Research Tips
1. Wikipedia is a great place to BEGIN your research, but a horrible place to END your research. One of the most beneficial uses for Wikipedia is the sources it lists at the bottom of each article which are clickable links to where they got their information from. Wikipedia should be treated as a secondary source.
2. Google is always going to be used, but it is helpful when searching with Google to add things like “primary document” or “speeches” (or whatever type of document you are looking for) to your search. Also,http://scholar.google.com/ is a Google search engine that can find all sorts of primary source documents, books, and journal articles about your topic. Also remember that “Google” is never a source (unless the story was actually by Google) so it should not be listed on your references; it is a search engine helping you find sources.
3. All websites can have merit, but you must be picky with which you trust. Some good questions to ask when looking at a website are the following:
a. Does it have an author?
b. Is the website trying to sell you something? Does it have a reason to have a bias?
c. Is the website connected with a trusted organization?
d. Is the website a .gov or .edu?
e. Does the website list any sources of where their information came from?
General
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/index.html (primary sources)
http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php (strong Latin America)
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html (Library of Congress)
http://www.archives.gov/index.html (National Archives)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ (BBC Online)
http://www.pbs.org/history/ (PBS)
http://www.si.edu/research/ (The Smithsonian)
http://www.procon.org/ (Both sides of important issues)
http://factchecked.org/ (current events)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (MLA Help)
Renaissance-specific resources
http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/spanogle/medieval.html#primary
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1x.html
A great resource is through the public library, log in is required.
http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/catalog-databases/
Once logged in, one (of many) great resources can be found at:
http://www.historystudycenter.com.sdplproxy.sandiego.gov/home/home.do
FOUND A GREAT RESOURCE? Email me the link.
2. Google is always going to be used, but it is helpful when searching with Google to add things like “primary document” or “speeches” (or whatever type of document you are looking for) to your search. Also,http://scholar.google.com/ is a Google search engine that can find all sorts of primary source documents, books, and journal articles about your topic. Also remember that “Google” is never a source (unless the story was actually by Google) so it should not be listed on your references; it is a search engine helping you find sources.
3. All websites can have merit, but you must be picky with which you trust. Some good questions to ask when looking at a website are the following:
a. Does it have an author?
b. Is the website trying to sell you something? Does it have a reason to have a bias?
c. Is the website connected with a trusted organization?
d. Is the website a .gov or .edu?
e. Does the website list any sources of where their information came from?
General
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/index.html (primary sources)
http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php (strong Latin America)
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html (Library of Congress)
http://www.archives.gov/index.html (National Archives)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ (BBC Online)
http://www.pbs.org/history/ (PBS)
http://www.si.edu/research/ (The Smithsonian)
http://www.procon.org/ (Both sides of important issues)
http://factchecked.org/ (current events)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (MLA Help)
Renaissance-specific resources
http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/spanogle/medieval.html#primary
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1x.html
A great resource is through the public library, log in is required.
http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/catalog-databases/
Once logged in, one (of many) great resources can be found at:
http://www.historystudycenter.com.sdplproxy.sandiego.gov/home/home.do
FOUND A GREAT RESOURCE? Email me the link.