General Help
Library Staff
Welcome to the CCA Library History Research Guide! This guide provides information about searching and citing resources for History research.
Research in History involves identifying useful information sources, evaluating these sources for reliability and credibility, and analyzing the information they contain. Conducting research in this way helps historians create syntheses, interpretations, and narratives to address historical questions.
Use this guide to access and explore History resources from the CCA Library. Good luck with your research!
Primary sources provide first-hand accounts of events, as well as insight into perspectives, attitudes, or customs of an era. Primary sources are important resources for History research in determining the accuracy of historical events and comparing perspectives on a topic. Click on the links below to explore Library databases with collections of primary sources:
History, art, and anthropology students will find older journal articles, books, images, and primary sources. Includes Artstor, images of museum and archive holdings, like artifacts, paintings, photographs, advertisements, and other original art.
Encyclopedia-like resource with background information, academic articles, magazine coverage, photos, and videos on hundreds of significant people, events, and topics in U.S. history.
Articles, primary sources, and reference materials on global history. Useful for assignments in history, humanities, and cultural studies.
Secondary sources explain and interpret primary sources. These sources provide analysis or commentary on topics and events by bringing together many different resources as evidence of a claim.
Search the Library Databases to start looking for secondary sources. They can also be found in databases that focus on a subject or discipline.
Reference sources are authoritative works that contain information about people, places, events, and ideas. They offer concise summaries in a clear and organized way to provide general, background information on a subject.
You can find reference sources by searching the Library Databases to start looking for secondary sources. Click on the links below to search reference and background information databases to see what information on your topic comes up:
Encyclopedia-like resource to explore research topics and multiple perspectives (pro/con). Filter by article length or resource type (opinion articles, videos, photographs, and maps).
Articles, documents, images, and videos on U.S. and world history. Great for history assignments and primary source research.
Arguments for and against social and political issues. Helps students research topics like gun control, climate change, and censorship for persuasive essays, debates, and discussion posts.
