Accessing Chaffey Library Databases
1. Click on link of online library resource you wish to access. When prompted, login using your MyChaffey ID and password (same as used for wireless access onsite at Chaffey). The click on Login button. The login window will close and you will be directed to the library resource(s) you selected.
2. Haven't used MyChaffey yet? Go to https://my.chaffey.edu.
3. Your MyChaffey ID is first name initial and last name initial in lowercase plus 7-digit Chaffey College ID number (for example, Chaffey Charlie's ID would be cc0323232). Your password is your 6-digit birthdate in MMDDYY format (no spaces, example: 080792) the first time you login.
4. You will then be required to change your password and set up your security/password reset questions once logged into MyChaffey.
Online Library Resources for the Final Project
One of the standards indicated in the grading scale for the final project is the sources used. Professor Greene wants his students to use a variety of carefully slected, high quality sources to support analysis of major turning points in history. Below are some suggestions for recommended online library resources.
- eBook Collection This link opens in a new windowAccess to over 200,000 full-text eBooks, many by academic and university presses published in the past ten years. Good for reliable background information on a topic. Also includes some primary sources.Under the Books section of our Databases page. Please note that eBook Collection also contains some encyclopedias and disctionaries; I would recommend steering clear of using these in works cited for the final project.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to wide variety of academic journal articles. Excellent coverage in history and related disciplines. Good resource for in-depth analysis of a specific topic/event. Note: See the side bar to left for tips for using JSTOR effectively.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to articles out of academic journals as well as general interest magazines with excellent coverage in a wide variety of disciplines. Watch the How To Use Academic Search Complete video.
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new windowIncludes magazine and academic journal articles in the field of politics and government, many relevant to the history field.
Primary and Secondary Sources
For some research projects, it is important (or you may be required) to use primary sources, instead of or in addition to secondary sources. So what's the difference?
Primary sources-A primary source is an original object or document -- the raw material or first-hand information. Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects. In the natural and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies -- research where an experiment was done or a direct observation was made. The results of empirical studies are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences, so those articles and papers that present the original results are considered primary sources.
Secondary sources-A secondary source is something written about a primary source. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material. You can think of secondary sources as second-hand information. If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the secondary source. Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original research.