LibGuides: US History: Spring Research Paper: Reference Sources

START YOUR RESEARCH WITH REFERENCE SOURCES

These sources provide essential background information - facts like who, what, when, where, why, and how - that will be useful as you dive deeper into your research.

This will allow you to better understand where the specific information you find later fits in the bigger picture.
Make note of terms, also called keywords, relevant to your topic:
- Examples: names of people; important dates; relevant legislation; words or expressions unique to your topic.
You can use these keywords when searching for secondary sources (books and journal articles) and primary sources.
Reference sources often contain bibliographies that lead you to secondary and primary sources.

Examples of Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, thesauruses, and indexes.

Tips for Citing Reference Sources in NoodleTools

ONLINE REFERENCE DATABASES

Britannica Academic
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.

ONLINE DATABASES : AMERICAN HISTORY GENERALLY

American History
Overview essays, biographies, primary sources, images, timelines, and more in American political, military, social, and cultural history.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Gale eBooks
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: U.S. History
Comprehensive collection of reference sources, primary documents, periodicals, maps and multimedia.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Issues & Controversies in History
Examines controversial issues in United States and world history, supported by nearly 2000 primary source documents from antiquity to the present.
NOTE: Citations can be exported to NoodleTools.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History
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
Includes the full content of the Decades in America series, Great Events from History, Great Lives from History, and more.

Citations can be exported from this source to NoodleTools.

This source contains Primary Sources.

Print and Electronic Reference Sources: American History Generally

American Centuries: the Ideas, Issues and Values that Shaped American History. Ref E174 .A534 2011 5 vols (also an online ebook)
Conflicts in American History : a Documentary Encyclopedia. Ref E174 .C655 2010 8 vols (also an online ebook)
Dictionary of American History. Ref E174.D52 2003 10 vols (also an online ebook)
Encyclopedia of American History. Ref E174 .E53 2010 11 vols (2003 ed. is available in print)
Encyclopedia of American Studies. Ref E169.1 .E625 2001 4 vols
Encyclopedia of the United States in the 19th Century. Ref E337.5.E626 2001 3 vols
Encyclopedia of the United States in the 20th Century. Ref E740.7 .E53 1996 5 vols

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC REFERENCE SOURCES

The links below contain a wide array of reference materials divided into specific categories:

Arts, Literature
Biography
Business, Labor, and Economic History
Eras in US History Civil War, Reconstruction, Gilded Age, Progressive Era, Jazz Age, Great Depression, New Deal, Cold War, The Sixties, Watergate and Beyond
Federal Government, the Law, Politics, and the Presidency Political history, Legal history, Court Cases
Foreign Policy, Foreign Relations, and Wars
Civil Rights, Immigration, Marginalized Groups Asian Americans, Black & African Americans, Latinx & Hispanic Americans, First Nations / Native Americans, LGBTQ+ Americans, Women
Religion
Science and Technology Environment, Medicine, Military sciences, Space exploration
Social History Media, Popular culture, Reform movements, Sports

The Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library

US History: Spring Research Paper: Reference Sources

START YOUR RESEARCH WITH REFERENCE SOURCES

Tips for Citing Reference Sources in NoodleTools

ONLINE REFERENCE DATABASES

ONLINE DATABASES : AMERICAN HISTORY GENERALLY

Citations can be exported from this source to NoodleTools.

This source contains Primary Sources.

Print and Electronic Reference Sources: American History Generally

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC REFERENCE SOURCES

The links below contain a wide array of reference materials divided into specific categories:

If you have any questions, see
Ms. Cavuto, Mrs. Lovallo,
or Mr. Padgett

OR email us at

acavuto@taftschool.org

blovallo@taftschool.org

spadgett@taftschool.org

We're here to help!

The Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library

US History: Spring Research Paper: Reference Sources

START YOUR RESEARCH WITH REFERENCE SOURCES

Tips for Citing Reference Sources in NoodleTools

ONLINE REFERENCE DATABASES

ONLINE DATABASES : AMERICAN HISTORY GENERALLY

Citations can be exported from this source to NoodleTools.

This source contains Primary Sources.

Print and Electronic Reference Sources: American History Generally

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC REFERENCE SOURCES

The links below contain a wide array of reference materials divided into specific categories:

If you have any questions, see Ms. Cavuto, Mrs. Lovallo, or Mr. Padgett

OR email us at

acavuto@taftschool.org

blovallo@taftschool.org

spadgett@taftschool.org

We're here to help!

If you have any questions, see
Ms. Cavuto, Mrs. Lovallo,
or Mr. Padgett