This guide will help you find published scholarship (essays, books, chapters, journal articles, etc.) and primary sources on a topic.
Remember to evaluate the accuracy of your sources, and think critically about their content and arguments.
For remote login to the Library's electronic resources, see our instructions for Off-Campus Access.
Remember to consult with your instructor in the History Department about your project!
Subject encyclopedias and other reference guides can provide good background information on a topic. Many reference books are in printed format, while others are available in electronic resource collections such as:
Dictionary of American History
Encyclopedia of Archaeology by 
Encyclopedia of European Social History
Encyclopedia of India
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
Encyclopedia of Modern China (4 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Russian History (4 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450 (3 vols.)
Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World (6 vols.) by 
Europe, 1789 to 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire (5 vols.) by 
Europe since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction (5 vols.) by 
Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. History: Government and Politics
Gale Encyclopedia of World History: Government and Politics
International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest (8 vols.) by eBook Collections
Ebooks from our various QC collections and from Open Access collections are usually accessible through OneSearch but there are occasionally errors or omissions, so it's good to know what the other ebook collections are so you can search them directly.
QC eBook Collections
On the Databases page you can sort the A-Z list to display databases that have ebook content within them. Under ‘All Database Types’ select ‘Electronic Books.’ Some ebook databases are devoted entirely to ebooks, while others have a variety of documents including ebooks. Here is a list of those that are useful for Anthropology, History, and other humanities and social science disciplines.
Open Access eBook Collections
You can access ebooks freely that are open access. Some open access collections are valuable for older, historical titles that were published before 1925 and are now in the public domain (outside of copyright restrictions). Other collections contain contemporary or recently published titles.
Directory of Open Access Books
English Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC)
Public Library eBook Collections
New York public libraries also offer access to books and ebooks for New York State residents who register for a library card.
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL)
New York Public Library (NYPL)
Queens Public Library (QPL)
What is a scholarly journal article?
A scholarly journal article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. It is written in the specialized language of a scholarly discipline (such as Philosophy). It documents the resources the writer used by providing bibliographic citations such as footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography so a reader can check or repeat the research the scholar has completed.
A scholarly journal is edited by scholars, and any article published in the journal has usually been approved by the author's peers or by referees (other scholars expert in the subject who serve as editors or readers and critique the article before it is accepted for publication). This is why most scholarly journals are referred to as a Peer-Reviewed or Refereed journals. Here is a comparison between popular and scholarly periodicals. There are usually several databases that can be used to search for journal articles on a topic.
Scholarly studies, research reports, and primary source materials are sometimes available from scholarly and research organizations
