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History Senior Thesis Resources

An evolving guide of resources for thesis writers in history

Exploring the Literature

  • Historiographies and Review Essays  are useful starting points for your research. They are usually created  by historians or other experts in a particular field in the form of an essay or book, they offer examinations of broad or smaller collections of resources (primary and secondary) on a specific subject, event, time period, etc. They can be focused on historical overviews of canonical resources, or they can be limited to what has been published in a shorter time frame. They may place resources in context, compare or contrast perspectives. These works can introduce you to  perspectives on a particular topic as well as historians and experts with whom you may be unfamiliar.  You can search for these in the catalog by combining your topic and the word historiography or review essay.

 

  • Footnotes, Endnotes, Reference Lists  are excellent tools for finding background information and build your own reading lists and bibliographies. When searching within databases, the citation index within an articles is a great tool to find materials an author has cited for their own work, others who have cited the resources you're finding, and resources that are similar to the resources you're finding. Citation index databases such as Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) are quite useful for this purpose, too. 

 

  • Dissertations and Theses are best consulted for their notes, references, and compiled bibliographies about a particular subject. They are specifically useful when you're working on a "niche" topic, or looking for ideas about possible primary sources.

 

  • Bibliographies are always great sources for finding suitable secondary and primary sources. Make sure to review them in the books and articles you find. There are bibliographies published as articles, in book form, etc. that you can usually find in CLIO by searching your topic and adding "bibliography." Oxford University Press also has a collection of basic bibliographies on a range of subjects that might be helpful as you begin your research.

 

Book Reviews