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Always begin at the library’s website;
library dot raritanval dot edu.
From our homepage, click on the ‘Databases Tab’
and scroll down to ‘F’.
Click on Facts on File- History.
Here you can see the list of databases about specific types of history.
You may only need one, or you might choose to look at more than one of these databases to make sure you cover all your bases.
For example, if you’re looking up temperance, you might choose to look at it in the American History Online database and then,
if you want to investigate it from a women’s perspective,
you should try out American Women’s History Online.
Similarly, there are specific databases for African- American History
and American Indian History online.
We are going to search the general, American History Online.
Luckily, the interface of all of these databases is pretty much the same,
so when you learn how to search one of them,
you should have no problem switching between the rest of them.
Right away, you can see that there are specific topic centers
spanning multiple eras of American history.
Obviously for this class you might look into the first four topic centers.
You can view timelines,
check out videos,
or browse any of the following i.e.
biographies, events & topics, primary sources, etc.
Let’s pick up our topic of temperance and see what we can find.
We’ll use the search box at the top of the screen.
We got 303 results in the ‘All’ column,
but you can see how the results are broken down further if you choose to explore your topic in that way-
biographies,
events & topics,
primary sources,
images & videos,
or maps & charts.
The all results tab tells you what type of source you’re looking at-
whether it is an event or topic, primary source,
or overview essay.
Additionally, you see right away where your information is coming from.
Our first result, ‘temperance’ is from the
Encyclopedia of American History: Revolution & New Nation.
As you can see your search term is highlighted throughout the entry.
It provides you with further information if you want more sources,
and finally- it provides you a Chicago formatted citation!
Up at the top, in the right hand column,
you can see related biographies, events & topics-
which narrow your search down a little bit,
and other sources that can further your understanding of a topic.
Finally, you can choose to save, email or print this article for future reference.
Those are the basics of searching the library’s Facts on File History databases.
Try out a few search terms and see if they can
help you with your understanding of the
primary source information you found in
Chronicling America.
Head over to the ‘Library resources’ forum
and answer the questions you find there.
Good luck!