Cypress College Library
History 171 Research Guide
This research guide provides a list of resources and strategies to help you do research for suitable materials for History 171. The resources covered in this guide include some that are available through the Cypress College Library, and others that are available on the open web.
Your research strategy might include some or all of the following:
How do I find an overview or general background information about my topic?
Reference sources are a great place to start a research project. You
can use reference sources to find an overview and general background information, context, and
bibliographies for further reading on your topic. Listed below are a
few of these sources available through the library: Civil Rights in the United States Reference Collection (E184 .A1 C47 2000) Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History Reference Collection (E185 .E54 2006) Encyclopedia of American Social Movements Reference Collection (HN57 .E594 2004) Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos & Latinas in the United States Reference Collection (E184 .S75 O97 2005) Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America Reference Collection (JC599 .U53 2005) Labor Conflict in the United States: An Encyclopedia Reference Collection (HD5324 .L32 1990)
How do I find books about my topic? There are several ways to look for books. One is to browse the shelves. The general call number range for American History is E through F--so you could come to the library and go straight to the shelves and browse for books. A more efficient way to look for books is to search the library's online catalog.
How do I find journal, magazine, newspaper, and other types of articles on my topic? For your assignment you may want to find articles from scholarly and/or popular periodicals. To find articles, use one of the databases listed below:
Θ Important note: You will need a special username and password in order to access these databases remotely. Please come to the reference desk at the library to pick up the necessary access codes.
How do I find credible web sources on my topic? In this section, "web pages" means the "open web"--web sites anyone can access--not web-based research tools like the databases that the library provides. The open web has a lot of great things to offer, but not all the sources found there are appropriate for academic research. How can you determine if the sources you've found are credible? Ask yourself the following questions:
You can try looking for relevant web sites on your own using subject directories like InfoMine, Open Directory Project, and the Librarian's Internet Index. As well, you can try some of the web sites listed below:
About Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights:
Voices of Civil Rights
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. URL: http://www.nps.gov/archive/malu/documents/king_speeches.htm
King Encyclopedia Related sites for understanding Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches
"Civil Disobedience": By Peter Suber URL: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/civ-dis.htm
"The Mill-Hands of Ahmedabad": By Mahatma Gandhi URL: http://www.mkgandhi.org/nonviolence/mill.htm
About Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks Library and Museum URL: http://montgomery.troy.edu/rosaparks/museum/
Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development URL: http://www.rosaparks.org/
Remembering Rosa Parks URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/race_relations/july-dec05/parks_10-25.html
Academy of Achievement: Rosa Parks (Biography and 1995 interview with audio and video) URL: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1
About Jim Crow Laws
"Jim Crow" Laws URL: http://www.nps.gov/archive/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm
The History of Jim Crow URL: http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm
About the Montgomery Improvement Association
Montgomery Improvement Association URL: http://www.themontgomeryimprovementassociation.org/website/
Alabama Moments in American History: The Montgomery Bus Boycott URL: http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec55ps.html
They Changed the World: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott URL: http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/article_overview.htm
History of the Boycott through Images & Documents URL: http://library.kentlaw.edu/Exhibit/Montgomery/browder.htm
"Back to the Back of the Bus": An article by Joann Wypijewski URL: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20001225/wypijewski
How do I get more help finding sources for my topic? If you feel like you need help getting started, finding more detailed materials, or if you have any questions in general, please feel free to come to the library and ask a reference librarian for help. If you have trouble accessing this page and need help, contact a librarian at the reference desk at (714) 484-7069.
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