Welcome! We've designed this website as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past. Whenever you frame a question with reference to how things have changed over time, you commit yourself to doing historical research. All of us do this all the time, but not everyone thinks very carefully about the best ways of finding information about the past and how it relates to the present. The website is divided into two major sections: Individual pages are designed to be read from beginning to end, and the pages about the research process follow a logical order that mimics the phases of working on a historical project. But individual pages (especially the ones about sources) can also be read in any order. Although we've constructed this site especially for environmental historians, and have generally provided environmental examples, we've tried to make it as helpful as possible for anyone seeking to learn the craft of doing historical research. Almost any question you can imagine asking about any topic will become more intriguing if you consider the ways in which the subject you're investigating has changed over time. The list of questions like these is literally infinite. Historical research can be an amazing adventure once you've experienced how fascinating it can be. We hope this website will encourage you to give it a try! (Please feel free to link to this site and share the URL with others who might find it useful. Teachers are more than welcome to use the site in their classes if they're so inclined.) Mastering the Stages of the Research Process There are certain predictable stages that all historical research questions go through: As you can see, these form a logical sequence, but it's important to stress that these "stages" are in fact deeply entangled with each other, so that doing this kind of research is always an iterative process. You won't be able to ask good questions if you can't learn to think of them relative to documents—and each new document you find is likely to generate new questions that you never could have anticipated at the beginning of your research. That's half the fun. Still, it sometimes helps to think about these stages as if they were discrete from each other, so we've designed a page for each of them. Asking Questions is an Iterative Process It's harder than it looks to ask good research questions. Often the question with which we start is too vague or unfocused to offer much help for how we should go about answering it. Especially when the question we want to answer relates to the past, it must point toward documents with which it can be answered. Asking "How did Americans respond to flu epidemics in the past?" is so broad that it's hard to know how even to get started with it. Asking instead "How did daily newspapers in the United States cover the world-wide flu epidemic of 1918 that killed more human beings than all the soldiers who died in World War I?" is far more focused, and includes a crucial group of documents right in the body of the question. To learn more about the craft of asking good research questions, click .
UW-Madison Memorial Library Card Catalog Paradoxical though it may sound, one of the most challenging things about doing historical research is that the past doesn't exist anymore. Unlike science, where one can set up a laboratory experiment or perform field investigations that describe the world as it exists right now, the past survives only as fragments that remain from a time that is no more. Studying history means collecting these fragments and figuring out what they mean. Historians use the word " " to describe these surviving remnants of the past. A document can be a book or a newspaper, but it can also be almost anything else that contains traces of the past: a photograph, a map, an artifact, a memory, a landscape—almost anything. No matter what question you want to ask about the past, your second question should always be Learn more about how to do this by clicking .
Don't ever hesitate to ask for help from a librarian We've all gotten used to relying on Google when we're searching for information. We enter a few keywords or a question in the Google search box, and if we're lucky, up pops a ranked list of websites that tell us what we want to know. Google and other search engines are the most powerful tools for finding information that humanity has ever created. They're amazing. Unfortunately, most of us don't use them nearly as skillfully we should. Indeed, people's ability to perform searches has been declining as search engines have grown in power. More importantly, many historical documents aren't on the public Web that Google indexes—indeed, most aren't yet on the Web at all. To find them, you'll need to become skilled in more traditional tools for navigating libraries. The reward for doing so is that you'll then be able to discover historical treasures that are hiding in plain view if only you know where to look for them. This task may seem daunting at first, but don't be discouraged. This part of historical research is like being a detective, and can be enormous fun, To learn more about how to do it, click . Note-taking keywords Once you become seriously involved in gathering historical documents, they'll quickly become far more numerous than you ever would have imagined when you began your project. Unless you come up with effective ways of taking notes and organizing what you find as you search, you'll never be able to find things again when the time comes to write up your argument or tell your story. We all have different ways of taking notes and organizing our files, but there are some tried-and-true principles that all good researchers follow when keeping track of the information they find. You will save yourself enormous amounts of time (and grief!) if you apply these principles in your own work. To learn more about note-taking and organizing your documents, click . Organizing Your Notes Is Crucial to Successful Writing The goal of historical research isn't just to gather documents and collect information. These are the raw materials of history, not history itself. No, your real goal is to build an argument and tell a story. What happened back then, and why? What were the