Research Guides: HIST/HUM STUD 102: Foundations of Western Culture II: Finding Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources

A secondary source describes or analyzes a primary source. These sources are one step removed from the actual event and allow you to understand what scholars and other experts know about your topic.

Types of Secondary Sources:

Books or articles that explain or review research works
Histories and critical commentaries
Textbooks
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference materials
Newspaper articles, magazine articles, and webpages authored by people who had nothing to do with the actual research
Journal article that summarizes the results of other researchers' experiments

Use Search@UW to find article, books, and more!

Search@UW

Recommended Databases

History Reference (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Subjects covered include history and humanities. Find historical encyclopedias and non-fiction books. You can use encyclopedias for background information. However, you should be using scholarly sources as the bulk of sources in your paper..
Cover-to-cover full text for more than 650 historical encyclopedias and other non-fiction books, including award winning titles from many top publishers.
American National Biography This link opens in a new window
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Subjects covered include biography and history. Biographies of thousands of men and women whose lives have shaped the U.S. You can use biographies for background information. However, you should be using scholarly sources as the bulk of sources in your paper..
American National Biography, published by Oxford University Press, contains portraits of more than 18,700 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation. Links to related online resources are also available. The format of articles in the American National Biography is based on chronology. A given article traces a person's life through the sequence of significant events as they occurred from birth to death.
Brill E-book Collections This link opens in a new window
Full text e-books in the humanities and social sciences.
Browse e-books in a variety of subjects including Asian Studies, Biblical Studies, Ancient Near East and Early Christianity, Biology, Classical Studies, European History and Culture, Language and Linguistics, Materials and Surface Sciences, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, Theology and Philosophy and Social Sciences.
Very Short Introductions
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Subjects covered include arts, humanities, reference material, healthcare, science, and social sciences. Find a broad overview of each topic covered in a short e-book format. Limit 5 simultaneous users.

REMEMBER

Below you will find a list of databases we recommend for finding scholarly articles and book chapters. Remember, never assume the sources you find in these databases are automatically "scholarly." While the contents may come from a scholarly or peer reviewed journal, you still need to evaluate to make sure it is indeed a scholarly source. Often times you will come across book reviews, letters to the editor, or editorials in these journals that do not qualify as "scholarly sources." For more clarification, navigate to the scholarly sources page on the left or click on the research help page to connect with a librarian. Book chapters can be considered "scholarly" sources as well as long as they come from an academic book. Check with a librarian if you are not sure.

Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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A wide range of subjects covered; multidisciplinary database with significant full text. Find scholarly, trade, and popular titles.
Includes more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. Coverage of information spanning a broad range of important areas of academic study including: anthropology, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, geology, law, materials science, mathematics, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion & theology, veterinary science, women's studies, zoology, and many other fields.
Humanities International Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Subjects covered include humanities, area studies, classics, linguistics, literature, philosophy, religion, and performing arts. Find articles, academic and trade journals, books, and book chapters.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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A wide range of subjects covered. Find academic journals, reviews, articles, and books & book chapters.
JSTOR is a digital library of academic content in many formats and disciplines, including scholarly and peer-reviewed articles as well as e-books. Coverage varies by title but ranges from the 1800s to the 2010s.
America: History & Life with full text (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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Subjects covered include history, culture, area studies, and current affairs literature of the U.S. and Canada. Find academic journals, books & book chapters, regional publications, and reviews.
America: History & Life is an index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database indexes 1,700 journals from 1964 to present and also includes citations and links to book and media reviews. Strong English-language journal coverage is balanced by an international perspective on topics and events, including abstracts in English of articles published in more than 40 languages.Coverage: 1954 -
American Indian History
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Subjects covered include First Nations Studies, history, culture studies, law, art, and more. Covers over 600 regional cultures and over 15,000 years of First Nations history. Also includes a selection of primary sources.
Ethnic Diversity Source This link opens in a new window
Subjects covered include multicultural & ethnic studies. Find scholarly, trade, and popular titles.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
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Subjects covered include humanities, arts, and social sciences. Find academic journal articles & books.
Coverage 1995 -
World History In Context
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Subjects covered include world history including biographies, cultural trends, political movements, wars & conflicts, and religions. Find academic, popular, trade, and primary sources.

American History in Video (Alexander Street Press)
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Subjects covered include history, biography, politics, world events. Find primary sources, streaming video content, and newsreels.
The early newsreels, including the complete series of United Newsreel and Universal Newsreel, available online in their entirety only in this collection, capture history as it was made and reported to viewers of the time. Collection mainly consists of contemporaneous video from the 1890s to the 1980s.
Black Studies in Video (Alexander Street Press)
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Subjects covered include African American history, politics, art and culture, family structure, gender relationships, and social and economic issues. Find film and streaming video.
Alexander Street Press