Finding Books

Most research assignments should have a combination of different source types within your research. Books are a great resource for doing research. E-books and physical books both fall into this category.

Books differ from peer-reviewed journal articles because books provide general overviews of a topic, whereas articles are shorter and more specific.

Remember: You don't have to read the entire book! If there is one chapter in the book that works for your topic, just read that chapter.

Find Books at the VCSU Library

Using the VCSU Library Catalog

The link to the library catalog will take you to an advanced search. Use these steps to fill in the search box:

Make sure the "library catalog" option is selected at the top of the search box.
Enter the keyword you want to search.
Add a second keyword to the next line if you want to be more specific.
Click the "material type" dropdown menu on the right side of the box, then choose "books."
The language dropdown is right below the material type. Pick English from these options unless you specifically need a book in another language.
If you need a book published during a specific time period, use the start date and end date options below the language menu to set a date range.
Click search to get your results!

Your results will come up as a list of sources with the ability to save links. Along the right side of the page is a sidebar with more filtering options.

The sidebar is labeled "Tweak your results." Use some or all of the following tips to narrow down your results further:

Your results are normally sorted by relevance, but you can sort them by date, title, or author instead if you prefer.
Use the "availability: section to choose what format of book you prefer. If you want E-books, choose "available online." If you want physical books, choose "physical items."
You can use the "subject" section to make sure you are only looking at sources from the fields of study you need. For example, If I want to research space exploration, but the search term "exploration" brought information about both exploring space and historical exploration of the United States, I can check here for ways to filter out the unwanted options.
If you didn't add a date to your original search or if you don't like the date range you used, you can edit the date range under the "creation date" section.

Finding Scholarly Articles

These articles are basically the "bread-and-butter" sources for scholarly research - they're used in every discipline.

What does peer-reviewed mean?

If an article is peer-reviewed that means that before the article was published it was reviewed and scrutinized by other experts in the same field. This process ensures that the sources are reliable and trustworthy.

Why you should use them:

Information is based on research and expertise
Information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
The peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
They add to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas

These source types may also be referred to as peer-reviewed article, academic article, or journal article.

Here are some of the best databases to use for finding scholarly articles in history:

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Premier is a general coverage database providing full-text access to thousands of scholarly journals across a wide range of disciplines, including history, social science, library science, computer science, language and literature, art, education, and life sciences.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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JSTOR is a multi-disciplinary database providing archival access to scholarly journals in the arts, language and literature, history, sciences, and social sciences. Typically, the most recent three to five years of a journal are not available through JSTOR.
European Views of the Americas This link opens in a new window
EBSCO Publishing, in cooperation with the John Carter Brown Library, has created this resource from European Americana: A Chronological Guide to Works Printed in Europe Relating to the Americas, 1493-1750, the authoritative bibliography that is well-known and respected by scholars worldwide. The database contains more than 32,000 entries and is a comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. It covers the history of European exploration as well as portrayals of Native American peoples. A wide range of subject areas are covered; from natural disasters to disease outbreaks and slavery.

Finding Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

a primary source is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study.

Finding Primary Sources

There are many places to look for primary sources. One helpful way to locate primary sources is to search the library catalog and narrow the date field to the time period you are researching.

Below is a selection of places to look for additional primary sources. For more information about primary sources visit our History (Primary Sources) guide.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) This link opens in a new window
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a collaborative project that connects users to scanned texts, images, and other information from a number of content hubs around the country. Hubs include Hathi Trust, the Internet Archive, reputable universities, and many public libraries.
Hathi Trust This link opens in a new window
Hathi Trust provides access to millions of digitized works from around the world in the public domain, through a partnership with over sixty research institutions and libraries.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project This link opens in a new window
From Fordham University history professor Paul Halsall, a sourcebook for primary sources available on the web. Particularly useful for identifying primary sources from pre-modern eras.

Finding Reference Resources

Reference resources are great sources to provide you with background information or context for a topic. These resources can be dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, etc.

The best place at the VCSU Library to find reference information is our Credo Reference Database.

Finding Biographies

Biographies are great sources to provide you with background information or context for a topic.

The following resources are great places to start when searching for biographical information:

Biography In Context This link opens in a new window
Biography in Context offers access to biographies for hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout history and around the world. Biographies are placed in context among content from other sources including academic journals and news periodicals, and multimedia content from radio, television, and the web.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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A one-stop reference source featuring information from encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and more. Includes images, video, audio pronunciation of terms, maps, data tables, quotations, citation assistance. Subjects include art, biography, quotations, technology, medicine, and more.
Ancestry Library This link opens in a new window
A genealogy collection that contains more than 4,000 databases and 1.5 billion names. Only accessible from inside a state library.

Finding Multimedia
Useful Resources

Archival Films and Newsreels Video Collection: The Archival Films & Newsreels Video Collection provides access to archival and historical films from multiple sources, including the WPA Film Library, the Prelinger Archives, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the United and Universal Newsreel collections. Find films related to news, world and American history, politics, the arts and sciences, and primary source footage from the late 1800s to the present.

Films On Demand: History Video Collection: Films on Demand provides streaming access to thousands of videos on topics related to history. Content includes educational videos, lectures, documentaries, and news footage.

Kanopy: Kanopy provides access to thousands of full length documentaries, educational videos, and theatrical films.