HI 2342: Cultures in Contact

J. Forgeng

Before library session...

Review Developing a Topic - Research Circuit Tutorial
Complete worksheet, print & bring to class (Anderson Lab A - Library)

Make a list of keywords and add to this list as you find more
Follow up on relevant authors, researchers, experts

Off campus?

Access resources with proxy.

Books

Search the Library Catalog for items @ WPI or WorldCat to search beyond our library.

Browse the library catalog for one book that could be useful for your project and jot down the call number. If you don't have a topic yet, find one book on the topic related to cultures in contact.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Browse WorldCat to find another book, that is not available at WPI. What library is it available at? What does ARC stand for?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Can the library get it for you? How do you go about requesting the item? How long would it take?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Find Articles about Your Topic

Filter and Follow Up...

Scan results: use subject headings/descriptors, keywords, phrases found to expand search
Scrutinize article titles, number of pages, and journal title
Browse promising abstract and conclusion sections of long studies
Bibliographies can clue you in on the value of the article as well
Find an interesting author? Search for more articles or for his/her web site
Notice an agency, association or expert mentioned in an article? Follow up!

All databases listed are WPI subscriptions. But check out Google Scholar, a web search of scholarly sources.

Historical Abstracts: References to articles on historic topics.
Gale Powersearch: Articles on all topics, click refereed checkbox to limit only to scholarly articles. 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.
Project Muse: Search full text of major historical and global studies journal, most academic sources.

Search within two of the above databases for articles on your topic. Try to email at least two citations, or full text, to yourself. Check with the librarian or your professor if you are not sure the article is quality scholarly work. If you have trouble coming up with articles, review your keyword concept map. Revise your search based on new terms you come across.

Example of an MLA Citation from a library subscription service:

Gooday, Graeme J. N. and Morris F. Low. "Technology Transfer and

Cultural Exchange." Osiris 13 (1998): 99-128.

JSTOR. Gordon Library Worcester

Polytechnic Institute, MA. 15 Jan. 2007

<http://www.jstor.org>.

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.

Give Credit! Cite Your Sources

Try RefWorks, if you wish to create a database of your personal references, which can be output into MLA format for your bibliography.

Additional Web Sites

Evaluate...

Evaluating Web Resources Checklist (PDF)

According to a study at Stanford, nearly half of all web site evaluators (46.1%) used visual cues, to assess a site's credibility. Move beyond what a site looks like...

Authority
Scope
Currency
Accuracy

ABZU Bibliography: Internet guide to the rapidly increasing, and widely distributed data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East via the Internet.
Diotama: Women and Gender in the Ancient World: Focuses on women and gender issues among Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and other ancient cultures. Includes a systematic, searchable bibliography, and links to full-text articles, databases, and images, including an extensive collection of ancient coins.
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Great collection of full-text ancient history primary texts.
Perseus Digital Library: Digital library of resources for the study of the ancient world. Originally begun with coverage of the Archaic and Classical Greek world, has now expanded to Latin text and tools, Renaissance materials, and Papyri. Contains hundreds of texts by the major ancient authors and lexica and morphological databases and catalog entries for over 2,800 vases, sculptures, coins, buildings, and sites, including over 13,000 photographs of such objects.
Theban Mapping Project: Offers an overview of Egyptian history and archaeology and tours of major monuments and tombs. Includes thousands of images, an interactive atlas of tomb mappings, dozens of narrated tours, a three-dimensional exploration of a tomb, and more.

Background Information

A Few Library Reference & Electronic Books

Oxford Reference Online contains many reference titles on History.

Ancient History : Key Themes and Approaches. London, Routledge, 2001. E-book.
Encyclopedia of Asian History. 4 vols. New York : Scribner ; London: Collier Macmillan, 1988. Reference DS31 E53 1988
Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000 . 6 vols. Detroit : Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2001. Reference HN373 E63 2001
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. 6 vols. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. Reference CB361 E52 1999 or shorter version online
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York : Oxford University Press, 1991. Reference DF521 O93.
Smithsonian Timelines of the Ancient World. Smithsonian Institution ; New York : D. Kindersley, 1993. Reference D54.5 S65.
Wetterau, Bruce. World History: a Dictionary of Important People, Places, and Events from Ancient Times to the Present. 1983. Reference D9 W47

Questions?

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

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Feb 15, 2008, 10:28 EST