InfoGuides: British/United Kingdom-Western European History Core Sources: Find Secondary Sources

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Search Mason Catalog

Still can't find the item? Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request books, media and articles from other libraries when they are not available at Mason or the WRLC. Start your research early if you want to take advantage of this wonderful service as it can take up to 2 weeks.

Core Tools

The gold standard of historical scholarship remains the monograph, or a book about a single subject. Books about a single subject published by university presses are typically the culmination of years of scholarship on a topic. Use library catalogs to find these materials.

University Libraries Catalog: Search for books, journals, and media available at the Mason Libraries.
WRLC Catalog: Search for books, journals, and media in research libraries in the Washington, DC area.
Library of Congress Catalog: Search the collections at the Library of Congress.
WorldCat: Search for books and media in libraries around the world.
CRL: Search for newspapers, journals, documents, and archives of the Center for Research Libraries. Mason is a member of this International Consortium of Research Libraries which provides access to a host of research collections via ILL and some online sources.

Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Provides English language abstracts of scholarly literature from 1955 to present (journal articles, articles in collections, dissertations, book reviews) on world history from 1450, excluding North America. Note: with full-text links to 420,000 journals.
Tutorial for the Historical Abstracts database.
ITER - Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive bibliography of European culture from 400-1700; also includes Kristeller's Iter Italicum (Medieval Academy of America). Cites books, articles, reviews, review articles, bibliographies, catalogs, abstracts, discographies, conference proceedings, festschriften, encyclopedias, and exhibition catalogues published since 1931.
ACLS Humanities E-Books This link opens in a new window
Searchable collection of scholarly books in the humanities by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) in collaboration with thirty-one learned societies, over 100 contributing publishers, and the Michigan Publishing division at the University of Michigan Library.
Essay and General Literature Index This link opens in a new window
Citations to essays and articles in collections of essays in the humanities and social sciences. View a tutorial on this database here.
Essay and General Literature Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Cites essays, articles and miscellaneous works published in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. Covers 8 Centuries (1900-1984) of essays, annuals and serial publications from the 20th Century. Tutorial for the Essay and General Literature Index Retrospective database.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text This link opens in a new window
Provides a comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. Contains new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text. Tutorial for the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text database.

Selected Specialized Resources

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Collects 50,000 illustrated biographies of the men and women who shaped British history and culture over a 2,500-year period. note: Updated three times per year in January, May, and September. Tutorial for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography database.
Chicago Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new window
Latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, with access to previous edition.
Tutorial for the Chicago Manual of Style Online database.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Contains more than 300 Oxford University Press dictionaries and reference works. Texts are updated after new editions of the print book are published. Tutorial for the Oxford Reference database.
Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Offers exclusive, authoritative research guides developed by scholars and librarians worldwide to address a variety of subjects, including African Studies, Anthropology, Atlantic History, Cinema and Media Studies, Classics, Criminology, Education, International Law, International Relations, Latin American Studies, Management, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. Tutorial for the Oxford Bibliographies Online database.

The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature by Mary B. Norton (Editor); Pamela Gerardi (Editor)
ISBN: 0195057279
Publication Date: 1995-03-30
This entirely new edition of a keystone reference is the place to start researching any topic in any field of history. Hundreds of historians from around the world have selected and provided commentary on the best and most useful works in their fields--almost 27,000 annotated citations--to provide unprecedented bibliographic guidance of extraordinary breadth, from prehistory to the twentieth century. Presented in an accessible format, this completely new work has been ten years in planning and execution. It is divided into sections arranged by chronology and national and regional history, with each section introduced by a brief historiographical essay. And it also contains expanded coverage of Africa, Asia, and North and South America. Each bibliographic citation is identified by a unique reference number and includes all essential data, along with a brief critical annotation written by a specialist in the field. Also included are guides to the contributors of annotations and complete author and subject indexes. An indispensable work for scholars, students, librarians, and general readers, the AHA Guide to Historical Literature is essential for anyone who is serious about history.

Cambridge Core This link opens in a new window
Provides access to Cambridge University Press journals and ebooks across all academic disciplines.
Tutorial for the Cambridge Core database.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a collection of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences digitized in most cases back to the first date of issue. Includes selected books, primary sources and other materials for academic work.
Tutorial for the JSTOR database.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
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Provides digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. Offers full-text versions of scholarly journals and books from many of the world's university presses and scholarly societies. Tutorial for the Project MUSE database.
Taylor and Francis Online This link opens in a new window
Search, browse, and access the full text of more than 2,000 journals published by Taylor & Francis covering the humanities, medicine, the social sciences, science, and technology. View a tutorial on this database here.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to: the full-text of nearly 1500 journals; the table of contents and abstracts of print books and reference works; as well as some full-text access to e-books. Subject areas include the sciences, social sciences, business, education, law, computer science and technology. Tutorial for the Wiley Online Library database.

View a tutorial on this database here.

Arts & Humanities Citation Index This link opens in a new window
Indexes more than 1,700 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals and selected items from over 250 scientific and social sciences journals from 1975 to the present. Part of Web of Science. Use the dropdown editor labeled "Editions" to select Arts & Humanities Citation Index in the search box.
Tutorial for the Arts & Humanities Citation Index database.
Humanities and Social Science Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 This link opens in a new window
Offers a wide range of subject coverage in the humanities and social sciences. Content includes indexing to journals and specialized magazines, and includes citations to book reviews. Coverage dates range from 1907 to 1984.
Tutorial for the Humanities and Social Science Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 database.
Web of Science: Core Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains citations and searchable author abstracts, covering scholarly literature in journals, books and conference proceedings. Includes: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Book Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Current Chemical Reactions, Index Chemicus, and Emerging Sources Citation Index. Additional resources available by selecting from the dropdown list next to the Core Collection heading. Tutorial for the Web of Science: Core Collection database.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing of over three million articles from more than 550 magazines, including full coverage of the original print volumes of Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature™. Coverage: 1890-1982. Tutorial for the Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 database.