If you’re about to tackle a history research paper, here are some online reference books (eBooks), databases, web sites, and tools that should help you out! NOTE: if you’re doing a Google search, instead try Google Scholar to get more academic results!
The eBooks (electronic books) in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (in InfoTrac) are exactly like their printed book versions – but, unlike a paper book, you can easily search through all of the pages electronically. You can browse through the History category for a list of book titles, or search all of them at once.
Also consider Salem’s Great Lives from History (20th Century).
- InfoTrac ~ you can either start with specific databases within InfoTrac, like World History in Context, Academic OneFile, the World History Collection, or the American History Collection – or follow the Step-by-Step Guide and search all of the databases at once! Any articles found in InfoTrac can be saved to your Google Drive…including any highlighting you make within the article AND citations!
- Britannica School ~ consider this a good starting point – it doesn’t have the same depth as InfoTrac, but it’s a great introduction to a lot of topics. When you’re using this at school, you won’t need a password; from home, see Ms. Martin for the username and password (handout in the library)
General Resources:
- BBC’s History site (scroll down through the images to get to the menu at the bottom)
- British Museum
- Google Arts & Culture: British Museum
- Encyclopedia Smithsonian
- Library of Congress World History & Cultures
- Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Canadian History:
- Historica
- Canadiana – includes Early Canadiana Online
- CBC Archives
- Atlas of Canada
- The Prime Ministers of Canada
American History:
Classics/Ancient/Medieval History:
- Research Notes Worksheet ~ use this worksheet to collect and organize your research notes. It will make it easier to write your paper later AND keep an accurate list of your sources for your Works Cited
- How to Properly Reference a Research Paper:
- Works Cited – MLA example (includes “List of Images Used)
- Citation Maker (MLA) ~ as you find a resource, create the citation right away – it will save time and energy later! Then, just use the beginning part of the citation in the “Source” column on the Research Notes Worksheet
- Plagiarism Pitfalls~ it is CRUCIAL for you to properly track, reference, and cite your sources. This handout is a reminder of what to watch out for to avoid unintentionally plaigiarizing your papers.
