Sourcepack
English 1000
Researching the Historical Context of a Novel
Instructor: Rebecca Clemens
Background Sources
- American Decades READY REF E169.12.A419 1994
- Encyclopedia of American Social History REF HN57.E58 1993
- Literature and Its Times REF PN50.L574 1997
Books
Search the MERLIN Library Catalog to find books.
Select the Keyword search and type in the words describing your topic.
- Example: civil rights movement
Journal Articles
To find journal, magazine and newspaper articles, you need to search an index for your topic. For this assignment, try searching these indexes:
- Academic Search Premier
A multi-displicinary database covering all subject areas. - America: History and Life
Indexes articles in history-related journals. - Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (Ready Ref AI3.R48)
Indexes articles in general interest periodicals from 1900-present.
Once you have identified the citations for articles you need, you can search http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2048/login?url=http://mulibraries.1cate.com (the MU Libraries' electronic journals lookup service) to check if the journal is available full-text electronically. Just type the name of the journal/magazine/newspaper you want and note the dates available.
If it is not available in FindIt@MU, search for the journal title in the MERLIN Library Catalog to see if the library has it in paper format.
Primary Sources
Examples of primary sources include speeches, eyewitness accounts, letters, interviews and autobiographies.
To find Primary Sources in the MERLIN Library Catalog, do a Keyword search for your basic topic and add one of the following terms to your search: personal narratives, diaries or correspondence.
- Example: civil rights movement and correspondence
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
This database provides the full-image for the New York Times from 1851-1999 and the Wall Street Journa l from 1889-1985.
This SOURCEPACK is a service of Ellis Library Librarian/Webmaster: Rhonda Whithaus Last updated: October 27, 2004