Research & Subject Guides: History: Background Information

Doing Background Research

Background research in secondary sources like reference works and other books will give you a better understanding of your topic and provide keywords that will help you search in other online databases.

Things to look for:

The timeline: make sure you understand important dates and timespans that define your topic
Proper names: who are the people, places, and institutions related to your topic? Look for variant spellings and names that differ from contemporary accounts to the present day
Phrases from the scholarly literature: what specific terms do you see applied to your topic in the published research?

Online Reference Collections

American National Biography Online
Fulltext. Biographical entries more than 17,400 men and women, from all eras and walks of life, whose lives have shaped the United States. Includes illustrations, hyperlinked cross-references, and links to select web sites.
Gale eBooks
Collection of online encyclopedias and specialized reference sources covering a wide variety of topics and subjects, including current events, Arts & Humanities, Business, Education, Science, Social Sciences, and Religion.
Historical Statistics of the United States
Fulltext. Statistical information on American history, covering population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations, all from the earliest times to the present. New topics include American Indians, slavery, poverty, non-profit organizations, race and ethnicity.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Fulltext. An illustrated collection of more than 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain's past.
Oxford English Dictionary
Current. A historical dictionary. The accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. Traces the usage of words.
Oxford Reference
Current/Regularly updated. A fulltext reference collection that includes facts, figures, definitions, and translations from over 175 Oxford dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, guides, encyclopedias, and the "Oxford Companions" series.

NOTE: Titles with subscription/access have a green, open lock at end of each title; no subscription/access for ones with a red closed lock at end of each title.

History

Doing Background Research

Online Reference Collections

Library

Resources

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