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Online Resources

Primary Sources for Historical Research Guide created by MU History Librarian, Rachel Brekhus (Rachel has created a comprehensive guide for historical research resources covering several centuries.
History: More Guides & References - created by Rachel Brekhus
Government Documents as Primary Sources - created by MU Government Documents Librarian, Sandy Schiefer.
Newspaper Research Guide created by Sue Schuermann and Dorothy Carner
Information for Journalism Graduate Students

Primary Sources

Primary sources are documents or physical objects written or created at the time historical events occurred or well after the events in the form of memoirs or oral histories. The author or creator was present at the time of the event and offers a first-hand account. Primary sources may include:

Original Documents (Diaries, letters, speeches, notes, meeting minutes, interviews, news audio or video footage, autobiographies, official records (birth/death/marriage certificates), new research findings reported in scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles, government documents (laws, reports, statistics, data).
Creative Works (music, photography, film, poetry, drama, novels, works of art, architecture)
Relics/Artifacts (jewelery, pottery, tools, weapons, clothing, buildings - created and used during the period of study)

Primary sources serve as raw material to interpret the past, and when used along with previous interpretations by historians, may provide resources necessary for historical research.

Find primary source material by searching:

Library Catalogs (monographs and serials containing autobiographies, memoirs, letters, speeches, interviews, etc.; government documents, newspaper and periodical microforms, maps, etc.)

Archives/Special Collections

University Archives (MU/UM)
MU Libraries Special Collections and Rare Books
State Historical Society of Missouri
- Manuscript Collection Finding Aid (Formerly: Western Historical Manuscript Collection)
ArchiveGrid searches through collection descriptions from thousands of libraries, museums and archives.
Archives USA is a current directory of 5,596 repositories and 154,678 collections of primary source material across the United States.

Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources analyze, interpret, or comment on primary resources. They may include books (handbooks, encyclopedias, biographies), articles, reviews, scientific studies, editorials, etc.

Conduct a literature review using secondary sources
Search the online catalog for books and serials
Search (print & digital) subject bibliographies and databases for scholarly articles:
- Norton, Mary Beth, editor; Pamela Gerardi, associate editor. The American Historical Association's guide to historical literature. New York : Oxford University Press, 1995. 3rd edition. Ellis Library Reference - D20 .A54 1995 (vol. 1-2)
Mine article bibliographies

Top MU database choices for historical research:

Communication and Mass Media Complete
Offers cover-to-cover ("core") indexing and abstracts as well as selected ("priority") journals, many of which are full text.
Date Coverage: 1915-present

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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Auto Alerts: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/alerts/ebsco
Academic Search Premier
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than an abundance of journals and covers extensive academic disciplines and provides comprehensive content, including PDF back-files, videos, and searchable cited references.
Contains 4,600 journals, including full text for nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles.

Date Coverage:Varies; primarily 1970s-present with some titles covering earlier dates

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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Auto Alerts: http://libraryguides.missouri.edu/alerts/ebsco
JSTOR
Provides access to scholarly journals in the arts and sciences.
Specifically contains access to Arts and Sciences I, II, III, IV, Complement, Ecology & Botany and General Science Collections.
Free account can be created for personalization.
Date Coverage: Varies by title
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Truncation: Plurals: +

Search Guide: https://support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/articles/115004701828-Search-Help-Resources-Overview
Project Muse
Provides full-text access to scholarly journals from the Johns Hopkins University Press and other University presses covering the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Mathematics.
Date Coverage: 1995-date.

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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American Periodical Series Online
A full-text collection resources that chronicle the development of America across 150 years that include digitized images of the pages of magazines and journals.
Date Coverage: 1741 - 1900

Maximum Users: Unlimited

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Need Help?

Ask Us: Get research assistance from the MU Libraries' staff via email, phone, or in person at the library. There's also a searchable list of frequently asked questions. You can chat with a librarian 24 hours a day (M-F) and Saturday and Sundays starting at 10 a.m. You can contact your subject librarian to ask questions or to set up an appointment to meet one-on-one.

Call Us: 573-882-3362