consequences, and why should we care about them? The sooner in your research process you can start grappling with these deeper issues of argument and narrative, the more you'll learn and the subtler your understanding of your question will become. Sketching arguments, trying out stories, and building outlines that will provide the skeleton of what you'll eventually write: there are few more vital skills for doing historical research. To learn more about this challenging process, click . Cover You are not the first person ever to be interested in the subject you're researching. Far from it. You are simply the latest in a long chain of people who have shared your curiosity and passion for the subject you're investigating. You can enhance your own thinking immeasurably by learning how other people have answered the questions that intrigue you. To do this, you need to build a geneaology—a family tree—of earlier works that relate to your own. Historians sometimes use the phrase " " to refer to the original documents that provide the building blocks for everything we know about the past. They use the phrase " " to refer to the writings of scholars and other people who have used primary documents to interpret the past. Identifying the most important secondary sources for your topic is a key part of your research. Once you've done so, you'll want to figure out how your own ideas and arguments relate to what the authors of those secondary sources have said about your topic. Doing this is called "positioning your argument," a skill that can dramatically enhance the significance of what you yourself write. To learn more about this, click .
Marked-Up Draft of Our Own Web Page All good writing is rewriting. Don't ever forget this. One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing a paper is leaving themselves so little time before the assignment is due that they never have the chance to rewrite. Starting early enough that you can produce one or more rough drafts enables you not only to enhance the quality of your prose, but the depth of your ideas as well. We rarely really know what we think about a subject until we try to write about it. This means that drafting and revising are deeper parts of the research process than we typically recognize. By starting to write while you're still in the process of gathering documents, you will very likely find yourself discovering that you need additional documents that you hadn't recognized would be so important until you actually began to sketch your argument and tell your story. By starting early, you also give yourself permission to write a rougher draft than would have been possible if you were up against a deadline for turning in your assignment—and that can diminish the stress and anxiety we all feel when we write. To learn how you can become a better writer, click .
Sources for Environmental History: Finding Your Way Back to the Past We can't find out anything about the past without documents—the fragments that have survived from that past world that no longer exists. To do historical research, you need to learn to think through documents, framing questions that point toward the records that will enable you to answer those questions. Although there are many, many kinds of documents, some are so important that anyone doing historical research should be aware of their existence, know how to find them, and learn how to interpret them. Among the most useful especially for environmental history are: We've produced an extended web page for each of these types of documents, and offer a brief catalog of these web pages below. Manuscript Census of Agriculture Much of what you'll research exists in printed books that you'll find in libraries, or on websites that you'll find by using search engines like Google. You'll want to become expert in finding these. But some of the most magical historical documents have never been printed at all. They exist as letters or diaries or other unique items that are held in collections called . There's something very powerful about handling a piece of paper signed by Abraham Lincoln, the draft of a poem by Robert Frost, a daily journal kept by a migrant on the trail to the California Gold Rush—or even letters between your grandparents that have been sitting unread in a family attic for decades. Historians call these unique unprinted documents . Learning how to find them is among the most challenging and intriguing of historical skills, since by their very nature they come in all shapes and sizes, and can be organized in many ways. You'll want help from an archivist when beginning to explore a manuscript collection, but to get a better sense of what it feels like to do this, click . Reading Newspapers on Microfilm If you want to get a slice of life about what's been happening in the world recently, one of the best places you can turn is a daily newspaper or a weekly newsmagazine—or, these days, maybe the website for these publications. The same is true if you want to explore the past. Because newspapers and magazines often seek to provide readers with summaries of the latest news and fashions, and what people are thinking about such matters, they can be immensely helpful in helping you understand what life was like at a particular moment in the past. If you don't believe us, go to a library and pick out any two newspapers at random (from your hometown if possible) for two dates separated by at least fifty years. Look at the pages—the headlines, the editorials, the sports pages, the business news, the advertisements—and ask how much the world had changed in the years between those two documents. There's almost no end to the questions you can ask about the changes you'll see in just two randomly chosen newspapers. But precisely because periodicals like these are such an astonishingly rich source, it can be really confusing trying to find information in them. If you don't know what you're doing, it can feel like you're looking for a needle in a haystack. Here too there are lots of helpful techniques for using these kinds of documents—techniques that will prove deeply rewarding if you apply them to your own research. We offer an overview of the endless fascinations of periodical sources .
Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics There is almost no aspect of human life that isn't affected in one way or another by the activities of governments, whether at the local, state, national, or international levels. Because governments by their nature do a better job than most organizations of keeping track of what they do—whether writing laws or prosecuting criminals or collecting taxes or fighting wars or regulating economies or managing natural resources—they are prolific producers of documents. Government document collections are among the largest and richest in the world. No matter what the topic that interests you, there will be numerous government documents that relate to it. The problem is those documents. Each government has its own unique way of organizing its records, and archivists spend entire lifetimes learning to navigate these records. Most of us have no idea just how rich a government document collection or a law library can be in helping us understand things in the world we care about. If you can get even a brief taste of the power of these specialized sources, you'll be more inclined to think of them in the future whenever you're contemplating research projects you might wish to undertake. So...take the time to sample government documents. For some suggestions about how to do so, click Earthrise, Apollo 8 Some documents are so obscure or complicated that we hardly know what to do with them when we first encounter them. Not photographs or other images. Because we've all grown up in an image-saturated age, we all have much-practiced skills for interpreting and understanding what we see in a photograph. If the image is historical, and depicts a place we already know, we find ourselves almost automatically comparing what we see (and don't see) in the image with what we remember from our own knowledge of the place. Let's be honest. Viewing historical photographs is just plain . Few other documents are so instantly accessible and engaging, so if you can find photographic documents relevant to the topic you're researching, that topic will almost certainly become more interesting to you, with a host of new questions generated by the simple act of gazing at an image. But be careful. Like all documents, photographs require critical reading to be properly interpreted and understood...and finding them can be yet another detective hunt. We introduce you to this wonderful genre of documents . Centennial Map of University of Wisconsin Campus, 1948 If you know how to read them, historical maps are like photographs in being among the most engaging and powerful of historical documents. Because they are designed to depict in simplified or thematic ways, they are especially powerful tools for doing environmental history. Like many of the documents we discuss on this website, maps are often collected in specialized libraries with their own peculiar search tools. Such collections tend to be organized by —and place turns out to be a more complicated idea than you might imagine when you start thinking about it in maps. It's easy enough, for instance, to find a map of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then start gathering historical versions of that same map like the 1948 one to the right that celebrated the university's centennial. But the UW is in a city called Madison, a county called Dane, a state called Wisconsin, a region (or multiple regions) called the Mississippi Valley or the Great Lakes or what have you, a nation called the United States, a continent called North America, a hemisphere called Western, a planet called Earth...and so on and on. Maps of all these nested places are relevant to the university campus depicted at right. The wonders of maps are endless. Learn more about them . Kevin Gibbons conducts an interview Not all documents are in libraries or archives or on the Web. Some of the most compelling and important ones are inside people's heads. Asking people what they know about a past person or place or event can teach you things about history that you can't learn in any other ways. Research about the past based on interviews with living human beings is called " ." Interviews pose all sorts of intriguing challenges that can be quite unlike working with other kinds of documents—though the basic critical questions you'll ask when using any other kind of document apply to oral history interviews as well. You shouldn't embark lightly on an oral history research project. It requires at least as much forethought and preparation as any other kind of historical investigation, and you'll need to do your homework if you want to do it right. But you shouldn't shy away from it either. Listening to someone share their memories about a topic you care about can be powerful indeed. To learn more about doing oral history, click . Graph of Wisconsin River Discharge Rates at Muscoda You might imagine that the study of history is more about words than about numbers, but that's not really true, especially for those of us who are interested in past environmental change. Many of the most important questions we ask about the past are implicitly about things that can be counted, even if that's not the way we first conceived of such questions. How did the diet of working Americans change in the nineteenth century? We know they ate more of certain foods in 1900 than they did in 1800—but how more, and why? What kinds of documents will help us estimate how the relative shares of grains and meats and vegetables in American diets changed over time? At base, these are quantitative questions. Moreover, many disciplines in the natural and social sciences have enormous contributions to make to our understanding of past change, and learning to read the findings of such disciplines requires a basic knowledge of statistics. To learn more about using quantitative evidence, click . Southwestern Wisconsin Landscape Landscapes are among the richest, most complicated historical documents in the world, containing as they do layer upon layer of the past lives and natural processes that have left marks upon them. Landscapes exist in the present, but they also contain countless remnants of the pasts that have given them their present form. Learning to read a landscape can take a lifetime—and is endlessly rewarding. There's no one way to interpret or understand landscapes. A social historian will see quite different things in it than an economic historian will—to say nothing of what a geologist or ecologist will see. That is why the craft of landscape reading is best done by adopting many different perspectives when experiencing and interpreting the place you're researching. We've gathered some of our own favorite tips for learning to reading landscapes . Have fun! History/Geography 932 Seminar, Fall 2008 We learned an enormous amount not just about research but about designing websites and working together as a team in building this on-line introduction to historical research. If you're interested in learning more about how we built this website, click .
