LIBRARY RESEARCH PLAN FOR HISTORY
What am I researching?
Title/topic (What are the concepts/ideas/themes that make up my topic?)
Think of synonyms, related terms, alternative spellings and variant forms of words. Consider narrower and boarder words related
to the concept. Add more lines if required
First Concept:
Second Concept:
Third Concept:
Limits: Relevant date limits, language limits, geographic region, format of information eg: video, web page
Finding Primary Sources
Primary sources are texts (documents, books, films, images or any other kind of evidence) that were produced by someone who
participated in the era or event described. Usually these texts are produced at the time of the event but some may also be
produced afterwards (e.g. in an autobiography). They provide direct evidence for a topic. (Department of History Essay Presentation
Guide, 2011 rev. ed., p.1. http://sydney.edu.au/arts/history/docs/resources/EssayPresentationGuide2011.pdf)
Use a reference book. A selection is at: http://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/content.php?pid=28073&sid=600764
These provide a
broad overview of
a topic, which will
refer to the major
primary and
secondary
sources.
Find a good, scholarly secondary source and familiarise yourself with the topic.
Investigate
references
contained in the
footnotes and
bibliography –
Chain of
References
List key secondary sources on the topic. Use the section below on Finding Secondary sources to locate them.
Advanced Keyword Search the Library catalogue for material type http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search/X
Include the words
like sources,
diaries, personal
narrative,
interview, letters,
correspondence…
Advanced Keyword Search the Library catalogue for date http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search/X
Enter a topic then
search by a date
range. This will
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identify some
works published
during that time
period.
Check online collections http://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/aecontent.php?pid=28073&sid=2399897
There are many
collections such as
EEBO, ECCO,
Digital Evans,
Historical
Newspapers listed
in the History
Guide.
Browse for material. Find the relevant call numbers via the catalogue or this summary:
https://www.oclc.org/dewey/features/summaries.en.html#thou
NB Storage http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/storage/
Look on the
shelves (this
method can be
unsatisfying as
books are either
out on loan or are
dispersed in a
number of
libraries including
Storage)
Use the catalogue
to do a 'virtual
browse' instead.
Using Archives
Archives are:
1. A place in which public records or other important historic documents are kept
2. A historical record or document so preserved
(“archive, n.". OED Online. March 2015. Oxford University Press.
http://www.oed.com.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/view/Entry/10416?rskey=KsEInq&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed March 25, 2015).
Nationally
important
documents
National and state archives
Institutional
documents
Universities (USYD, LSE), companies (Dutch East India Company, QANTAS), organisations (trade unions,
religious groups)
Individuals
If important, personal papers may be lodged in established archives or held by the family (American
presidents get their own library built)
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Archival material in libraries
Check larger
libraries
USYD Rare Book Library has some archival material http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/
Local history
Local public library; local historian
Finding Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are texts about a topic or a primary source which are produced
after the period or event described. They are not a direct source of evidence. They are
written not by participants in the events described, but by scholars. (Department of History Essay Presentation Guide, 2011 rev. ed.,
p.1. http://sydney.edu.au/arts/history/docs/resources/EssayPresentationGuide2011.pdf )
Catalogues
USYD library http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/
Advanced Searching allows Boolean operators (see diagram below)
Subject searching requires specific headings based on Library of Congress standards. Find a relevant book by keyword searching
then look at the full record to see the subject heading.
List the holdings
in a library’s
collections – both
in physical form
and online.
Material includes:
Books, journals
(but not their
contents), films,
microforms
Databases
USYD databases http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/databases/
SLNSW databases (require a reader’s card) http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/eresources/?HomeLink=eresources
Help find material
published in serial
publications.
Material includes:
articles in
journals, chapters
of books, book
reviews,
conference
papers, theses,
newspapers.
They may provide
the full text
online.
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Aggregators
CrossSearch http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/
Google Scholar http://ezproxy.library.usyd.edu.au/login?url=http://scholar.google.com
Proquest Central http://ezproxy.library.usyd.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/pqcentral/advanced?accountid=14757
Search across
catalogues and
databases
Internet
Google https://www.google.com.au/ . Advanced Search accessed via Settings option at bottom of screen (includes Google Books)
Internet Archive https://archive.org/
Powerful finding
aid that will find
primary sources,
secondary
sources, grey
literature,
archived website,
repositories,
images, audio…
Boolean Operator
Examples
AND
Australia and convict
Empire and decolonisation
Medieval and pilgrimage
Retrieves
Retrieves records containing both terms
OR
1960s or 60s or sixties
Women or females
Britain or British
Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Rebellion
Retrieves records containing either one or both
terms
NOT
Labor not labour
Phrase searching
Excludes records containing the second term
Usually enclose in inverted commas: “australian historical association”
Wildcard *
Aborigin* = Aboriginal, Aboriginals, Aborigine, Aborigines
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