The information-literate historian : a guide to research for history students / Jenny L. Presnell.

Preface --
Introduction : What it means to be a historian --
1. Historians and the research process : getting started. How scholarly information is communicated ; What historians do and how they do it ; Practicing history in the electronic age : tips for the information-literate historian ; Beginning your research ; Where do viable and interesting topics come from? ; Developing a question and formulating an argument ; Preliminary organization : the blueprint ; Taking notes ; Format for documenting sources ; The changing nature of historical research and what remains the same ; For further reading --
2. Reference resources. What are reference resources and when are they useful? ; How to find reference resources ; Types of reference resources ; Encyclopedias ; Bibliographies ; Multivolume general histories ; Biographical resources ; Chronologies ; Dictionaries, etymologies, and word origins ; Statistical resources ; Book reviews ; Directories ; Using the Internet as a reference resource ; Case study : using reference resources to understand Herodotus. 3. Finding monographs and using catalogs ; What is a book? : The changing nature of monographs ; When are books the right choice for information? ; How to use a book artfully ; Finding monographs and using catalogs ; Keyword vs. subject searching ; Keyword searching ; Subject searching ; How to read an online catalog record ; Finding monographs and using catalogs outside your school ; Sources for catalogs ; Where else can I find monographs? ; Case study : finding and using monographs : the spread of Islam in Western Africa --
4. Finding journals, magazines, and newspapers : using indexes ; Using a journal article artfully ; What are periodicals (or journals or magazines)? ; Journals cs. magazines ; Commentary periodicals ; The role of newspapers in secondary historical research ; How to find articles : designing a search and using an index ; Using an online database : Historical Abstracts and America : History and Life ; Entering a keyword search in Historical Abstracts ; What you will get : looking at your results ; Other ways to use an online index ; Selecting other indexes ; E-journals and electronic collections of journals ; Case study : searching for periodical articles : Canton Trade System ; Selected historical indexes ; Selected periodical indexes of use to historians --
5. Evaluating your sources. Why evaluate your sources? ; Basic evaluation criteria ; Perspective and bias : historians and interpretation ; Scholarship or propaganda? ; Case study : evaluating sources : Holocaust historians. 6. The thrill of discovery : primary sources. Definitions ; Nature and categories of primary sources ; Planning your project with primary sources ; Locating primary sources ; Published sources for mass consumption ; Books as primary sources ; Magazines and journals as primary sources ; Newspapers as primary sources ; How to read a bibliographic entry in a printed newspaper index ; Unpublished sources and manuscripts ; Catalogs, bibliographies, directories, and indexes for manuscripts ; Directories to archive repositories ; Documents from government and other official bodies ; Indexes and bibliographies of government documents ; Directories/bibliographies for governments/guides to government publications ; Public records and genealogical sources ; Guides to public records ; Business records ; Directories ; Oral history ; Guides to oral history repositories ; Media and audiovisual ; History before 1400 : ancient and medieval cultures and those with substantial oral and material culture traditions ; Ancient history ; Medieval European history ; Using bibliographies to locate primary resources ; Bibliographies containing references to primary sources ; Evaluation ; Case study : finding primary sources : tobacco through the ages ; For further reading ; Bibliography of advanced indexes to published primary sources. 7. History and the Internet. The Internet and research ; When is the Internet appropriate for historical research? ; Using the Internet : the basics ; How do I access websites on the Internet ; Search directories ; Search engines ; Meta-search engines ; What am I missing? The deep web or the invisible web ; Special search techniques : finding primary sources on the Internet ; Searching for primary sources ; Historians communicating : using H-Net for information ; Evaluation of websites ; General websites ; Evaluating sites concerned with primary sources ; Case study : using the Internet : Japanese Americans and internment camps ; For further reading --
8. Maps : from simple to geographic information systems. Maps as representations of our world ; A short history of maps and cartography ; Maps for navigation and commercial use ; Maps as political tools ; Maps as propaganda ; Maps marking territory ; Maps in war ; Components on modern maps ; Finding maps ; Map resources ; Gazetteers. 9. Beyond the written word : finding, evaluating, and using images, motion pictures, and audio. The role of media in historical research : media as historical evidence ; Images throughout history ; Photography : real life captured? ; Art as visual media : painting and drawing ; Motion pictures and television ; Searching for visual media ; Collections of historic images ; Search engines and meta-search engines for images and indexes to image collections ; Images on the Internet : some cautions ; Scanning and downloading still images ; Common image files ; Downloading images ; Scanning images ; Image types ; Organizing still images on your website ; Digital video and audio files ; Digital video : using moving images ; Searching on the Web ; Audio, music, and speech resources ; Questions to ask about speeches ; Searching for audio materials ; Copyright ; For further reading --
10. Presenting your research : traditional research paper, PowerPoint, or website? Creating a research paper ; Writing style ; Oral presentations and PowerPoint ; Websites for historical research ; Historical and scholarly websites : a developing frontier ; Website design : how to begin ; Preplanning : the major considerations ; Navigation ; What every good website must have ; Writing for the web ; Common mistakes to avoid on websites ; Case study : a student-constructed website : Freedmen's Bureau ; For further reading --
Index.

"In the past, historians could rely on their basic understanding of bibliographic tools to do effective research, as resources were primarily available in print, on microform, or at a library. Today, the information explosion resulting from access to the Internet has complicated traditional research methods by heightening expectations and raising new questions about retrieving, using, and presenting information." "The Information-Literate Historian is the only book specifically designed to teach today's history students how to most successfully select and use sources-primary, secondary, and electronic-to carry out and present their research. The book discusses: questions to ask before, during, and after the research process, as well as questions to ask about sources and their authors, search strategies that can be used in both electronic and print indexes, the various types of the sources that are appropriate for specific research questions, how to find and use books, journals, and primary sources quickly and efficiently, and how to select the best ones for a particular topic, the ways in which historians practice their craft and the nature of historical discourse and narrative, methods for finding, using, and evaluating such media as images, speeches, and maps, guidelines for presenting historical research in different formats, including papers, oral presentations, and websites. Written by a college librarian, The Information-Literate Historian is an indispensable reference for historians, students, and others doing history research. Book jacket."--Jacket