What is a Secondary Source?
Secondary sources provide analysis about materials. Creators of secondary sources did not experience the event first hand. For example, a diary or a newspaper article you use will provide an account of what happened, where as a journal article will provide an analysis of that moment. The writer of the secondary source may use theories to discuss these first hand accounts.
Suggested Databases for Secondary Sources
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America: History and LifeInformation on articles, books, book reviews, and dissertations on U.S. and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Covers more than 2000 international worldwide. Includes links to full text of selected journal articles.
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Academic Search UltimateAcademic Search Ultimate offers access to an unprecedented collection of resources including journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos. Many are peer-reviewed and full-text. Subjects range from astronomy to zoology.
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JSTORElectronic archive of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Includes complete runs of journals with full-text of all articles published prior to the most current five years. Coverage spans the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Please note that this publisher is offering EXPANDED CONTENT through June 30, 2023.
Searching for Journal Articles as Secondary Sources
When searching for secondary sources in scholarly journals, remember to be as broad as possible in your first search and then limit accordingly. For example, if you are going with the Philadelphia Yellow Fever topic, you might find those keywords to be too specific. Instead, try searching Yellow Fever and then use the limiters on the left side to refine your search:
- Limit to era: for this topic, you can limit to 18th century
- Limit to publication date: for this paper, you know that you should be looking at sources that are not older than a decade
- Limit with subject terms: expand the subject headings and click <show more> to make sure you can see all of them.
These tips are useful no matter what your topic is.
NOTE: SINCE MANY LIBRARIES ARE CLOSED AND ARE NOT SUPPORTING INTERLIBRARY LOAN SERVICES, CLICK THE LINKED FULL TEXT BOX TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN RETRIEVE THE MATERIALS YOU REQUIRE.
