History
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
Contents |
Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature
Level 1 Reference D20 .A55 1995
Published in 1995, the American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature is a two volume bibliographic work of printed historical literature in English. The work contains 48 sections, either topics, such as Science, Technology, and Medicine or geography/chronology, like Ancient Near East. The Guide contains 26,926 bibliographic citations. Each section has an introductory essay, a guide to the contents and an annotated bibliography.
- Archives USA
Simmons E-resource
Do you need to find a primary source or original document? ArchivesUSA is a directory to over 5,500 repositories and over 141,178 collections of primary source material across the United States. It also provides contact information, such as phone and fax numbers, hours of service, email addresses, and web page links when available, so that easily be in contact with a repository.
- Dictionary of the History of Ideas
Level 1 Reference CB5 .D52 and Free Online
This four volume work is concerned with the origin and evolution of different ideas. There is an analytical table of contents that explains how the histories of ideas are grouped together. There is also an article list for finding a specific topic alphabetically. This work was updated in 2004 as the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. The updated set has more of a global focus and includes more than twice as many articles as the Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
- Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing
Level 1 Reference D14 .E53 1999
This source contains entries about historians ranging from Lord Acton to Zhang Xuecheng, the eighteenth century Chinese philosopher and historian. Furthermore, this encyclopedia provides information on familiar historians, such as Edward Gibbon and Plutarch, as well as to the less well known historians, such as Fernando Ortiz, the founder of Afro-Cuban studies. Entires are lengthy and concentrates on the contribution each historian has made to the study of history.
- Historic Documents Series
Simmons Eresource
A fulltext library of more than 2,500 primary sources covering current events around the world from 1972 to present. Documents included include legislation, government reports, treaties, policies, speeches, and more.
U.S. History
- American Decades
Level 1 Reference E169.12 .A419
This 10 volume Social History resource addresses historical issues by decade. Each volume has thirteen chapters which cover issues such as World Events, Arts, Business and the Economy, Education, Fashion, Government/Politics, Law/Justice, Lifestyles/Social Trends, Media, Medicine/Health, Religion, Science/Technology and Sports. Within the chapters, references are listed, and images of historical importance are included.
- Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution
Level 1 Reference E208 .B635 1991
Exclusively focuses on the history and background of the American Revolution, from the Colonial background up to the creation of the Constitution. Background information includes information about the role and actions of women, Native Americans, and African Americans.
- Dictionary of American History
Level 1 Reference E174 .D52 2003
This ten-volume resource contains alphabetical, signed entries of varying length on a range of topics that not only cover major political, military and economic developments but also emphasize cultural and social history. Some entries are consolidated under a larger topic, easily located with cross-references. Although a "dictionary," its function is more like an encyclopedia - there is little definition of subject terms. Volume 9 consists of original historical documents and period maps.
- Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
Level 1 Reference E185 .E54 2006
A comprehensive, six-volume set on African American history in the United States. The entries are in-depth and cover individuals, key places and events, culture, and history. Each entry is signed and provides a list of references.
- Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History
Level 1 Reference E169.1 .E624 2001
This three volume set covers the cultural impact of American history from the 1600's through modern times. There are in-depth accounts of important historical events as well as detailed time-lines.
- Encyclopedia of American History
Level 1 Reference E174 .E53 2003
Unlike other encyclopedias, EAH is arranged chronologically rather than alphabetically. Volume 1 covers prehistory through the founding of Jamestown (1607); the second volume runs from 1608 to 1760. The remaining eight volumes cover ten- to fifty-year time spans apiece, while volume 11 serves as the set's index.
- Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America
Level 1 Reference E188 .E63 1990
Covering the U.S. to about 1785, and designed as a quick reference tool, this volume has numerous entries on people, places, religious themes, and economic and political terms. A special feature of this encyclopedia is the topic guides.
- Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America
Level 1 Reference HQ76.3.U5 E53 2004
One of the foremost gay historians in the U.S., Stein has an impressive track record trying to bring gay history into the mainstream while promoting its separate development. The encyclopedia has more than 500 signed entries, each with a bibliography; many also have illustrations (the book contains over 200 illustrations).
- Encyclopedia of Women in American History
Level 1 Reference HQ1410 .E53 2002
Each volume of this extensive encyclopedia covers a separate period: 1585-1820, 1820-1900, and 1900-present. Each begins with a brief time line, a table of contents, and essays with bibliographies that situate women in the context of the period.
- Historical Statistics of the States of the United States
Level 1 Reference HA214 .D63 1993
A major problem in using statistical data for historical analysis is that of identifying data items that are available and consistently defined throughout the period desired.This work definitely enhances the value of census data for plotting historical trends.
- Oxford Companion to United States History
Level 1 Reference E174 .O94 2001
This companion will help students understand U.S. history through entries for personalities (especially those who were first in their fields), events, major Supreme Court decisions, landmark legislation, social movements, ideologies, technological/scientific changes, social processes such as immigration, and influential books.
World History
- Cambridge Ancient History
Level 1 Reference D57 .C252
This multi-volume set contains in-depth historical overviews of different periods of ancient world history, from the first stirrings of ancient Egypt to the fall of the Roman empire. Each volume features one geographical area and is made up of articles on the history, society, economy, literature, and scholarly advancements of a specific period. There is a lot of information in each article or section of each volume, so this resource is better used for research and papers, rather than quick reference.
- Day By Day
Level 1 Reference D421
This series of reference book covers historical and cultural events for each decade of history, from the forties to the nineties. The information covered is global, but generally viewed from an American perspective, and global events are included insofar as they have an impact on American conscience or history. Information is organized, as the title suggests, in a day-by-day format, with each date potentially having an entry for different types of events, i.e. European, World, American, social, cultural, technological, etc.
- International Historical Statistics
Level 1 Reference HA1107 .M5 1992
This book features historical statistics for Europe from 1750 to 1988. Consisting of pages upon pages of useful tables, the book covers information from agriculture to education and more. This is an excellent resource for older information.
- People's Chronology
Free Online
Available online via the Answers.com portal, this source provides a year-by-year snapshot of the history of humanity from prehistory to the present.
- World History: A Dictionary of Important People, Places, and Events from Ancient Times to the Present
Level 1 Reference D9 .W47 1994
This book was constructed to provide quick and simple historical references for college students. As such, it features an alphabetically arranged collection of short entries from Abbadides to Zoroastrianism. Readers will note that the entries for American and popular European history are longer and more in depth than others, but in general the book is a good source of quick information on different historical points.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- America: History and Life
Simmons Eresource
This database, which is incredibly user-friendly, contains articles and abstracts from articles, reviews, and dissertations about the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present.
- Historical Abstracts
Simmons Eresource
This database is a very useful place to turn for citations and abstracts from articles, books, and dissertations. The focus is world history (excluding North America) from 1450 to the present.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you
to find History information on the free web.
Use this History Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the
same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the History Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
