Techniques for Situating Sources in the Context of Other Scholarship
- Find scholarly background articles on the topic (encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.) Check the resources classified as "Background" on the databases list
- See if there is an Oxford Bibliography or Annual Review (most likely to be successful if your topic has a social science methods connection) on your topic
- Review historiography or literature review sections of journal articles and books
- Consult book reviews
- Find sources located in the endnotes and bibliography from works you've already identified
- Use cited reference searching in Google Scholar or Web of Science to find works that have cited works you've already identified
- Use a broad search tool like Summon or Google Scholar to look for your topic and keywords like "historiography" or "literature review" or "bibliography."
- Find a dissertation on the topic.
Bibliographies, Encyclopedias & Lit Reviews
Atlantic Slavery and the Slave Trade: History and Historiography by
Publication Date: 2018From the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History.
- Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new windowBibliographies are selectively curated and annotated by expert academics and offer high-level overviews that provide non-experts with a point of entry into unfamiliar areas of study. The African and Latin American Studies slices should be particularly useful for this class.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new windowDesigned to be an authoritative resource of reference content in a wide array of academic fields, including the humanities, social sciences, and science.
- Annual Reviews This link opens in a new windowCritically reviews the most significant research literature in over 40 focused disciplines within the fields of biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences. These reviews both summarize recent scholarly advances and prompt new research activity. Excellent database of in-depth, secondary sources. Most useful for social history research that draws on research methods from fields like anthropology and sociology.
Article Search Tools
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowCited reference search and "review article" filters will be particularly helpful in this context.
Book reviews in Summon
Use the "book review" limiter to see only book review results, and the Journal Finder to find full text of the review if the linking from Summon fails.
Book Reviews from Key Journals
Dissertations
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I This link opens in a new windowCitations and abstracts for dissertations and theses on all subjects from around the world. Previews and full text available for some titles.
- Open Access Theses & Dissertations This link opens in a new windowFreely available masters theses and doctoral dissertations from around the world.
