Professor Fortin

Steps in library research: Overview

• Select a topic. (If your topic is too narrow, you will have difficulty finding enough information; if it is too broad, you will be swamped with information.) 
• Background information can often be found in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works.
• Find books (Books often treat a topic more comprehensively than journal articles. Books can be a good place to find an overview of a topic. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of a chapter.)
• Find articles (Journal articles usually have the most up to date information on a topic. Since journal articles are often more focused than books, they may provide more specific information than books. References to additional articles and books can often be found in a bibliography at the end of an article.)
• Consider supplementary materials such as internet sources. Many primary sources are available online.
• Organize the findings.
• Use the information to address the research topic.

Finding books

 

Library Catalog

Find books, videos, compact discs, reserves, and other materials. It does NOT have information about individual journal articles. The Advanced Search feature allows limiting by language, series, collection, document type, year.

To view detailed information about an item, click on the number link on the left of the entry.

Availability is shown by numbers to the right  (e. g. 1/0). The first number is the number owned by the library; the last number is how many are checked out.

Subjects are listed at the bottom of the detailed entry. These subjects will link to other materials on the same subject.

 

A BASIC KEYWORD search allows you to search by fields such as author, subject, words in title, exact title.

 

A BASIC BROWSE search displays an alphabetical list of entries. This is particularly useful when you don't know the exact author, title, or subject heading. Look for terms such as "Sources", "Correspondence", "Interviews", "Personal Narratives" to find primary source material.

 

For historical subjects, you may find it easier to browse the print Library of Congress Subject Headings (multi-volume red books by the computers near Milne Library Room 108) to find the appropriate subject headings for your topic.

Hartwick College  (link on the Milne Library home page)

SUNY Oneonta students may borrow materials with a valid SUNY ID card.

 

WorldCAT (link the Milne Library home page)

A catalog of books owned by libraries world wide. Good for in-depth research of a topic. Interlibrary loan usually takes a few days but occasionally can take longer. Be sure to allow plenty of time!

 

Google Books

A good source for out-of-copyright books. Since the collections of several large research libraries have been digitized it may be possible to get on-line copies of books written during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. 

Finding articles

 

America History and Life (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z).

Abstracts of articles & dissertations covering U.S. and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Includes links to some full-text articles.

  

Historical Abstracts (link on the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z).                                            

Indexes international scholarly literature on world history of the period between 1450 and the present, excluding the U.S. and Canada. Includes links to some full-text articles.

 

Academic Search Premier  (link on the Milne Library home page)

Provides full text for nearly 4,650 journals (including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications) and indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals in nearly every area of academic study.

 

JSTOR archive (link on the Milne Library home page)

Provides access to the full text of over 300 scholarly journals across many subject areas, including history. The objective of JSTOR is to provide all issues back to Volume 1, Issue 1 for all journals.  (Due to copyright restrictions, the most recent 3-5 years are usually unavailable.)

 

Project Muse  (link on the Milne Library home page)

Full text of over 100 scholarly journals in fields including literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, political science, gender studies, and economics.

 

Arts and Humanities Search

 

A citation index. Citation indexes are useful if you are interested in who cited a particular work or a listing of cited references from an article.  References to over 1100 arts and humanities sources. Although journals indexed are from 1980 to the present, it is a good place to find references to older articles. Topics of the articles range from ancient to modern.

 

Central Search (link on the Milne Library home page)

Central Search is designed to search many databases at once. It is a good choice when you wish to find which databases have the most information on a topic or after other possibilities have been exhausted  Fine-tuned searches are best conducted in individual databases.

Finding the full-text of the article:

When the full text is not in the database, follow these steps, beginning with number one, until you are able to obtain a copy of the article.

1.      Find It! Look for Find It! button. This links to a menu that indicates other databases where the full text of the article might be found. Often there is a direct link to the full text of the article. If not, search the indicated database by the title of the article. If the full text isn’t available, go to step 2.

2.      Serials Solutions. Open a new browser window. From the library home page select Serials Solutions. Type in the title of the periodical (NOT the title of the article) you’re looking for. This will bring up a screen listing databases that have full text for the periodical you want. Once in a databases, search by the title of the article. If one of the listed databases doesn’t have the full text of the article you want, go to step 3.

3.      Library Subscription. From the library home page select Search the Catalog. Click on Reserves or Journals in the top bar, then choose Journal Titles in Milne Library, then type in the title of the journal. This will tell you if the library subscribes to the journal in print. If the library does not subscribe to the periodical, the article can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan.

Primary sources:

"`Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event or topic under consideration, either as participants or as witnesses. Examples of primary sources include eyewitness accounts, decrees, letters and diaries, newspapers and magazines, speeches, autobiographies, and treatises... By examining primary sources, historians gain insights into the thoughts, behaviors, and experiences or the people of the past. When using a written primary sources, it is important to read the source itself. Do not simply rely on another historian's analysis of the source." (Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, p. 4.)

