Resources for History 101S Projects

Secondary Sources

How do you get into the secondary literature?

Along with primary materials, you also need secondary sources ó and not just any secondary sources, but good ones. Secondary sources include both books and articles. You may find materials in GLADIS, Berkeley's online library catalog, but that is not always the best place to begin. GLADIS may be too broad, too unselective, or too hard to steer to the right material. Standard reference sources are often a better place to start.

Starting points

For an entry-level orientation, begin with

History of Science Society Reading List
http://www.hssonline.org/teach_res/essays/list/readinglist.html
History of Science Reference Sources
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/hist-of-science/
Starting Points in the Study of Science, Medicine, and Technology
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~smt/starting-points.html

and reputable reference sources specific to your topic, starting from

Companion to the history of modern science
Reader's guide to the history of science
Norton history of ... [your science here] (with excellent bibliographic essays)
Dictionary of scientific biography
Sources for the history of science
American Historical Association's guide to historical literature

If your topic is American, additional reference materials include

Historical writing on American science (Osiris 1 (1985))
The history of science in the United States: An encyclopedia
The history of science and technology in the United States: A critical and selective bibliography
Biographical dictionary of American science
Biographical index to American science

For the most convenient copy, look these up in GLADIS.

Databases

Databases and online journals give essential citations to journal articles as well as books. Articles are often more specific and focused than books, not to mention shorter. Often searching the databases will get you to useful materials more quickly than heading to the library catalog. Each database has its own quirks, spend some time getting to know it. Try out multiple search strategies (e.g., title words as well as subject headings).

History of Science and Technology database (HST, from on campus)
http://www.cdlib.org/collections/choosedb/hst.html
Online version of Isis and Technology and culture annual bibliographies. A marvelous resource, listing just about everything published in the history of science ó though sometimes unselective, including amateurs as well as professional historians. Play around with the search terms (title words, especially). Also look in GLADIS for the location of the Isis cumulative bibliography (print format) before the database starts.

PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Database for medical and health-sciences literature in general, including history of medicine. So the medical complement to HST, though with a lot of contemporary material too.

Historical Abstracts and America: History and life (from on campus)
http://sb2.abc-clio.com:81/
Abstracts (short summaries) of practically all journal articles published by historians. Also available on CD-ROM on PCs in the library information system. For guidance on using the databases see http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/CDROM/AMHL2.html.

Social Sciences Citation Index (from on campus)
http://www.webofscience.com/
Basic bibliographic information available online (or on CD-ROM on the PCs in the library information system) for all articles published in the social sciences since 1970. The same database gives access to the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975 on) and the Science Citation Index (1945 on). Search for everything published by an author in your field. Or search for other articles that cite your author ó useful for finding articles on closely related subjects.

Online journals

Many journals (scholarly periodicals) now publish electronically as well as in paper format. Online journals can often be searched for keywords, though that is not a good way to begin research.

JSTOR, the scholarly journal archive
http://www.jstor.org
Multiple journals can be searched at once. Includes many back issues.

Links to online journals at Berkeley on history of science (many from on campus)
http://ohst.berkeley.edu/LocalInfo/journallinks.html
Recent issues only.

Online journals (recent issues) in the California Digital Library on history of science, technology, and medicine
or follow the links from http://www.cdlib.org/directory/
Recent issues only.

Other tips

Once you have an entree into the literature, you can search library catalogs more effectively. Try using author names, title words, and subject headings from sources you do know to lead you to sources you don't.

If you need secondary sources not available at Berkeley via GLADIS, try ordering them from other libraries (see above).

Don't forget about browsing the library shelves! Shelved next to something you are looking for may be other interesting materials.

Finally, book reviews will help you determine which books are reputable. Consult the HST database and the Isis current bibliography (annual supplement to the journal Isis), year by year.

Updated: August 2002