Doing History Research
Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies, 1830-1962 /
History 001W (Spring 2019)
Sarah Elichko (selichk1)
Social Sciences & Data Librarian
Workshop Agenda:
• Getting a book from the library
• How to use one book to find other research on your topic (Worldcat)
• Comparing research tools + approaches (Historical Abstracts)
✓
Look for the copyright page in your book.
Subjects provide consistent terms for describing ideas.
You can use subject terms to help find related books.
Go to Worldcat.org
Search for your book + open the page for it.
Look for Subjects (should be near the top)
- If not, click "View All Editions & Formats," then try
another link for the book.
Click on a subject - what do you see?
• Worldcat = Find books across libraries
• You can borrow other libraries' books (for free)
through McCabe (EZBorrow + Interlibrary Loan)
Scholarly / Secondary Sources
To find books and book chapters:
• Search Tripod, the TriCo library catalog:
tripod.swarthmore.edu
To find journal articles and book reviews:
• A subject-specific database such as
Historical Abstracts can give more relevant results
• Also try multi-subject databases (e.g. JSTOR, Project Muse)
For links, see: History 001W Research Guide
Algeria
OR
Algerian
OR
Algerians
settler
OR settlers
OR settlement
OR settled
France
OR
French
OR
Francophone
How to do this search (in Historical Abstracts, Tripod, etc.)
(Algeria OR Algerian OR Algerians) AND (France OR French OR Francophone)
1. Try this search in Historical Abstracts.
2. Then try it with other search terms (keep the structure the same).
AND (settler OR settlers OR settlement)
Choosing better keywords:
Navigating the historiography:
Choosing your research tools
| Research Tool | Content Focus | Geographic Focus (of articles) | Matches your search term in... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historical Abstracts | Articles from History journals | Outside of the US and Canada | Summary of each article |
| America, History & Life | Articles from History journals | US and Canada | Summary of each article |
| JSTOR | Articles from journals (all fields) | All | Every word in the article |
Get advice on your research:
Sarah Elichko (Social Sciences Librarian)
• Office hours, TTh 11am-1pm
(at McCabe Research & Info Desk)
• Appointment scheduler:
-- Linked from History 001W Research Guide
• Email selichk1@swarthmore.edu
HIST 001W - Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies (Spring 2019)
By Swarthmore Reference
HIST 001W - Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies (Spring 2019)
Slides for research workshop for History 001W
