AIS370/HSTAA315: Researching Indians' History - spr 2014: Scholarly Analyses

The raison d'être of scholars be they historians, anthropologists, sociologists or in another discipline is to attempt to describe, explain, interpret and analyze our world. In the case of history, historians use evidence from the past (primary sources) to support their interpretations which are most often published in the form of books and journal articles (secondary works). So why should you use secondary sources?

• Secondary sources provide historical/broader context for a topic. For example, if you are researching the Chemewa Indian School, you may want to use a secondary source to get information on how this school compared to others. 
  
  
• Secondary sources are written by expert scholars. Before publication academic books and articles are vetted by other scholars in a process known as peer review. 
  
  
• Secondary sources provide historiographical/scholarly context for a topic. In other words, how has this topic been interpreted by other scholars. Scholarship is not stagnant but is constantly being reinterpreted in light of new evidence and new outlooks.
  
  
• Secondary sources in the field of history are based on evidence (primary sources) that are cited in the footnotes and bibliography. Secondary sources are often a quick way to identify important primary sources that you too may wish to use in your research paper. Look for published primary sources such as books, articles and government reports. Search UW Worldcat or the other sources listed in this guide to see if we have a copy.

Bibliographies are compilations of citations to research on specific topics. Most are published as one-volume books. To locate printed bibliographies search the UW Worldcat:

• Type in your topic keyword(s) and the following phrase -- and su:bibliography
• Examples:
  • tulalip and su:bibliography
  • indians and education and su:bibliography

A listing of bibliographies, Bibliography of Native American bibliographies is also available in Odegaard Reference E77 .W67 2004.

Advanced Search | UW Libraries Search

To find books: 

• Keep in mind that when searching for books dealing with Native Americans that the official term used is "indians of north america." You can also search by tribe ("tulalip indians," "apache indians," etc.)
• On a topic: type in the keywords that broadly describe your topic linked with the AND connector. Use quotations with phrases. For example: tuberculosis and indians of north america and history
  
• By title - type in the first few words of the title in quotations. For example: "rich indians native people" 
  
• By author - Type in the last name followed by the first name of the author in quotations.  For example: "harmon alexandra"

Getting non-books? Use the toolbar on the left and choose the format "Book."

Getting too many irrelevant results? Add an additional keyword if you are searching by topic. Also use the toolbar on the left to narrow down your search.  You can limit by format, author, language, publication date, etc.

 America History & Life is the best database to use when looking for academic journal articles in the field of American and Canadian history.  

Link your search terms using the AND connector. For example: tuberculosis and indians. On the search results screen, use the options on the left toolbar to narrow your search results. To find the fulltext of the article (if not provided directly in the database), click on the "Check for Full Text" button and work your way through the screens. Not all articles will be online, some may only be in print, others may not be available at the UW.

Additional databases to use for academic journal articles:

Be sure to check the recommended resources on other subject guides for your topic if applicable. For example if you are working on the marketing of Native American art you would want to check the Art subject guide.