EN 2211: Elements of Writing

M. Nugent

Off campus?

Access resources with proxy.

Inspirations & Documents for Your Narrative

Primary Resource Research Guide

The Transcontinental Railroad, from PBS series, Chinese Tea Carrier

Books

Search the Library Catalog for items @ WPI

Reference Materials: Print & Online

Biography Resource Center - check dates/facts on people
Gale encyclopedia of multicultural America online or Reference E184 A1 G14 1995 v.1-2
Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups. General Collection or Reference E184 A1 H35. Information on various groups, immigration patterns.
Oxford Reference - History (online books) - check facts/dates
Oxford English Dictionary (online version) - check word origins

Browse the library catalog for one or two books that could be useful for your project and jot down the call number.
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Possible subjects:

See Yale's Library of Congress Subject Headings - to Identify Primary Source Materials for more

Search WorldCat for Books Beyond WPI

Browse WorldCat to find another book, that is not available at WPI. What library is it available at? Try Advanced Search to limit to ARC Academic Research Collaborative for library materials at Worcester area college libraries.
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Find Articles about Your Topic

All databases listed are WPI subscriptions.

Readers' Guide Index to Periodical Literature: References to popular magazine articles on all topics 1890 - 1982.
American History & Life/Historical Abstracts: References to academic articles on historic topics.
Gale Powersearch: Articles on all topics. Contains articles back to the 1980s but good coverage of historical topics.
JSTOR: Complete full text of important scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields. Coverage: Varies by publication but many back to late 1800s.
New York Times Historical: Complete full text. Coverage: 1851-2003.
For more: All Databases and Electronic Resources

Search within two of the above databases for articles on your topic. Try to email at least one citation, or full text, to yourself. If you have trouble coming up with articles, review your keywords used and consider new search terms.

What journal or magazine are the article from? Are they available in full text? Or just an abstract? If only an abstract is found, find the full text, using the library's Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers list or place an Interlibrary Loan request if you'd like us to get a copy of the article for you from another library.

Only Finding a Citation? Getting the Full Text

Is the journal online or here in the library? Use FullTextFinder to link to full articles or retrieval options within database results or search our Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers list
Visit another library: Search WorldCat to find one
Request delivery from another library: Interlibrary Loan.

Primary Source Materials - Web Sites

There are numerous options and the web is a great place for inspiration for your narrative. Many collections of oral histories, letters, and other types of primary documents are being digitized.

In the First Person
Library of Congress - American Memory
History Matters
Making of America - 19th c.
For more tools & search tips, see our Primary Resource Research Guide

Search the above for 1 or 2 Oral Histories, Letters, other item that will help with your historical narrative

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Not finding much, try a web search using keywords such as:
("oral history" OR "oral histories" OR interview OR narratives OR "first person" OR "oral tradition" OR letters OR memoirs) AND chinese AND "transcontinental railroad" AND california

Questions?

Stop by the reference desk or set up a research consultation.

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Last modified: Feb 15, 2008, 10:31 EST