History: Home

There are a wide range of online resources that will help you find books, journal articles, and much more, to support your  study and research.  Key resources are highlighted in the adjacent tabs.

Key Research Databases

Research databases index the global literature and provide references to journal articles, books, conference proceedings,  reports etc that match your search criteria. They help you to find information about previous publications in your research field.

The following databases will help you discover material related to History. You have access to further resources via the History subject list area in the A-Z Databases list. 

Reference resources are essential for background reading and planning your assignments and research. They provide an overview of a topic area or period and allow you to develop an understanding of the key works, thinkers and scholars in your area of study.

Find out more on the online reference resources guide

Here are a selection of reference resources recommended for history students and researchers:

You can use the following services to explore research materials available elksewhere
 

• COPAC - exposes rare and unique research material by bringing together the catalogues of c.90 major UK and Irish libraries.

• WorldCAT - search the collections of libraries in your community and tens of thousands more around the world.  

• SUNCAT - is the Serials Union Catalogue for the UK research community, a free tool to help researchers and librarians locate serials held in the UK.

• The European Library - access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries.

• The Library of Congress -  catalog records for books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources in the Library of Congress collections in the USA.

• LibWeb - Access to a listing of online library catalogues worldwide

• CORE - gives an incredibly fast search of the full-text of 80M open access research resources

JSTOR provides access to scholarly book, journal and primary sources via an easy to use search interface.

Mass Observation was a pioneering social research organisation which encouraged British people to submit diary entries, reports, essays and photographs about their lives between 1937-1965. The archives are available online and provide insight into the cultural and social history of Britain.

You can access the online archive using the link below:

Use the Databases A-Z List to access all the resources available to you.

You can browse by subject e.g. Education or type (e.g.maps, news, images etc.) or search to find your required resource.

Allied subjects include Sociology, Psychology, and Politics.  You will also find LibGuides available for these and other subject disciplines.

You are likely to use a wide range of different types of information sources for your study and research.  As well as academic sources such as books and journals,  you may wish to consult news sources, official publications, statistics etc.  Use the online support highlighted here to guide your searching.  

• News sources can be invaluable research resources. 
• They provide contemporaneous accounts of events as they emerge and unfold, affording a snapshot of developments at a point in time.
• You can engage in historical research by tracing commentary on issues over time, to identify and track changing political, economic and social trends. 
• The availability of news resources online allows for very effective and comprehensive searching, in a way that was impossible with print or microfilm / microfiche editions of the newspapers 

Find out more on the News LibGuide 

• Official publications are documents and other resources produced by Parliament and Government during the course of parliamentary and government business.
• Content ranges from statements of law and policy to government reports and statistics.  
• These publications can be a very valuable primary research source as they address all aspects of governmental work such as science, education, law, agriculture, transport, health etc.

Find out more in the Official Publications LibGuide.

It is important to plan your search strategy, and manage your search results so that you get the most from your online searching.

Keep a record of all the material you need to cite in your assignments, papers, projects etc. 

Use the Search Techniques and Referencing guidance to assist you.

• It is  easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of information available to you.  

You may like to take a look at:

Find out more about the skills support available to help you develop a range of academic skills including essay writing, referencing, critical reading and getting the most out of lectures.

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