Page revision date: 23-Mar-2009  The Princeton Guide to Historical ResearchBefore you purchase audiobooks and ebooksPlease note that audiobooks and ebooks purchased from this site must be accessed on the Princeton University Press app. After you make your purchase, you will receive an email with instructions on how to download the app. Learn more about audio and ebooks . Support your local independent bookstore.- United States
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The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century  - Look Inside
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The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian’s craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one’s work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more. Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in the quest to understand people and the choices they made. - Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication
- Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian
- Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches
- Shares tips for researchers at every skill level
Skills for Scholars: The new tools of the tradeAwards and recognition. - Winner of the James Harvey Robinson Prize, American Historical Association
- A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year
 - Introduction: History Is for Everyone
- History Is the Study of People and the Choices They Made
- History Is a Means to Understand Today’s World
- History Combines Storytelling and Analysis
- History Is an Ongoing Debate
- Autobiography
- Everything Has a History
- Narrative Expansion
- From the Source
- Public History
- Research Agenda
- Factual Questions
- Interpretive Questions
- Opposing Forces
- Internal Contradictions
- Competing Priorities
- Determining Factors
- Hidden or Contested Meanings
- Before and After
- Dialectics Create Questions, Not Answers
- Copy Other Works
- History Big and Small
- Pick Your People
- Add and Subtract
- Narrative versus Thematic Schemes
- The Balky Time Machine
- Local and Regional
- Transnational and Global
- Comparative
- What Is New about Your Approach?
- Are You Working in a Specific Theoretical Tradition?
- What Have Others Written?
- Are Others Working on It?
- What Might Your Critics Say?
- Primary versus Secondary Sources
- Balancing Your Use of Secondary Sources
- Sets of Sources
- Sources as Records of the Powerful
- No Source Speaks for Itself
- Languages and Specialized Reading
- Choose Sources That You Love
- Workaday Documents
- Specialized Periodicals
- Criminal Investigations and Trials
- Official Reports
- Letters and Petitions
- Institutional Records
- Scholarship
- Motion Pictures and Recordings
- Buildings and Plans
- The Working Bibliography
- The Open Web
- Limits of the Open Web
- Bibliographic Databases
- Full-Text Databases
- Oral History
- What Is an Archive?
- Archives and Access
- Read the Finding Aid
- Follow the Rules
- Work with Archivists
- Types of Cameras
- How Much to Shoot?
