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History 132 - Reformations of the 16th Century

Getting Started

Research Tip #1 - Develop your search strategy first

Research Tip #2 - Review types of materials needed

Finding Books

Use Scotty, the Library's online catalog to identify books by topic, title or author OR to identify if the Library owns particular journals.
Scotty does not include articles!

Search by keyword for materials on a particular topic.
To retrieve variations of a word, use *
Example:  symbol*  will retrieve symbols, symbolic, symbolism

Limit to English

Search Tip #3 - Try different search strategies, revise using subject headings and other terms.

Refine your searches by using Subject Headings  

Example:

• Reformation -- Switzerland -- Sources. 
• History -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- 16th century.
• Reformation -- Germany -- Biography. 

 For writings by Anabaptists, try searching by Author or Subjects: 

• Anabaptists -- Doctrines 
• Reformed Church. 
• Reformation -- Sources.  (will retrieve books such as: Documents On The Continental Reformation)

Try Melvyl, the UC library-wide catalog for broader coverage. 

Useful Reference Works

Encyclopedias provide an overview of a topic and include bibliographies. Guides and historiographies lead you to other sources. Sample resources include:

Europe 1450 to 1789 : encyclopedia of the early modern world  6 volumes -  Ref D209 .E97 2004

Dictionary Of The Reformation - Ref BR302.8 .L4913 2004

The Oxford Encyclopedia Of The Reformation 4 volumes -   Ref BR302.8 .O93 1996

Research Tip #4 - Let the research lead you - check bibliographies

Articles

Research Tip #5 - Set up remote access to access e-resources from home

Getting to the databases:

• Go the the Library's website
• Go the the Library's website
• Select Databases By Subject (on the left side)
• Choose History
• Select Historical Abstracts

Historical Abstracts - Scholarly articles, books, dissertations, and collections in world history (excluding US and Canada) from 1450 to modern times; most with abstracts and some full-text;  1954-present.

• can limit by time period (century or decade)
• can limit by language
• can limit by publication type  

Full text versus print:

Some databases provide only citations to articles in journals, some include abstracts, and others allow you to view/download/print the full text of the articles.

Click on to check holdings, to see if available full-text, at another UC, or to request through Interlibrary Loan.  

JSTOR Journal Archive is a a great place to find scholarly journal articles. It is an archive of journals, so there are no current years online.

Since it includes many subject areas, it is wise to limit your search terms to particular journals and disciplines.

Getting to JSTOR: 

Once you enter JSTOR: 

Research Tip #6 - Evaluate before copying and printing. Read the abstracts.

Internet Resources

Not all web sites are created equal.  Almost anyone can publish on the Web and many resources are not verified by editors and/or fact checkers.  You need to carefully evaluate the purpose, authority,  accuracy, objectivity, coverage, currency, and authority of each web site that you look at. 

Here are  a few that you might want to check: 

• Internet Modern History Sourcebook
• Project Wittenberg
• EuroDocs
• Calvinism Resource Database

Cite Your Sources

Search Tip #7 - Track your work

Researchers use standard citation formats to identify books, articles, etc., consulted and to give credit to their authors. Consistency is crucial. As a university student, you are expected to follow the same guidelines.

Always consult your instructor for the format used in your class. See the Library's Citing your Sources guide for help with the most common formats.

Further Assistance

Librarians are here to help you!
Stop by at the Reference Desk, call at 827-4392, email us at: rivref@ucr.edu, or  click on