Research & Course Guides: HIST 4690: Research Seminar (Ashbaugh) Fall 2022: Secondary Sources

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources analyze, discuss, and comment upon primary sources. They provide a second-hand account and are one step removed from the original. Tertiary sources, on the other hand, are based entirely on secondary sources.

The Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science by Joan Reitz provides the following definition for secondary source:

Any published or unpublished work that is one step removed from the original source, usually describing, summarizing, analyzing, evaluating, derived from, or based on primary source materials, for example, a review, critical analysis, second-person account, or biographical or historical study. Also refers to material other than primary sources used in the preparation of a written work.

Databases

Historical Abstracts with Full Text
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, and the history of education. Indexing and abstracts for about 1800 journals; full-text for about 350 journals. Coverage is from 1955 to the present.
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window
Periodicals Archive Online is a major archive that makes the backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences available electronically, providing access to the searchable full text of hundreds of titles. The database spans more than two centuries of content in 37 key subject areas.
Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1992 This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing of over three million articles from more than 550 leading magazines including full coverage of the original print volumes of Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. This resource offers researchers access to information about history, culture and seminal developments across nearly a century. Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 includes all the information from 44 Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature annuals, as well as access to over three million articles from approximately 550 leading magazines.
The Times Digital Archive: 1785-Onwards
The Times Digital Archive is a fully searchable database of The Times (of London) newspaper.

New York Times This link opens in a new window
All students and faculty have unlimited access to The New York Times digital platforms, including personalized user experience, live coverage of breaking news, access to NYT articles between 1851-current, access to the International edition and Canadian, Chinese, and Spanish editions, full access to the NYT Learning Network, and access to the InEducation resource that helps faculty bring current events into the classroom. This resource includes access to archival content and replaces Historical New York Times and New York Times Archive.
Once activated, a faculty/staff pass is valid for 1460 days. A student pass is valid up to the graduation year they enter when they sign up for a pass. After the pass expires, faculty and staff can easily renew their access by re-entering their email address at http://accessnyt.com.

Periodicals Available on Microfilm in the Subbasement

New York Times: 1857 - 2016

Time: 1923 - 2015

Wall Street Journal: 1971 - 2009

Washington Post: 1971 - 2000