HIS 200 - Applied History

Searching for Secondary Sources

For your project, you need to research and identify secondary sources. When you're looking for secondary sources, look for sources that add to the conversation on the topic you've chosen. If you're investigating the relationship between the Space Race and the Cold War, for example, you'll want to look for scholarly articles or books that specifically address one or both of those events, or include a significant section (i.e. a chapter) on that topic. Perhaps you will also want to seek out secondary sources that discuss the primary sources you have already identified.

Scholarly journal articles and books are great secondary sources to use for your research. The library has many databases that include scholarly articles and books on historical topics. We've suggested a few of the library's databases below that include secondary sources. Want more? Check out the A-Z database list and use the limiters to look at all of Shapiro's historical databases. When using books for your research, remember: you don't have to use the entire book! Often one or two chapters are particularly useful.