United States History

Research Guide

Labor History

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.

• The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia
  Reference HC 102 .A66 2003
• Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
  Reference HF 5343 .E6 R32
• Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Organizations
  Reference JK 468 .C7 E5
• Federal Agency Profiles for Students
  Reference JK 421 .F42 1999
• Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Economic History
  Reference HC 102 .G35 1999
• Great American Court Cases
  Reference KF 385 .A4 G68
• Great American Trials
  Reference KF 220 .G74
• Historic U.S. Court Cases
  Reference KF 385 .A4 J64
• Major Acts of Congress
  Reference KF 154 .M35
• The Oxford Guide to the United States Government
• Supreme Court Drama
  Reference KF 4550 .Z9 B73
• Work in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Policy, and Society
  Reference HD 8066 .W637 2003
• Working Americans
  Reference HD 8066 .D47

Library Catalogs

Use the catalogs below to locate print and audio-visual materials. Some suggested subject headings include:

• 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.

Online collections of e-books on labor (some primary sources) include:

• Digital Book Index: eBooks: Economic History: Labor, Wages, Incomes, Employment, Cost of Living
• Digital Book Index: eBooks: Labor History, Reform (19th c U.S.)
• Digital Book Index: eBooks: Labor, Labor History

Primary Sources

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

Some may be found in the Reference Section

• American Decades: Primary Sources
  Reference E 169.1 .A471977
• Annals of America
  Reference E 173 .A793
• Historic Documents of.... (1972-present)
  Reference E 839,5 .H37
• United States Supreme Court Reports
  Reference KF 101 .U6584
• Vital Speeches of the Day
  Current Periodicals and Microfilm

There are considerably more primary 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. For example, for a primary source about the Korean War, look up "Truman, Harry S. " as an author and you will find Public papers of the Presidents of the United States, containing the public messages, speeches, and statements of the President .
• Do a subject search.
  • Primary sources often contain one of these subheadings: sources, personal narratives, diaries, or correspondence. For example, look up "Watergate" 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 - United States " 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 online indexes specifically for history, many 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.

• History Databases
  • History Study Center
    Primary and secondary sources.
  • Military And Government Collection
    Covers all branches of the government. Sometimes contains primary sources such as hearings.
• Business Indexes
  • ABI Inform
    Includes significant articles from current business and management periodicals.
  • Business And Company ASAP
    Articles on business, management, and marketing.
  • Business Source Elite
    Covers business, management, and economics journals and magazines.
• General Indexes
  • Academic Search Premier (1984-present)
    Indexes over 3,000 journals and magazines; sometimes includes primary sources.
  • Chicago Tribune Historical
    Every issue from 1890-1946. Will eventually cover the entire run.
  • Expanded Academic Index (1980-present)
    Indexes over 2500 journals and magazines.
  • Historical New York Times (1851-1999)
    Full images of the entire paper.
  • 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.
  • Newspapers (1980s-present)
    Full text of the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times (last 90 days only).

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. Some suggested sites include:

• Bisbee Deportation of 1917
• Dramas of Haymarket
• FindLaw
• How the Other Half Lives
• LawMemo.com
• Legal Information Institute
• On the Lower East Side
• Seattle General Strike
• Triangle Factory Fire
• United States National Labor Relations Board
• Women Working, 1870-1930

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 preferred 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

16 August 2005