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HIST 282 - The 1960s - Primary Source Research

Tools and strategy for locating primary sources on topics related to the United States in the 1960s
Subjects: History

Searching Ebscohost databases

Searching in America: History and Life

Consider using the INDEXES to identify preferred search words and phrases, as well as standardized names for persons and organizations.  Note in the strategy below that STUDENT PROTESTERS has been identified as a Subject indexing term, whereas COLLEGE has been used as a keyword, not as a subject term.

If the INDEXES do not provide a match/synonym/related term for your idea or concept, "Select a Field" allows you to search any keyword in the title, abstract and subject fields.  Realize this strategy may retrieve some results where your keyword or phrase is NOT a focus.

 America:History&Life

This database permits truncation using an asterisk [ * ] at the end of the root of the word.  So, in the strategy above - universit* - will retrieve university or universities.

NOTE the "facets" traveling down the left-hand frame: the "Source Type" facets permit you to view only Magazines (of which there are only a modest selection covered by this index) or only Academic Journals.  HOWEVER: note the "Publication Date" slider bar.  Articles actually published within a time period, such as 1960-1969, would constitute a type of primary source.  But the strength of America: History & Life is the identification of secondary sources of substance whose bibliographies may lead to primary material.

The "Subject" facets allow you to add a new subject term to your search OR to improve the precision of your search by changing a word  (college*) from a truncated keyword (as above) to a specific subject term.

At the end of each citation, NOTE the blue FOLDER icon.  Use this function to group useful citations together in order to print, save or email them.  Once you begin to use this feature, the FOLDER icon in the command bar at the top will contain the references you've chosen, as well as the article text if it is linked to the citation waiting for you to Save, Print or Email them.  Be aware; LINKED Full Text is NOT attached to the citation within the database and will not be included with its associated citation.

Though not illustrated above, toward the end of some citations, you will see the link "Cited References" and a number.  The bibliography of the article can be displayed without direct access to the article by using this link.  References to primary sources, as well as other relevant secondary sources, may be gleaned from the bibliographies of scholarly articles.  Never abandon a source in hand without checking the notes and bibliography.

Finally, you can further LIMIT your search by returning to the initial Advanced Search screen.  Historical Period (which is a type of limit unique to this database and its cousin Historical Abstracts), Publication Type (i.e. Conference Paper), Peer Reviewed, Publication (insert the name of a specific periodical you wish to search, i.e. Journal of world history), and Document Type (i.e. Interview) can all be elements of your search in this database.