Research with Library Resources (History TEMPLATE)

As you continue finding information, keep in mind that research is a cycle- first you SEARCH, then you REad, then you search again... RESEARCH!

As you use the library databases, you'll find that some keywords work better than others. Be sure to keep an eye out for additional keywords that you may not have originally thought of. For example, you might start by searching in the databases for "D-Day", but maybe a better keyword would be "Invasion of Normandy", or a combination like "Normandy" AND "World War II". Be flexible and use lots of different words!

Also try searching in multiple databases. After searching Academic Search Complete, try another database- it will give you different articles and different perspectives. JSTOR and America: History and Life are also great sources for History research.

Primary sources are first-hand evidence related to the time or event you are investigating. This includes accounts by participants or observers and a wide range of written, physical, audio or visual materials created at the time or later by someone with direct experience.

In the sciences and social sciences, primary sources or 'primary research' are original research experiments, studies, or observations written about by the researchers themselves.

What is a Secondary Source?

If a primary source is direct first-hand evidence, then a secondary source is second-hand commentary including anything that investigates, comments on, brings together, or reviews those primary sources and other secondary sources.

Portions of this information was adapted from Scribbr.com "Primary and secondary sources"

Books are a great resource for your assignments and research! Why?

• Books contain a lot of information. They provide overviews, background information, and also detailed information on specific issues in that subject.
• Books are often well-edited and more credible than websites and newspaper/magazine articles.

But they're so... LONG! No one has time to read a whole book for just one source in a paper!

Don't worry, you don't have to read the entire book in order to cite it in your paper! Skim the book's contents for information relevant to your research by looking at the table of contents or chapter titles. If you are using the library's eBooks, you can also search within the book to find where your keywords appear in the text to find the most relevant sections.

There's a team of research experts who are eager to help you find the sources you need- your Chaffey Librarians! Whether you're trying to figure out how to use the databases, how to figure out if a website is credible, or how to pick a good topic, we are here to help you at all points of your journey! You can find a librarian on Cranium Cafe or you can email us at library@chaffey.edu. You can also make an appointment to talk with a librarian on Zoom by emailing us as well.