HST 290: Revolutions and Civil Wars Searching for Sources Dr. Lisa Pollard Ms. Sue Cody

How are your research skills? Do you like doing research? –Why or why not? –What confuses/frustrates you most about doing research? –What questions do you have about conducting research for this class? How would you rate your current research skills? –Strong/Satisfactory/Needs improvement/Poor (Take a vote.)

How much do you know about your topic? Where do you plan to start?

Which finding aids are most useful? For books? For scholarly articles? For government documents? For articles written during the time studied? For other primary sources?

Finding Books Library Catalog –local & UNCP/FSU WorldCat –9,000 libraries Google Books Some article databases lead to books –Cited directly –Book reviews

Randall Online Catalog: Keyword v. Subject What’s the difference? What are some useful Subject Headings for the Slaves’ participation in the Revolutionary War –Start with a keyword search, then look for subjects in the records retrieved.

Keyword/Subject features Keyword –Finds words anywhere in record. –Look at records to see subject headings. –Search lots of terms, word variations Subject Headings –Controlled vocabulary –May not be “natural language” but may find more –Hierarchical arrangement helps narrow topic –Searches only the subject field

Suggested Subject Headings See the Research guide Check headings in records you find by keyword or other searches Use the LCSH database or print volumes. In the catalog, search by any segment of a heading – rotated display Same terms used in WorldCat

Searching Personal Names –Keyword searches Either order Try name variations, e.g., initials –Author/Subject Last name first Consistent use Example: Lee, Robert E.

Online Catalog—Special Features Subject links for related items Call numbers for related items (usually) Library of Congress outline – SuDoc arranges by agency Cover, summary, reviews Location maps Expanding search to UNCCLC Repeating search

Journal Holdings & Access Bibliographies will cite useful publications Follow the citation trail! Search your citation –Does the library have it? –What format or location? –What online access?

Working from a known citation Stokes, Karen D. ed. “Sherman's Army Comes to Camden: The Civil War Narrative of Sarah Dehon Trapier." South Carolina Historical Magazine 109, no. 2 (April 2008): Welford, R. R. “The Loyalty of the Border States,” Debow’s Review 32 (1862): Davies, Kate. "Revolutionary Correspondence: Reading Catharine Macaulay and Mercy Otis Warren." Women's Writing 13, no. 1 (2006):

Database Exploration America: History & Life Jstor Project Muse Search your topic

Search tips And, Or, Not –And narrows –Or adds synonyms/related –Not excludes (use carefully) Truncate for word variations –(revolution* = revolution, revolutions, revolutionary) Words anywhere or phrase? –“Revolutionary War”

Questions? What will you do when you have questions?

Ask for help – it’s what we do!

HST 290: Revolutions and Civil Wars Searching for Sources Part 2: Locating Primary Sources Dr. Lisa Pollard Ms. Sue Cody

Primary Sources Dairies, journals, other writings of “players” Eyewitness/Observer accounts Memoirs, autobiographies (written later) Official documents –Laws, treaties, reports, orders, transcripts of proceedings, addresses, etc. Advertisements

Primary or Secondary? Scholarly article analyzing the correspondence of women writing during the Revolutionary War. Text of the Stamp Act of Book titled Tragic years, : a documentary history of the American Civil War Book compilation of runaway slave ads. Book by a historian about the Presidential election of 1860.

Primary or Secondary? Transcript of Rep. Vallandingham’s speech about conscription during the Civil War. Collection of essays about Civil War propaganda. New York Times report on the Battle of Gettysburg, dated 1863, from the New York Times Archive database.

Randall Online Catalog Standard Subheadings –Correspondence –Diaries –Personal narratives –Sources –Treaties –See guide for others

Randall Online Catalog Search specific persons or organizations –United States Sanitary Commission as author –William T. Sherman as author Look for items not tagged as primary source –Primary documents may be included in secondary sources –Eyewitness authors may not be tagged as sources.

WorldCat May find items at Randall that catalog search didn’t (records enhanced later) Finds items for ILL requests –Rare items not lent –Rare items may be reprinted & available Websites included – often w/ free access!

Bibliographies—Follow the trail Book-length (Reference Collection) Secondary sources (books and journal articles) Types –Classified (easiest to find primary sources) –Alphabetical –Footnotes/Endnotes

Use the Research Guide! Links to a variety of sources for your researching pleasure.

Questions? What will you do when you have questions?

Ask for help! It is what we do!