- Managing Expectations
- Duck, Duck, Goose
- Credibility
- Avoid Catastrophe
- Complete Tasks—Ideally Just Once, and in the Right Order
- Maintain Momentum
- Kinds of Software
- Word Processors
- Means of Entry
- A Good Day’s Work
- Word Count Is Your Friend
- Managing Research Assistants
- Research Diary
- When to Stop
- Note-Taking as Mining
- Note-Taking as Assembly
- Identify the Source, So You Can Go Back and Consult if Needed
- Distinguish Others’ Words and Ideas from Your Own
- Allow Sorting and Retrieval of Related Pieces of Information
- Provide the Right Level of Detail
- Notebooks and Index Cards
- Word Processors for Note-Taking
- Plain Text and Markdown
- Reference Managers
- Note-Taking Apps
- Relational Databases
- Spreadsheets
- Glossaries and Alphabetical Lists
- Image Catalogs
- Other Specialized Formats
- The Working Draft
- Variants: The Ten- and Thirty-Page Papers
- Thesis Statement
- Historiography
- Sections as Independent Essays
- Topic Sentences
- Answering Questions
- Invisible Bullet Points
- The Perils of Policy Prescriptions
- A Model (T) Outline
- Flexibility
- Protagonists
- Antagonists
- Bit Players
- The Shape of the Story
- The Controlling Idea
- Alchemy: Turning Sources to Stories
- Turning Points
- Counterfactuals
- Point of View
- Symbolic Details
- Combinations
- Speculation
- Is Your Jargon Really Necessary?
- Defining Terms
- Word Choice as Analysis
- Period Vocabulary or Anachronism?
- Integrate Images into Your Story
- Put Numbers in Context
- Summarize Data in Tables and Graphs
- Why We Cite
- Citation Styles
- Active Verbs
- People as Subjects
- Signposting
- First Person
- Putting It Aside
- Reverse Outlining
- Auditing Your Word Budget
- Writing for the Ear
- Conferences
- Social Media
- Coauthorship
- Tough, Fair, and Encouraging
- Manuscript and Book Reviews
- Journal Articles
- Book chapters
- Websites and Social Media
- Museums and Historic Sites
- Press Appearances and Op-Eds
- Law and Policy
- Graphic History, Movies, and Broadway Musicals
- Acknowledgments
"This volume is a complete and sophisticated addition to any scholar’s library and a boon to the curious layperson. . . . [A] major achievement."— Choice Reviews "This book is quite simply a gem. . . . Schrag’s accessible style and comprehensive treatment of the field make this book a valuable resource."—Alan Sears, Canadian Journal of History "A tour de force that will help all of us be more capable historians. This wholly readable, delightful book is packed with good advice that will benefit seasoned scholars and novice researchers alike."—Nancy Weiss Malkiel, author of "Keep the Damned Women Out": The Struggle for Coeducation "An essential and overdue contribution. Schrag's guide offers a lucid breakdown of what historians do and provides plenty of examples."—Jessica Mack, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University "Extraordinarily useful. If there is another book that takes apart as many elements of the historian's craft the way that Schrag does and provides so many examples, I am not aware of it."—James Goodman, author of But Where Is the Lamb? "This is an engaging guide to being a good historian and all that entails."—Diana Seave Greenwald, Assistant Curator of the Collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum "Impressive and engaging. Schrag gracefully incorporates the voices of dozens, if not hundreds, of fellow historians. This gives the book a welcome conversational feeling, as if the reader were overhearing a lively discussion among friendly historians."—Sarah Dry, author of Waters of the World: The Story of the Scientists Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Our Oceans, Atmosphere, and Ice Sheets and Made the Planet Whole "This is a breathtaking book—wide-ranging, wonderfully written, and extremely useful. Every page brims with fascinating, well-chosen illustrations of creative research, writing, and reasoning that teach and inspire."—Amy C. Offner, author of Sorting Out the Mixed Economy historyprofessor.org website, maintained by Zachary M. Schrag, Professor of History at George Mason University Stay connected for new books and special offers. Subscribe to receive a welcome discount for your next order. Buy a gift card for the book lover in your life and let them choose their next great read.  How to Research History OnlineHow do historians conduct research online? This is your second-most asked question after how did everyday people live their day-to-day lives in early America. As the Doing History series explores how historians work, it offers the perfect opportunity to answer your question. Sharon Block , a Professor of History at the University of California-Irvine, has made use of computers and digital resources to do history for years, which is why she serves as our guide for how to research history online. Episode Summary Sharon Block, a Professor of History at the University of California-Irvine, serves as our guide through how historians conduct historical research online. During our exploration, Sharon reveals how the digital age has changed and added to the ways historians research; How historians research history online; And, how we can locate historical information online. What You’ll Discover- How early American men and women thought about race
- How the digital age has changed how historians research
- Digital privilege and what it means in terms of available historical sources
- How historians conduct historical research online
- The role of Google web products in online historical research
- Why the difference between human and computer organized information matters
