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HISTORY: Research Guide

Search tips and resource suggestions for research in history.

Getting Started

globe-shaped word cloud of history wordsIn this Guide, you'll find:

Key Resources

Quick links to best bets

Featured eBook

Find Background Information

Reference sources - great for getting started

Reference sources are a great starting point for research. Reference sources typically provide definitions, give topic overviews, and explain theories. They can also point to additional readings and scholarship. Examples of reference sources include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, guidebooks, manuals, and textbooks. 

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Dictionary of American History

10 volumes of extensive coverage of American history, including primary sources. REF 973.03 D561

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The Decades Series

Each encyclopedia set focuses on a single decade of American history, from the 1920s to the 2000s. ebooks

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A Native American Encyclopedia

Provides a wealth of specific information about over 200 North American Indian groups in Canada and the United States. REF 970.00497 P939n

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Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895

Documents the full range of the African American experience from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass. REF 973.0496 En191

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Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present

Covering African American history in all areas of U.S. history and culture from 1896 to the present, contains approximately 1,200 fully cross-referenced entries. REF 973.0496 En192

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Chronology of Hispanic-American History

Presents the people, places and events that have played a significant role in Hispanic American history, primarily from 1492 to the mid-1990s. REF 973.0468 K131c

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The Encyclopedia of World History

A comprehensive chronology of entries that span the millennia from prehistoric times to the year 2000. ebook

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Atlas of World History

Presents the story of humanity from the emergence of the earliest hominoids to the present day. 909 At651

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National Geographic Almanac of World History

From the first civilizations to the 21st century, this book encompasses all of world history: great ages and monumental events; the rise and fall of cultures; names, dates, and statistics, and stories galore. ebook