History

Indexes and Databases

One method for beginning research is to obtain journal articles on your topic. This should be considered a two-step process:

Find article citations using print and electronic indexes and databases.

Locate a copy of the article(s).

Remember that electronic indexes/databases have limitations on their period of coverage. You may need to refer to print indexes as well. You may be fortunate to have access to the full-text of the article directly from the electronic index/database. If this is not the case, you need to search CONSORT for the JOURNAL title and determine whether Wooster owns it and, if so, where it is located. Some journals may be available in both print and electronic format.

Major Historical Indexes

Historical Abstracts: Available electronically, is the major indexing and abstracting service for periodical literature published since 1954 concerning the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered by America: History and Life) from 1450 until the present. It indexes all major historical journals worldwide, selected journals in the social sciences and humanities, book and media reviews, and dissertation abstracts.
Iter:Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Available electronically, is a cooperative international project designed to increase access to all published materials pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700), a period that is only partially covered by Historical Abstracts. Citations for selected articles, bibliographies, catalogues, abstracts, and discographies published since 1842 are included. Eventually books will be included.
America: History and Life: Available electronically, is the major indexing and abstracting service for periodical literature published since 1964 concerning United States and Canadian history from the earliest times until the present. It indexes all major English-language historical journals worldwide, state and local history journals, selected journals in the social sciences and humanities, book and media reviews, and dissertation abstracts.

Other Historical Indexes and Databases

In addition to these three major electronic indexing and abstracting services, there are several others that are especially relevant to history:

Medieval Feminist Index: Scholarship on Women, Sexuality, and Gender: Covers journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages.
Handbook of Latin American Studies: Indexes and offers scholarly evaluations of books and book chapters, conference papers, and journal articles from more than 1,350 social science and 550 humanities journals and conference proceedings published worldwide in the field of Latin American studies.
HarpWeek: A unique online journal database that provides complete images and hypertext linking of the journal during the Civil War years (1857–1865) and the Reconstruction years (1866–1871).
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine: Indexes journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book reviews, and dissertations in the history of science, technology, and medicine and allied historical fields.
Lexis-Nexis History: Includes three parts: Access to African American Studies, Access to Women’s Studies, and Guides to Microforms, which may be searched either together or separately.
Nineteenth Century Masterfile: Indexes by keyword or journal title articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers published in the 19th century and very early 20th century.
Periodicals Index Online: Indexes journal articles in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Western language journals, 1770–1995.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: Indexes both popular and general-interest magazines published in the United States, 1890–1982. For 1983–present, see Readers’ Guide Abstracts.

Indexes of Interest to Historians

Several indexes cover more recent journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Academic Search Complete: 1984-present. The world's largest scholarly, multi-discipline, full text database designed specifically for academic institutions. This resource indexes over 4300 periodicals and contains full text for over 3400 scholarly publications. Academic Search Complete includes full-page images as well as color embedded images. This scholarly collection provides full text journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study--including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.
Oxford English Dictionary
LexisNexis Academic: News sources going back more than 20 years, with full text. Includes both national and regional U.S. news sources and international news sources by region of the world.
Newspaper Abstracts (FirstSearch)

Reference Sources

Cambridge histories (several series)
Dictionary of American Biography (the DAB, the standard American biographical dictionary, kept current with supplements) WOO Reference E176.D56
Dictionary of American National Biography (new competitor to the DAB)
Dictionary of Literary Biography WOO Reference PS129.D5
(each volume is devoted to a different subject and each has a cumulative index for the series; there are three historiographic volumes): v.30 American Historians, 1607–1865
v.47 American Historians, 1866–1912
v.17 Twentieth Century American Historians
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (the DNB, British; the model for the DAB, kept current with supplements) WOO Reference DA28.O95 2004
Historical Documents

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Denise Monbarren
Special Collections Librarian
330/263-2527