"Primary sources may be published or unpublished. A book by Ernest Hemingway and newspaper review of Hemingway's book are both published, but the former is a primary source and the later is a secondary one. Alternatively, however, if researching how critics reviewed Hemingway's works, the newspaper reviews would be a primary source for that investigation. Newspapers, magazines, mail-order catalogs, government publications, corporate annual reports, and a host of other published items are primary sources of great significance". (D'Aniello, Charles A. Teaching Bibliographic Skills in History, p. 266

The Milne Library Catalog can be used to search for primary documents. Add terms such as Sources, Correspondence, Interviews, Personal Narratives to your search.

Microfilm in Milne Library (mostly related to American history)

Microfilm is often an excellent way to find older materials that are too fragile for general use.  Milne Library owns many parts of the The American Periodical Series (1741 - 1900). Descriptions of the periodicals can be found in American Periodicals 1741 - 1900 Milne Library Reference PN4877.H65.

Sample titles from the American Periodical Series:

APS 1: American magazine and historical chronicle: Sept. 1743-Dec. 1746
APS 2: American magazine; or, A monthly view of the political state of the British colonies: Jan.-Mar. 1741
APS 8: Boston weekly magazine Mar. 2-16, 1743APS 8: The Censor   Nov.23, 1771 - May 2, 1772
APS  19: The New American magazine 1758-1760
APS 19: New-England magazine of knowledge and pleasure 1758-1759
APS 24: Occasional reverberator:  Sept. 7-Oct. 5, 1753
APS 24: Pennsylvania Magazine   Jan. 1775 - July 1776
APS 24: Penny Post   Jan 9 - 27 1769
APS 26: Royal American Magazine   Jan 1774 - Mar 1775
APS 30: United States Magazine: A Repository of History, Politics, and Literature   Jan - Dec 1779

Hint: It is possible to limit a search in the Milne Library catalog to only microfilm of materials from a specific time period by using the Advanced Search form. It is also possible to browse titles in the American Periodical Series by searching under "American Periodical Series" as a series.
 

Maps

The best way to locate maps of historical interest available in Milne Library is to search the catalog for atlases.  WorldCat can also be searched for atlases; however, due to their size and reference use they may be unavailable through Interlibrary Loan.

The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection is an outstanding internet source for historical maps.

In addition to general history sites, Google Images can be used to find reproductions of original maps

Newspapers

Newspapers on microfilm can be located by searching the Milne Library catalog.  Hint: Limit the search to Periodicals in the Advanced Search form.

WorldCAT in combination with Interlibrary Loan can be used to obtain newspapers not in Milne Library, particularly if they are available in microfilm format

Government Records

A selection of U.S. government documents is included the Milne Library catalog.  The Milne Library Government Documents web site has further suggestions.

The University of Michigan has a selection of Foreign Government Resources on the Web.

Artwork

Books provide the best source for reproductions of artwork in Milne Library. When searching the Library Catalog, it is useful to have the name of an artist in mind, although keyword searches may sometimes be effective. Similarly, WorldCAT can be used to locate art books not in Milne Library.

Searching Google Images by artist or subject is another good way to locate reproductions of artwork.

Web sites:

The web can be a good source of primary documents. For example, the Library of Congress American Memory project and American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement have digitized thousands of primary documents including letters, maps, manuscripts.

Google Books can be limited by time period; eg. 1700 - 1790.  Since several large research libraries have been digitized, it is possible to find the original editions. For example, it is possible to find an original book from 1788: An Essay on Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species by Thomas Clarkson.

Google (Advanced Search) can be used to locate primary source materials.  It may be useful to add terms such as primary source, sermon, letters, diaries, speeches, eyewitness accounts, correspondence, personal narratives, etc. It also is possible to limit the search by domain name See Domain name registries around the world..

Citations/Writing a research paper

Microsoft Office Word 2007 has a tab for managing references including endnotes, footnotes, and bibliographic citations. Not all types of citation are included. It is also advisable to check the citations for accuracy.

Chicago Manual of Style    Milne Library Reference  Z 253 U69 2003

 

History Student Writer's Manual    Milne Library Reference  D 13 H4147.1998

Chapters on writing, paper formats, citing sources, organizing the research process, library research, web research, book reviews, topical history papers, biographies and oral history.

Plagiarism

When you use information from a book, article, or web site, don't forget to cite it in proper fashion!  Remember to paraphrase and use your own language. For further tips see:

Plagiarism-  What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It

College at Oneonta: Academic Honesty policy

Turnitin.com is often used at the College at Oneonta to detect plagiarism.

Need more help?

Research/Information specialists are available to help you with your research most hours the library is open.  Reference librarians can also be reached by email ( libref@oneonta.edu. or  http://www.oneonta.edu/library/reference/ask.asp ) or telephone (607-436-2722).  In addition, Research Consultations  (a link on the Milne Library home page) are available for in-depth research assistance.

Nancy Cannon (cannonns@oneonta.edu)
OFFICE HOURS by appointment

Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta
Last revised January 2008