Get Started: Background Resources
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc. are often a great way to start your research. They can help you understand your research topic, define terms that may appear in scholarly journal articles, and gather background information to build context.
- CREDO Reference This link opens in a new window A full-text online reference service, CREDO contains dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific titles covering everything from art to accountancy, science to Shakespeare and law to literature.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window 150+ academic subject, language, and quotations dictionaries with 240+ in-depth, specialized titles from Oxford University Press’s Encyclopedias and Companions.
Additional background information
Augustana subscribes to a few history resources that are a mix of background information, primary sources, and more in-depth resources. These databases may also help you build context and refine your research question/topic.
- American History Online This link opens in a new window Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history to cover the American experience.
- African-American History Online This link opens in a new window Features thousands of cross-referenced entries, covering the entire spectrum of African-American history over the past 500 years.
- American Indian History Online This link opens in a new window American Indian History Online offers access to more than 15,000 years of culture and history through event and topic entries, biographies, images and videos, maps and charts, legends, primary sources, and timeline entries.
- Ancient & Medieval History This link opens in a new window Ancient and Medieval History Online provides thorough coverage of eight civilizations-ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient and medieval Africa, medieval Europe, the Americas, and ancient and medieval Asia covering prehistory through the 1500s.
- Modern World History Online This link opens in a new window Covers the broad expanse of world history from the mid-15th century to the present, featuring thousands of documents, articles, timelines, images, videos, and maps.
How Do I...?
- How Do I...?Answers for our most frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Beginning Your Research: General Resources
These resources provide access to magazine, newspaper and scholarly articles on a variety of topics.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window A multi-disciplinary database with full text in many topics including the social sciences, humanities, general science, education and most areas of academic study.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new window Search a comprehensive file of periodicals for a broad range of subject areas including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests.
Books & ebooks
Core Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window A digital archive includes more than 3,500 leading academic journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs. The most recently published issues (past 3-5 years) are generally not available.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new window Full text access to a selection of prestigious humanities and social sciences journals.
Primary Sources
- Gale Primary Resources This link opens in a new window An integrated research environment that allows users to search across all of their Gale primary source collections. Gale Primary Sources takes users beyond a simple search and retrieve workflow, allowing them to analyze content using frequency and term-relationship tools.
- American Historical Periodicals This link opens in a new window History of the American people from the Colonial Era into the twentieth century, presenting North American thought, culture, and society through a variety of perspectives. Focused on American concerns, the periodicals were predominantly published in the US or Canada, though some were published overseas by Americans living abroad.
- Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new window Part 1: Debates over Slavery and Abolition Part 2: Slave Trade in the Atlantic World Part 3: Institution of Slavery Part 4: Age of Immancipation
- Fold3 This link opens in a new window Genealogy information focusing upon US military records; including stories, photos, and personal documents.
- Sources in U.S. History Online: Slavery in America This link opens in a new window
- Sources in U.S. History Online: The American Revolution This link opens in a new window
- Sources in U.S. History Online: The Civil War This link opens in a new window
Newspapers
- New York Times Historical This link opens in a new window Full text access to the New York Times from 1851-2013.
- The Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window The Times newspaper of London, the oldest daily newspaper, covering 1785 to present day
- Chronicling America Historic American newspapers including South Dakota communities such as Canton (1876-1916) and Yankton (1875-1885).
Citing Your Sources - Chicago
Additional Resources for Chicago-Style citations