Russia

Research Guide

Reference Works | Library Catalogs |Primary Sources | Indexes | Internet Sites | Writing Papers | Citing Sources

Reference Works

Specialized reference works like the ones listed below are very useful for research. All of the titles here are located on the first floor of the Library. Browse around the same areas to find other useful titles.

• Dictionary of World Biography
  Reference CT 104 .D54 1998
• Women in World History
  Reference HQ 1115 .W6
  

• Chronology of European History
  Reference D 11 .C54 1997
• Chronology of World History
  Reference D 11 .C57 1999
• Great Events from History: Modern European Series
  Reference D 209 .M29
• Magill's History of Europe
  Reference D 20 .M28 1993
• A Political Chronolgy of Europe
  Reference D 11 .P655 2001

• Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000
  Reference D 20 .E6 2001
• Encyclopedia of Russian History
  Reference DK 14 .E53 2004
• Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern

Library Catalogs

• COD Library Catalog
  Items in the COD Library only
• Illinet Online
  Materials at 45 Illinois libraries
• WorldCat
  A large number of US and some world libraries

Primary Sources

There are several ways to locate primary sources in the College of DuPage Library.

Some may be found in the Reference section.

There are considerably more sources available in the General Collection. To locate them use the College's Library Catalog.

• Do an author search.
  Anything written by a participant would be a primary source
• Do a title search.
  Some primary sources have no known authors.
• Do a subject search.
  • Primary sources often contain one of these subheadings: sources, personal narratives, diaries, or correspondence. For example, look up "Russia" and scan the results for those subheadings.
  • Sometimes primary sources are found in broad collections with or without the subheadings above. Look up a broader heading such as "women" or "agriculture" and limit the search results to "source material" to find some useful collections.

Many of the Internet Sites mentioned below also have collections of primary sources. Using Primary Sources on the Web is an excellent guide to finding and evaluating web-based primary sources.

Indexes

In addition to print or online indexes specifically for history, many of these general sources cover the topic well. In many cases, the databases will have the full text article available online. If you are using these databases from off-campus, please be sure to have your library card available.

• Online Indexes
  • Academic Search Premier (1984-present)
    Indexes over 3,000 journals and magazines.
  • Discovering Collection (Prehistory to present)
    Includes some primary sources, mostly useful for topic overviews like in the Great Events books listed above.
  • Essay and General Literature Index (1985-present)
    Indexes chapters or essays in books.
  • Expanded Academic Index (1980-present)
    Indexes over 2500 journals and magazines.
  • Historical New York Times (1851-1999)
    Full images of the entire paper.
  • History Study Center
    Primary and secondary sources
  • JSTOR
    JSTOR is an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences.

Internet Sites

The Internet is an excellent place to find primary sources for the study of history. Primary sources are original documents from the time period. These texts are the foundation upon which other studies and interpretations are made. The Internet is also a good place to find images on historical topics. While there are good sites with secondary information, they are often not in enough depth for academic research. It is best to critically evaluate these sites before using them.

• Maps
• Russia

Writing Papers

Here are some helpful sources to help you research and write papers in history.

• Book Review Tutor
• Dartmouth Writng Program, Materials for Students: Writing the Academic Paper
• The History Handbook
  D 16.2 .B395 2003
• Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: a Guide for College Students
• Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog
• A Short Guide to Writing About History
  D 13 .M294 2002
• Some Tips for Writing History Papers
• A Student's Guide to History
  D 16.3 .B4 1998
• World History Matters
• Writing History: a Guide for Students
  D 16 .S864 1999
• The Writing Tutor

Citing Sources

The MLA format (Modern Language Association) is commonly used to create bibliographies or works cited pages. The sources below may help you.

• MLA List of Works Cited
• NoodleBib
• Using Modern Language Association Format

Professors in other disciplines or professors at other schools may prefer a different citation style. It's always best to ask to be sure what style they would like you to use. For professional writing in the field of history, the Chicago Manual of Style is the prefered citation format. These are some sources to help with that format

• Chicago Manual of Style
  Reference Z 253 .U69 1993
• Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide (Williams College)
• Research and Documentation Online: History

Marianne Berger, Reference Librarian
630-942-2338
berger@cdnet.cod.edu

6 January 2004