Junior Thesis - ACP - ACP Jr Thesis - using template - NNHS LibGuides at Newton Public Schools District Libraries

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Databases to start with

U.S. History in Context This link opens in a new window
American History This link opens in a new window
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social and cultural history to cover the American Experience.
African American Experience This link opens in a new window
The African American Experience supports research and scholarship in the field of African American Studies with a full library of works analyzing the contributions and challenges of African Americans throughout history, including the complete WPA Slave Narratives collection. This comprehensive database includes more than 9,000 articles, biographies, primary documents, and media.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Non-fiction and reference eBooks.

Databases to Dig Deeper and/or find primary sources

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Newspapers
Read full-text articles from The Wall Street Journal (1984-present); The Washington Post (1877-2003); The Boston Globe (1872-present); and The Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper (1893-1988).
Issues and Controversies in History This link opens in a new window
Balanced coverage that provides the background, outcome, and contemporary points of view for many major debates and conflicts in history. Presented in a pro/con format that clearly explains both sides of the historical dispute, each article is supported by a timeline and primary sources.

Websites to explore for primary sources

Black Abolitionist Archive
Historical research center devoted to the study of African Americans involved in the transatlantic struggle against slavery.

Ebony Magazine Archives
Excellent source for topics on African-American culture changing through our history.

Civil Rights Stories

Time Magazine Vault
Primary sources in archived Time Magazines from 1900-2000.

Digital Public Library
Primary sources on many topics.

Gilder Lehrman
An extensive archive of primary sources in American History.

Fashion History Timeline

Harp Week
Exhibits from the 19th century Harper's Weekly . Exhibits focus on the abolition of slavery (13th Amendment), black voting rights (15th Amendment), the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Hayes v. Tilden, and presidential elections as depicted in policital cartoons from 1860 to 1912.

National Security Archives
Collects and publishes documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act.

FBI: The Vault
Declassified documents available alphabetically by topic, or under "Espionage", "Famous Persons", "Gangster Era", "Historical Interest", "Unusual Phenomena", and "Violent Crime".

AdAccess: (Duke University)
Offers "over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955."

Smithsonian: National Museum of American History
Contains digital counterparts to exhibitions at the museum (with images and descriptions of some of the items) on military history, civil rights, and much more.

Oyez: Supreme Court Resouces
This multimedia database about the United States Supreme Court includes audio of oral arguments, abstracts of key constitutional cases, and information on Supreme Court justices.

How do I...?

Create a NoodleTools account (video)
Create and share a project in NoodleTools (video)
Cite a book (handout)
Cite a source I found in a Gale database? (handout)
Properly use quotes and evidence to support thesis
Copy and paste a pre-formatted MLA citation (handout)
Cite a website (video)
What is the difference between websites and databases?

Additional citation help videos and links here.

Google Search Tips

Do Your Best Google Search!

Vary the words you use and think of all the ways the search can be phrased.

i.e: headache, head hurts, pain in head, etc.

“ “ - use quotes for the exact phrase

* - use for wildcard unknown or variables

i.e: manufactur* (searches manufacture, manufacturing etc)

- minus sign as a limiter. .

i.e: jaguar -car (eliminate car sites if you’re looking for the animal)

Search within a site (or type of site) using site:nytimes.com or site:.edu

.. shows results within a specific time frame or number range 2007..2010

Use AND,OR and NOT to search for limit, extend or include search results

Google Book Search books.google.com - full text books

For primary sources, try specific keywords in your search...diaries, personal narrative, documents, testimony, library archives, etc.

Other Libraries

Research Thinking on Primary Sources Activity

Primary Source Lesson- Turner

Primary Source Lesson- Bedar/George

ACP Jr Thesis - using template: Junior Thesis - ACP