Background Sources | Books | Journal Articles | Primary Sources
This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.
Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock 
. To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.
Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian, via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subect, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.
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Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.
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Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.
To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.
Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.
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| Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources and additional secondary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. Keep in mind that most of the primary sources on German history will be in the German language. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books, government reports, newspapers and magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source. You may need to request the items via Summit or interlibrary loan. |
The UW Libraries has a good collection of books (in print, microform and electronic) that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1920s), books written by key people, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprinted collections of primary source material.
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Using the UW Libraries Catalog
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The following databases will help you identify magazine and newspaper articles. The databases primarily cover English-language publications so you will find American and British perspectives on Germany. You can also use JSTOR to find older scholarly articles in fields such as sociology and political science.
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Images: John Heartfield montages for AIZ 1933-1933, photograph of Dietrich Bonhoeffer at Tegel prison 1944.
History Subject Page | UW Libraries | Library Research Award for Undergraduates
10 January 2007
Theresa Mudrock | mudrock@u.washington.edu
