Archived: AP US History Research Guide (Lytle)

Links to several databases are listed below. Many may help you access these periodicals and more.

JStor provides access to a variety of scholarly journals as well as pamphlets. 

If you find a particular journal is relevant to your topic you can USE BOOLEAN SEARCHING (AND, OR, NOT) to look for your topic within that journal. Just follow these steps:

1. Put your topic word or phrase in parentheses ex: (Egypt)
2. Add the BOOLEAN OPERATOR "AND"
3. Type "pt:(xxx)" where xxx is the Journal you'd like to search. ex: pt:(world policy journal)
4. The phrase in the search box would then look like this:

(topic) AND pt:(Journal name)
ex: (Egypt) AND pt:(world policy journal)

With EBSCO databases, like Academic Search Elite, you can limit search results by publication title which can help narrow your search.

Here are a few journals that might be worth investigating.

• American Indian Quarterly
• The American Political Science Review
• Foreign Policy
• Journal of Black Studies
• The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
• Studies in American Humor
• World Policy Journal

Remember, you should NOT PURCHASE any articles, if you cannot access something, please contact Ms. Covintree and we will work to find you access.

Like many search systems, EBSCO has ways to search for items even when there are unknown characters, multiple spellings, or various endings to a word. We call these:

Wildcard and Truncation Symbols

Wildcards are used when a variety of letters could be in place within a word. And it uses two different symbols, the question mark (?) and the hashtag (#).

? wildcard = unknown character   
Example:ne?t finds results containing neat, nest, or next 

# wildcard = alternate spelling may contain an extra character   
Example: colo#r finds results containing color or colour

Truncation is a shortening of a search term and then added an asterisk (*) in order to get results that include various endings of that word

Example: ocean* finds results with the words ocean, oceanic, or oceans

You can also use * to substitute a word within a phrase.
Example: day * died will return results that include the exact phrase day democracy died as well as day JFK died, et cetera. 

NOTE: These symbols cannot be used at the beginning of a search and don't include the ? for titles actually ending with a question mark because alternate results will come instead. 

Wildcard & Truncation symbols are common shortcuts, but be aware that each symbol does not always work the same way across search sites.

Try these tips! Search EBSCO below!

For print materials, you will be able to begin your research in Prescott Library, but you may need to go beyond the walls of Wheeler for books on most topics. Here are a few helpful tips and tricks:

• When searching our Destiny Card Catalog, any image that says "Find It" under Explore leads to other books related to that same subject.
• Don't forget to check our Reference Books collection.
• Review the Table of Contents and Index in any book you find to make sure the title covers your topic.
• You will need to try many search terms (ex: Russia, Soviet Union, communism, communist, socialism, Marx, Bolshevik, etc.) before deciding that you have found everything available that you need.
• Public library systems like SAILS (in MA) and Ocean State Libraries (in RI) have their own interlibrary loan systems, and you can request books to be sent to your local library.
• Use WorldCat or other library links  to find resources at local libraries. Then GO THERE to get the book yourself.

Finally, let me know how I can help.

~Ms. Covintree

Don't forget to take a look at our PRINT & ONLINE collection of PERIODICALS. Specifically:

Some databases can be difficult to navigate. The following links lead to tutorials and helpful instructions related to the specific database.