LibGuides: Revolutions: Post World War II Decolonization and Independence: Africa

START YOUR RESEARCH HERE

The print and electronic sources below are encyclopedias and other reference sources that will give you a broad overview of your subject:

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

This will allow you to better understand where the specific information you find later fits in the bigger picture.

Make note of terms relating to your topic which you can then use when searching for secondary sources (books and journal articles) and primary sources. Examples: Names of people; important dates; relevant legislation; words or expressions unique to your topic. These are your "keywords." You will also use these keywords to search in the index of your ebooks.

General Search Tips:

Search phrases in quotation marks. For example: "New Deal" or "Great Depression".
Look for terms on your search results page indicating overview articles, such as Encyclopedia, Reference, Overview.
Look for Filter Results, Filters, or Document Type and then look for terms indicating overview articles.

Examples of Reference Sources: Almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, dictionaries / thesauruses, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes.

Encyclopedias and Reference Books / eBooks

Africa (World Today series). Ref DT1 .D6 2019/20 (previous year available in Main Collection upstairs)

Encyclopedia of African history. Ref DT20 .E53 2005. 3 vols

Encyclopedia of African south of the Sahara. Ref DT351 .E53 1997. 4 vols

Encyclopedia of political revolutions. Ref JC491 .E63 1998

Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East. Ref DS43 .E53 1996 4 vols

Encyclopedia of western colonialism since 1450. Ref JV22 .E535 2007 3 vols (also an online ebook)

Great events from history: The 20th century, 1941-1970. Ref D421 .G6295 2008. 6 vols (also an online ebook)

Oxford encyclopedia of African thought. Ref DT14 .O97 2010 2 vols

Oxford handbook of modern African history. 2013 (an online ebook)

Databases in the box below also contain reference information on your topic.

Online Subscription Databases

Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
The world's oldest encyclopedia digitized for the 21st century! In addition to reference articles, it also contains primary sources, journal articles, ebook content, images and video, and links to reliable websites. To cite a reference article, choose Database: Original Content in Database.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Search individually or all together the complete content of hundreds of reference books and monographs in all disciplines. Browse subject collections in the left sidebar. Use this especially when you are researching a subject that may straddle disciplines to maximize your results.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Gale in Context: World History This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive collection of reference sources, primary documents, periodicals, maps and multimedia.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window
Designed to inspire thought-provoking debates, each in-depth article presents both sides of an issue clearly and without bias. Updated weekly with key facts, arguments, history, primary sources, news editorial content, media, and current context of today’s most important issues.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Modern World History This link opens in a new window
Overview essays, biographies, events and topics, primary source documents, timelines, maps and charts, images and videos from the mid-15th century to the present.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History This link opens in a new window
In-depth overview articles written, peer-reviewed, and edited by leading scholars.
To cite an article in NoodleTools, choose Database: Original Content in Database.
Note: ORE sometimes puts complex subjects that involve more than one encyclopedia category into only one database. If you are not retrieving the results you expect, please use this link to search all Research Encyclopdias at once.
Salem History This link opens in a new window
Contains the complete content of numerous print reference sets including Great Events from history, Great Lives from History, Defining Documents, and Milestone Documents.
World History: The Modern Era This link opens in a new window
Chronicles influential world events and developments since the 16th century to support research and analysis of global trends, causal relationships, and current conflicts; with reference articles, peer-reviewed essays written by scholars, and thousands of primary and secondary sources.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.

Books on Reserve

Reserve books MUST BE SIGNED OUT and are for use IN THE LIBRARY ONLY for duration of project.

Books / eBooks

RhinoCat is the Library's automated catalog of books, ebooks, and other library materials.

To find SECONDARY source books and ebooks:

A keyword search using a broad term will yield the most hits.
When you identify a book that looks useful, click on the book title to open the book's full record, scroll down and click on Browse shelf to find additional books for your project.

Search Library Catalog

The Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library

Revolutions: Post World War II Decolonization and Independence: Africa

Encyclopedias and Reference Books / eBooks

Online Subscription Databases

Books on Reserve

Books / eBooks