Working with Secondary Sources - HST 2050 - History Methods (Spring 2024) - UVM Libraries Research Guides at UVM Libraries

Tools for Finding Books

UVM Library Catalog (via CATQuest) This link opens in a new window
Use to locate books, print and electronic journals, government information, DVDs, and other materials that UVM has in its collection. This interface allows you to structure complex searches easily. This search will not locate articles.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
This resource is a searchable database of library collections across the United States, Canada and many other countries. You can use it to find both secondary and primary source materials. It can often uncover materials at UVM better than our own Library Catalog - especially chapters within books. Order materials not owned by UVM through Interlibrary Loan.

Strategies for Finding Books

Remember that books tend to be about broader topics than articles and search accordingly.

Start by looking for books on a topic that have been recommended to you by your professor or from a bibliography. Once located leverage the additional information from the search (Library of Congress Subject Headings) to help you find more materials.

UVM doesn't own everything. When doing comprehensive research use Interlibrary Loan. It's fast and free!

Useful Subject Headings

There are more possible Subjects Heading related to the topics you might be working with this semester but here is a sample you might find useful for your work or as examples:

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1917-1936
Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945
Germany--Economic conditions--1918-1945
United States--Foreign relations--1929-1933
United States--Foreign relations--1933-1945
New Deal, 1933-1939
World War, 1939-1945
Depressions--1929
United States--Social conditions--1933-1945

Tools for Finding Scholarly Articles

Start with American History and Life or Historical Abstracts. When searching these two databases take advantage of the presence of Subject Headings and the ability to set a historical time period for your search.

America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
This resource provides information and full-text access to materials on American and Canadian history from prehistoric times to the present. It references materials published since 1964 and includes journal articles, book reviews, dissertations, and more.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to scholarly articles on all aspects of world history, excluding the United States and Canada, from the 14th century to the present.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This resource is a searchable multidisciplinary database of the full content of archival issues of scholarly journals. Issues published within the last 3-5 years are generally not covered. It also provides citations to books and pamphlets provided by JSTOR in digital format.

Find it at UVM

When searching for articles using UVM databases, watch for this icon:

Use this button to help you:

link directly to articles online, or
link to a search of UVM Library Catalog to see if we own the journal, or
link to an interlibrary loan form