Guides: PAID 112 Sections 4 &amp; 12: Klammer (Spring 2023): Secondary Sources

In This Guide

In this guide, you'll find:

Selected library databases to find scholarly, secondary sources.
Tips for choosing sources and being strategic about your searching
A wide collection of books and online resources to find primary sources.
A selection of reference sources that will provide you with background information on your topic of research.
How to contact your librarian

Preus Library has so much more than what's in this Guide! When you have questions about the library or about finding a resource, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Choosing Sources

When choosing sources, consider:

Who
- Who wrote it? What could their biases and affiliations be?
What
- What kind of source is it? A book? A newspaper article?
- What claims does the source make? What is its argument or thesis?
Where
- Where was it published? In an encyclopedia? Online? What country?
When
- When was it written? What time frame does it cover?
Why
- Why did the author write it?
- Why might it be useful to my own argument or research questions?

Research Databases

Academic Search Elite (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
An excellent starting point for research across a broad stretch of academic subjects with thousands of full-text journals and abstracted and indexed journals. This database is sourced with PDF images for the great majority of journals; many of these PDFs are native (searchable) or scanned-in-color.
Replaced Academic OneFile in 2022.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
A full-text collection of over 3,400 major scholarly journals and over 100,000 scholarly monographs. The digitized archive includes the first issue published for each journal (some are from 1665 to the present); but excludes the most recent 2 to 5 years for most journals.
America: History & Life with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Indexes scholarly journal articles, books, and dissertations in the history of U.S. and Canada from prehistory to the present. Full-text for over 225 journals, and 85 books.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Full text access is available to over 380 journals and over 13,000 scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences. Managed by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Coverage from 1993 - present.

Search WorldCat Discovery

The Perfect Source? Not Likely

Research isn't about finding that one perfect source that makes all the connections for you.

It's about pulling together information that helps you formulate your ideas and make the argument yourself. This video (2 minutes) explains why finding one perfect source isn't feasible, and describes some ways you can be strategic about your searching.

Video posted on YouTube by North Carolina State University Libraries under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license.

PAID 112 Sections 4 & 12: Klammer (Spring 2023)

Librarian