HST278: U.S. Women's History since 1865



	Research > Library Research Guides > HST278: U.S. Women's History since 1865

Spring 2008 - J. Guglielmo
reference contact: Pamela Skinner x2961

Background & Context| Books | Articles |Evaluating & Citing Sources | Reference Desk Hours

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Use scholarly encyclopedias for background & context, a list of suggested readings, and (sometimes) a lead on primary source material.

Reference Source	Reference Call Number
Dictionary of American History - 10 vols.	ref E 174 .D52 2003
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History - 3 vols.	ref E 169.1 .E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American Social History - 3 vols.	ref HN 57 .E58 1993
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century - 5 vols.	ref E 740.7 .E53 1996
American National Biography. [A "must search" for biographical information and leads on primary/secondary sources]	click here

FIND BOOKS

5 College Library Catalog

To start your subject search, click on SUBJECT BEGINS WITH and try such search terms as those listed below.

Note that the "correct" subject heading isn't always obvious.
If a subject search doesn't work, try a keyword search to find a few relevant titles. Then click on the subject headings on those records to conduct a more comprehensive subject search.
Remember to search people (e.g. Margaret Sanger) and organizations (e.g. National Congress of Neighborhood Women) as both author and subject.
To limit to recent publication dates, click on the Advanced Search tab and use the Years From and To boxes

English	Library-speak
Margaret Sanger	Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966 Birth control - United States Eugenics - United States Sterilization (Birth control) - United States Women social reformers - United States Women’s rights - United States - History
National Congress of Neighborhood Women	National Congress of Neighborhood Women Community organization Feminism Working class women - Political activity Neighborhood government
Feminist movement	Feminism - United States - History Feminists - United States - History Feminist theory Women - United States - History - 20th century Women - United States - Legal status, laws, etc. Women - United States - Social conditions

WorldCat - Use WorldCat to expand your search for books, theses, etc. beyond the Five-College area. Watch for items that are owned by only one library: such unique material is often not obtainable via interlibrary loan. If you plan to use interlibrary loan to request books and theses, please allow at least 2 weeks for delivery.

FIND ARTICLES

Use the databases below to identify articles and essays (secondary literature) on your topic.

Use the buttons within the databases below to see if Smith has the article you need either in electronic or print format.
If you identify an article from another source, use the Journal Locator to locate the article online or in print.
If you need to use interlibrary loan to requests articles, allow a week or so (though often the articles arrive within days).

The major database for American history:

America, History and Life - Lists articles, book reviews, collections, and dissertations published from 1953 to the present; links to articles in J-STOR, ProjectMuse, and other full-text sources

Recommended Aggregators/Full-Text Sources:

J-STOR - Full-text articles from major history journals, among other disciplines; coverage lags roughly 3 years behind printed version of the journal

ProjectMuse - Full-text articles from major history journals, among other disciplines; coverage limited to issues from the past 5-10 years

Other possibilities:

Academic Search Premier - 1965 to present - A mix of scholary and popular articles

LGBT Life with Full Text - Core journals on gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender issues

Women's Studies International - 1972 to present - Indexes articles on women in a variety of scholarly journals.

Consult the library's subject pages for other possibilities; from the library's homepage, click on Find Resources/Choose Subject.

CITING SOURCES

Remember to cite your souce, when either quoting directly or paraphasing
Cite your source whenever you present an idea that isn't your own
Websites must be cited in your notes/bibliography; if you cut and paste--or
paraphrase--from a website, cite the webpage
When in doubt, cite your source
For citing primary sources, refer to Citing SSC Materials
For secondary sources, use Chicago Manual of Style format: Quick guide (Univ. of Wisconsin) or full version
For help with your writing, remember the writing services available at the Jacobson Center

EVALUATING SOURCES

Document Analysis Worksheets (National Archives) - Worksheets that will help you analyze different kinds of documents, including written documents, photographs, posters, etc.

Using Primary Sources on the Web: Evaluating Primary Source Websites (Instruction & Research Services Committee, Reference and User Service Association History Section, American Library Association)

Evaluating internet resources (Univ. of Maryland)

REFERENCE DESK HOURS

Click here for Neilson Library reference desk hours.

CONTACT THE REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

Contact Pamela Skinner, the instructor for your library session: pskinner@email.smith.edu

YOUR FEEDBACK

Click here to provide feedback on this library session.

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Last Updated: March 27, 2008