Primary vs secondary sources
Historical research often involves cycling between primary sources (the texts and other materials created in the historical period you are studying) and secondary sources (texts that attempt to explain, interpret, or narrate the past). You may start by learning about the period through your assigned (secondary source) readings, then spend time with some interesting primary sources, then search for secondary sources to help you understand and interpret the primary sources.
The research tools, databases, collections of sources, and suggestions on this research guide will help you find both primary and secondary sources.
Subject Specialist Librarians
Subject specialist librarians are eager to assist you with your library research, and in most cases can save you a lot of time, especially if you meet with them early in order to plan out your research strategy.
The subject librarian for history is Celestina Savonius-Wroth. Contact her by email, cswroth@illinois.edu, to schedule a consultation or to send her a question about your research project.
Please check the list of Subject Specialists to find out who specializes in other areas related to your project. For example, Paula Carns is the English Literature librarian.
Background information
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Cambridge Histories OnlineOver 300 volumes from the Cambridge History of... series. Volumes are full-text searchable. Chapters display as PDF facsimiles of the print originals. Both book level and chapter level citations are easily exportable to Zotero and ten other citation management software tools.
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Oxford Reference150 core reference works from Oxford University Press, mostly encyclopedias and dictionaries.
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Oxford Bibliography of the Atlantic WorldExtensively annotated bibliographies and bibliographic essays, arranged by broad and specific topics.
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History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library Online Reference CollectionThis guide contains links to online reference resources and suggestions on where to begin your research on history, philosophy, and newspapers.
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Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window9/8/23: If asked to sign in, choose "Sign in through your institution" and look for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the list. The complete text of the 2nd edition of the Oxford English dictionary with quarterly updates, including revisions not available in any other form.
