U.S. History Module 2: Journals and Seminal Sources: Post-Class Assignment

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Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

U.S. History Resources

Discovery Search

PeliCAT is the online catalog of the Katharine Brush Library.

Finding Seminal Sources

Goal:  Identify and evaluate 3 to 5 seminal sources on your paper topic

Part I

• The seminal sources should be only secondary sources
• Use a variety of bibliographies, such as encyclopedias, your textbook, and your preliminary bibliography from Module 1. This will give you a list of potential seminal source candidates
• List of encyclopedias and databases to consult:
  • Print encyclopedias—In the library’s main collection
  • Britannica
  • Credo Reference
  • Encyclopedia Americana
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library
  • History Reference Center
  • Salem History (20th-century topics)

Part II

• Using book reviews is the easiest way to evaluate if a book is a seminal source
• For book reviews search in:
  • Ebsco Discovery Service
  • JSTOR
  • Project Muse
  • Academic Search Premier
• Use the following criteria to deem each title as seminal:
  • At least 3 or more reviews on the title
  • Reviewed in The American Historical Review (AHR) or The Journal of American History (JAH)
  • A review states the book is seminal, important, or groundbreaking
• Choose at least 2 book reviews for each seminal source
• Put each seminal source and book review into NoodleTools

Part III

Using information drawn from the book reviews, complete the following tables in the Seminal Source Assignment for each one of your seminal sources

• Copy and paste the Seminal Source Assignemnt into your own Google Doc
• Use the Example Seminal Source Table as a guide