Research Methods in U. S. History
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Transcript of Research Methods in U. S. History
Research Methods in U.S. History
AMH 3170
Civil War and Reconstruction
Farley Jenkins
1
1Library of Congress, Civil War Maps Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3824g.cw0331000 (accessed
November 6, 2011).
What is history?
• History is what happened
• Concerned with the broad overview of events
• Synthesis of many different forms of inquiry
2
2Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USP6-2415-A DLC.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsc/00000/00052v.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011).
Historical Research
• Must be objective
• Consider the source
• Consider the context
3
3Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS VA,44-RICH,146-
1. http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/va/va1600/va1628/photos/162402pv.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011).
Types of Resources
4 5
Primary Sources
• Produced during the time
period
• Authors have first-hand
knowledge
• Letters, diaries,
newspaper articles
Secondary Sources
• Produced after the
time period
• Authors will be
historians or other
scholars
• Books, scholarly
journal articles
4Library of Congress, African American Odyssey, aaohtml 0413.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/archive/04/0413001r.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011). 5Frederic L. Paxson, The Civil War (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1911), http://books.google.com/ (accessed
November 6, 2011).
Finding Sources 6 7
In Print
• Allows browsing
• More in-depth
• Less volatile
Online
• Exact searching
• Quick facts
• Easily transferrable
6Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, LC-D4-42760 DLC.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/det/4a20000/4a20000/4a20400/4a20433v.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011). 7Creative Commons image by Flickr.com user laffy4k. http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-182219003 (accessed
November 6, 2011).
How can the library help?
8
• Lots of books and other print resources
• Many database subscriptions
• Help with finding what you need
8Creative Commons image by Flickr.com user Athanasius. http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithpatterson/444003440/
(accessed November 6, 2011).
Finding Resources in the Library
• Circulating non-fiction
• Reference
• Special collections
9
9Creative Commons image by Donald Tetto. http://photos.tetto.org/4131/ (accessed November 6, 2011).
Searching the Catalog
• Log in to http://www.lib.usf.edu/
• Find items in library or in databases
• Enter a few words to start, then more to narrow it
down
Library Databases
• Authoritative and trustworthy resources
• Both primary and secondary sources
• Remotely accessible, can be downloaded
10
10Editorial, "Hang Out Your Banners," New York Times, April 10, 1865. ProQuest Historical Newspapers (accessed
November 6, 2011).
Google Scholar
• Limits results to scholarly resources
• Can be used to find items in library databases
• Can be searched just like Google Web, the more
words in your search the more specific the results
will be
omg u can txt ur ?s!
• Stop by 1st floor reference desk
• Call (813) 974-2729
• Text (813) 344-2795
• Visit the Website to email a question, get help via
instant messaging or schedule a time to meet with a
librarian for in-depth research assistance
Pathfinder
• List of library resources on a topic and where to
find them
• http://fjenkins.myweb.usf.edu/pathfinder.html
Digital Libraries
• Library collections of downloadable files
• e.g., Library of Congress American Memory
Project at
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
11
11New York Historical Society, Civil War Treasures, nhnycw/ad ad36013.
http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/nhnycw/ad/ad36/ad36013v.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011).
Images
• A picture is worth 1,000 words
• Must be cited like any other resource
• Most images on the Web subject to copyright
12
12New York Historical Society, Civil War Treasures, nhnycw/aj aj14027.
http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/nhnycw/aj/aj14/aj14027v.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011).
Plagiarism
• Using someone else’s words or ideas and not
giving them credit
• Can result in failing a course or dismissal from the
university
• When in doubt, cite!
Turabian Style
• Used for history papers
• Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research
Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed.
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007).
• Quick guide available from
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/turabian2009.pdf.
Google Books
• Great place to look for primary sources
• All books published prior to 1923 can be
downloaded free
13
13Charles H. Lynch, Civil War Diary (Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brannard, 1915). http://books.google.com
(accessed November 6, 2011).
Discussion Questions
• Why is an objective understanding of history
important?
• What is the difference between scholarly and
popular history?
• Why did you choose to study history? 14Creative Commons image by Flickr.com user Susan Sermoneta. http://www.flickr.com/photos/en321/28927666/
(accessed November 6, 2011).
14
Presentations
• 3 resources for your topic
• At least 1 primary source, 1 secondary source, 1 print
source, 1 online source, 1 book, and 1 image
• Tell us why you selected each source and how it
supports your topic
15
15Creative Commons image by Flickr.com user dcJohn. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcjohn/72584084/ (accessed
November 6, 2011).
Thank you!
“To forget history is to remain forever a child.”
—Cicero
16
16Creative Commons image by Wikimedia Commons user Gunnar Bach.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thorvaldsen_Cicero.jpg (accessed November 6, 2011).