, you have the option of ordering the material through Interlibrary Loan. This is an simple process as the information downloads from the system, but you will be asked to register during your first use to verify your contact and delivery information.

A primary source is a document or artifact that reflects the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer of an actual historical event. They include diaries, letters, memos, maps, images, books, and commentary published at the time of the event. These are valuable tools in verifying the validity of information on another site.

You will find searching for the phrase 'primary' will usually return an unsatisfactory result set. This is because it is actually difficult to define an item as primary--it will vary with the need of the researcher and the situation in which the item was created. An example are articles published about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

"San Francisco Doomed" from The Oakland Tribune, April 18, 1906 is from the time of the event and would be primary source material for research on this event.

"Frisco Quake Remembered" from The Birmingham Post, April 19, 2006 is secondary if you are researching the 1906 quake. BUT it could be considered primary if you are researching the perception of the event after a period of time, rather than the event itself.

A well-done site that discusses finding primary sources on the web, providing examples and a selection of sites is "Using Primary Sources on the Web". This is brought to you by the members of the the American Library Association's Reference & Users Service Association/History Section. Additional information on primary sources can be found here.

Print

A search on your topic or person in the CSUSM library catalog (or other library catalogs) can reveal a number of primary sources in our collection. Keyword searches that include the following terms will identify primary materials most of the time:

• Memoir
• Diar* (for diary or diaries)
• Correspondence (this is a subject heading subdivision)
• Letters
• Personal narrative (this is a subject heading subdivision)
• Recollections
• Reminscences
• Journal

Some things to watch out for when searching a library catalog:

• Searching on a personal name. If the catalog uses Library of Congress subject headings, there will be a consistent version used in the subject headings, but additional notes may be added to provide access through common alternatives or nicknames.
• Subject headings will use one approved phrase for a topic, but if the subject heading has been updated (very rare), you may need to use older phrasing in your subject search. This is most likely to happen if you are using a print index (the drawers of cards) rather than an electronic index.

Online

An increasing number of institutions (libraries, universities, museums and historical societies) are digitizing historical sources. While this may not be the same as holding the actual document in hand, it is providing access to materials that previously a researcher needed to travel to in order to access at all!

Try some of these search tips and tricks to focus your results to materials that may be of use:

• Keep in mind there are a variety of 'labels' for various events. As search engines cannot make the leap between what you type and the variations, you will find search results vary widely for an example such as World War I. It is also called the "Great War", "the war to end all wars" and WWI. 
• When doing Europe-related research, spelling can make a difference! The British reverse the 'er' to 're' or insert 'u' in many words in common American English usage. Be sure to check the Oxford English Dictionary for possible variants.
• Translations from other languages may not be equally reliable (even from Old or Middle English to Modern!) Try to compare several translations and ask your professor for leads on what is considered the definitive translation. Names can be translated in a number of ways, especially if translated from a non-Roman character set such as Arabic or Cyrillic. 
• Government agencies have changed names and hierarchies, both in US and other governments. Check with a librarian for help on locating the history and prior name changes as there can be tools available for this. (ex. the WPA established by Franklin D. Roosevelt started as the Works Progress Administration, became the Works Projects Administration, but was based on or drew from the Civilian Conservation Corps and Civil Works Administration among other entities.) 
• To narrow your search results to primary source collections, try limiting your search (in Google) to particular domain names. Type in your topic followed by the phrase site:xxx (substitute one of the 3-character domain names given here.)
  
  • edu limits to university servers, many of which have digitized special collections.
  • org generally limits to museums, historical societies and associations.
  • mil limits to US military servers (and the military are great historians). 

There are other tricks to try, contact your librarian for more help.

What types of material should you look for?

• Personal
  • Autobiographies
  • Newspapers (not likely for Hawkins, but later lives)
  • Diaries
  • Memoirs
  • Reports
  • Letters (AKA Correspondence in the Library Catalog)
  • Digital collections in the library databases or online
• Background/environment
  • Maps
  • Works by others that discuss your subject and related topics from the same time period.

CSUSM Databases of Primary Source Materials

Accessible Archives
A good source for 19th Century American History; includes newspapers on the Civil War and African Americans.

Archive of Americana
A set of collections of digital documents representing American history and the growth of the nation (American State Papers, U.S. Congressional Serial Set and its maps, and a collection of Hispanic American Newspapers. Search all collections at one time or individually.

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
Historical Statistics - currently being tested

LexisNexis Congressional
Comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information including bill tracking, hearing testimony, Congressional Record, and Federal Register. (1980-on)

Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
Search the LA Times going back to the first issue, with image reproductions of each page.

New York Times Historical Collection (1851-2006)
Also available is free access to searching the New York Times Newspaper Archives index. This offers a limited search engine, but many of the 19th century articles are available in full text for free. CSUSM has an extensive run of the paper in our microfilm collection as well.

Making of America Project (Cornell University)
A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction (19th century imprints). Content is heavy on journal articles.

Making of America Project (University of Michigan)
A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction (19th century imprints). Content is heavy on books.

A well-done site that discusses finding primary sources on the web, providing examples and a selection of sites is  "Using Primary Sources on the Web" site. This is brought to you by the members of the the American Library Association's Reference & Users Service Association/History Section. Additional information on primary sources can be found here. Here are some of the best on the internet.

Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History (HEARTH) (digitized texts on home economics from 1850-1925)

Women Working: 1800-1930 (texts, pamphlets and photographs digitized by Harvard)

19th Century Schoolbooks (digitized by Pitt)

Avalon Project (legal and historical documents digitized by Yale Law)

American Memory (many of the sub-collections are mentioned in your syllabus)

National Archives and Records Administration (lots of non-digitized material is close by in Laguna Niguel)

Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts (digitized copies of the 1790-on US census)

Chronology of US Historical Documents (primarily presidential speeches)

Digital History (mixed types of sources)

Internet History Sourcebooks Project (Fordham University) provides access to the Modern History Sourcebook and a variety of sub-topics based on region, gender, and more

Our Documents (provided by the National Archives and Records Administration) is selective, but authoritative.

Internet Archive (marvelous collection of text, media and audio)

The Chicago Manual of Style is the preference for most history researchers, but always check with your professor before proceeding on both citation style and which version. Chicago has both an Author-Date system and a Notes-Bibliography system which will result in very different formatting, so be sure which your professor prefers.

Chicago may be referred to as Turabian, after Kate Turabian, who wrote a manual for students for research, writing and citing sources based on the Chicago citation style. This title has undergone a number of revisions and editions, with the latest update as of 2007. The current version is titled A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. The CSUSM library keeps a copy at the Research Help Desk at LB2369 .T8 2007 and a copy on permanent Reserves (Checkout Desk.)

Some helpful web sites:

Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide (University of Chicago, the publishers of the Manual)

Online! Using Chicago Style to Cite and Document Sources (from Bedford St. Martins publishers, this focuses on online source citing not covered in the Chicago 15th edition.)

Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide (Ohio University Libraries)

Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online: Chicago Style (offers both help on manuscript formatting and citation guidelines)

These sites create your citations, but sometimes there are errors.  Always double check your citations with an authoritative style guide.

Citation machine

Citation Builder @ University of North Carolina

Citation Management Software

Zotero: A free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources.

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