Why search here? Use this database for preliminary reading as you start your research. You'll learn about your topic by reading authoritative topic overviews on a wide variety of subjects.
What's included: Gale eBooks is comprised of subject, specialized encyclopedias with articles written by scholars and experts.
Why search here? Use this family of five history databases to get started with your history research. You can search all five simultaneously or each one individually. The five databases are, American History, African-American History, American Indian History, Ancient and Medieval History, and Modern World History.
What's includes: These databases include a wide variety of research sources including, in-depth overview essays, biographies, journal articles, images, primary sources, maps, videos, and more.
Why search here? Use this database when you want topical, in-depth coverage of world history from antiquity to the present. Read about the background, outcomes, and contemporary points of view for the major topics in history from every region of the world. This is a great database for finding primary sources.
What's included: You'll find pro/con articles, timelines, and primary sources.
Why search here? Use this database to explore primary source documents from U.S. and world history.
What's included: Milestone Documents includes 1,700 of the most-studied primary source documents accompanied by in-depth commentary and analysis from experts.
World History Encyclopedia
Milestone Documents in World History
Berkshire Encyclopedia of World HistoryOnce you've completed your preliminary reading and know something about your topic, you're ready to develop the story you want to tell about your topic. To do that, you need a research strategy.
Research as Strategic Exploration:
You want to approach your research as a quest to uncover answers to questions that didn't exist before. Seeking information to answer research questions is fun and it helps you explore your topic fully and focus it more specifically.
Your research questions help you develop a plan or roadmap for you to follow as you research.
The video below explains why you should always begin your search for relevant, credible information by creating a list of research questions that will drive your research.
Why Focus:
To make your topic manageable and meaningful you need to focus on particular aspects of it. You'll get too much information if you stick with an overly-broad concept like black death; you'll get too little information if you just try to answer a narrow question like What were the causes of the black death.
Your research questions can help you focus your topic by identifying different aspects of it you want to explore.
Example:
Even if your teacher gives you specific questions to answer, you'll need to break them down into smaller questions so that you can explore your teacher's question thoroughly. For example:
Teacher’s Question:
Write on the role of the urban working class in the French Revolution.
Student’s Exploration: