History 212 ~ Spring 2007
The Role of Great Personalities In History

Getting Started

• I need background information on my topic -- where should I start?

  • Helpful Reference Books
    • Great Lives From History: Ancient and Medieval History, 5 vols., 1988. Reference R 920.00901 G786. A good source for biographical information.
    • Great Lives From History: Ancient and Medieval History, Renaissance to 19thCentury, British & Commonwealth, American, 5 volumes, 1988. Reference R920.00901 G786. A good source for biographical information.
    • Encyclopedia of World War II, Five volumes. Reference R940.54003 E56
      
      
      
    • Gale Virtual Reference Library - a way to search several encyclopedias at once, includes Countries and Their Cultures, Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia of Sociology, Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law, among other titles.
      
      
      • How else can reference books help me?
        • There are often bibliographies at the end of their articles; these bibliographies can lead you to other useful books and articles.
          

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Finding Books

Locating Articles in Library Resources

• What article databases should I use to find articles on my topic?

• JSTOR ~ A good place to start. Includess popular periodicals.
  
  
  

• Where can I find more articles?

  • Other databases that the library subscribes to.
    
    

• Why should I evaluate web sites? Can't I just trust everyone's website?

  • Dissing the King ~ a cautionary tale detailing how websites are not always what they seem
  • The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources
    
    

• What should I look for in a trustworthy web site?

  • Critically Analyzing Information Sources
  • Evaluating Websites: Criteria and Tools
  • Evaluating Internet Resources
    
    

• Can't I just do all of my research on the Internet (I thought everything there was free and full-text)?

  • Despite what some would have you believe, not everything is available for free on the Internet.
  • Don't rely on the web as your only source of information.
  • Choose web sites carefully.
  • Use them to support your articles and books, not to replace them.
  
  
  

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