Early Modern World - West African Societies (HIST200)
From PhillipsWiki
Contents |
Getting Started
- Begin your research with an understanding of the research process
- The research process can be broken down into four parts. This link articulates the 4 steps and will guide you to better research.
- Sheets for recording bibliographic information
- These sheets will help you organize the sources for your bibliography
Gaining an overview with Reference Sources
Reference Sources are a great way to get broad information on a subject or idea. These books can help inform you on putting your ideas into a larger context.
| Call Number | Title |
|---|---|
| REF 403 D15d | Dictionary of Languages |
| REF 409 At65 | Atlas of Languages |
| REF 305.8 En19 | Encyclopedia of Peoples of the World |
| REF 305.8 W88 | Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life |
| REF 306 Il6 | Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind |
| REF 306.3 H62 | Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery |
| REF 960 En192 | Encyclopedia of African Peoples |
| REF 960 En193 | Encyclopedia of African Nations and Civilizations |
| REF 960 H27f | From Afar to Zulu a Dictionary of African Cultures |
| REF 960.03 P146e | Encyclopedia of African History and Culture |
| REF 967 En19 | Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara |
The reference books will give you an overview of your subject; check the bibliographies for further information. Remember to use cross references, indexes, and tables of contents to help you locate information.
Delving deeper with Books
Books offer a more complete look at a subject as well as give good ideas for other resources and references.
Finding books and more at the OWHL
Reserve List
- Reserve List for West African Societies
- The above link will list all the books "on the cart" for this class.
Searching the Catalog
Most people start with a keyword searchof the library catalog. The computer will look for your words in the book "record" The record contains an item's title, author, subject, and table of contents or item summary.
Choose your keywords carefully!
Subject Searches'' are an even more powerful way to search the catalog. They will focus your search using the exact terminology employed by librarians to describe the book. Subjects can be found by clicking on the "more information" tab in the record
Interlibrary Loan
Finding Articles using Databases
Article databases contain thousands of articles organized and searchable using keywords, sepcific journal titles, publishing dates, etc... Information contained in articles can be more specific than book information as well as more up to date. The primary method to access articles from magazines and journals is through databases. You can access these databases both on and off campus. If you're off campus, you may be prompted for your "library card number". This is simply your PA ID number, which is on your ID card.
Below is a chart of some databases that you may find helpful in this assignment. To see a listing of all the databases to which the library subscribes, visit the Databases A-Z Page.
| Title of Database Click on to go to database | About the Database |
|---|---|
| Ancient and Medieval History Online | This database includes overview essays, biographies, primary sources, chronologies, maps, videos, etc. |
| JSTOR | Learn more about the scope and purpose of JSTOR. |
| Project Muse | Learn more about the scope and purpose of Project Muse. |
Exploring Internet Sources
You will probably find websites helpful for this project. Always remember to evaluate your sources when you are looking at websites. Below is a list of some sites you should find worthwhile for your project.
Citations and Documentation
Make sure you are citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism!
All citation guides are available at the Main Help Desk and Garver Room Help Desk.