- How we can maximize our ability to find information with keyword searches
- Databases historians use to conduct research online
- How to locate databases with historical information
- What digital historical sources look like
- Why some history databases employ paywalls
- Whether historians employ a set of “best practices” when they conduct online research
- Ways computers facilitate what historians can do with their research
Links to People, Places, and Publications- Sharon Block
- Sharon’s UC-Irvine webpage
- Sharon’s Twitter
- Huntington Library
- Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Founders Online
- America’s Historical Newspapers
- Early American Imprints
- St. Louis Circuit Court Criminal Records Project
- Martha Ballard’s Diary
- Accessible Archives
- Alexander Street Press
- The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
- Runaway Connecticut
- UC-Irvine Research Guide
- Latter Day Saints’ Family Search
- Claudio Saunt, Indian Nation Interactive Map
- Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
- Molly Warsh’s Audio of Chesapeake Oysters
- Omohundro Institute Digital Projects
Recent posts- History & Historians in the Public April 27, 2020
- The History of Genealogy April 20, 2020
- How Genealogists Research April 13, 2020
Follow @DoingHistoryPod- University of Wisconsin–Madison
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Introduction to Historical Research
Introduction to Historical Research : Home- Archival sources
- Multimedia sources
- Newspapers and other periodicals
- Biographical Information
- Government documents
Subject-Specialist LibrariansThere are librarians on campus that can help you with your specific area of research. Subject Librarian Directory Subject-specialist/ liaison librarians are willing to help you with anything from coming up with research strategies to locating sources. Ask a Librarianor click for more options ... This guide is an introduction to selected resources available for historical research. It covers both primary sources (such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, government documents and first-hand accounts) and secondary materials (such as books and articles written by historians and devoted to the analysis and interpretation of historical events and evidence). "Research in history involves developing an understanding of the past through the examination and interpretation of evidence. Evidence may exist in the form of texts, physical remains of historic sites, recorded data, pictures, maps, artifacts, and so on. The historian’s job is to find evidence, analyze its content and biases, corroborate it with further evidence, and use that evidence to develop an interpretation of past events that holds some significance for the present. Historians use libraries to - locate primary sources (first-hand information such as diaries, letters, and original documents) for evidence
- find secondary sources (historians’ interpretations and analyses of historical evidence)
- verify factual material as inconsistencies arise"
( Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age, Fifth Edition, by Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister, Bedford/St. Martin, 2010) This guide is meant to help you work through these steps. Other helpful guidesThis is a list of other historical research guides you may find helpful: - Learning Historical Research Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer for Environmental Historians and Others by William Cronon and his students, University of Wisconsin A website designed as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past.
- Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students by Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College Guide to all aspects of historical scholarship—from reading a history book to doing primary source research to writing a history paper.
- Writing Historical Essays: A Guide for Undergraduates Rutgers History Department guide to writing historical essays
- History Study Guides History study guides created by the Carleton College History Department
 - Next: Books >>
- Last Updated: Mar 4, 2024 12:48 PM
- URL: https://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/introhist
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.  - The Princeton Guide to Historical Research
In this Book - Zachary M. Schrag
- Published by: Princeton University Press
- Series: Skills for Scholars
- View Citation
 The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian's craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one's work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more. Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in the quest to understand people and the choices they made. - Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication
- Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian
- Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches
- Shares tips for researchers at every skill level
Table of Contents - Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
- Introduction: History Is for Everyone
- Part I. Definitions
- Chapter 1. Defining History
- Chapter 2. Historians' Ethics
- Part II. Questions
- Chapter 3. Asking Questions
- Chapter 4. Research Design
- Part III. Sources
- Chapter 5. Sources: An Introduction
- pp. 103-119
- Chapter 6. Texts as Sources
- pp. 120-153
- Chapter 7. Sources beyond Traditional Texts
- pp. 154-171
- Chapter 8. Finding Sources
- pp. 172-185
- Chapter 9. Archival Research
- pp. 186-207
- Chapter 10. Interpreting Sources
- pp. 208-224
- Part IV. Projects
- Chapter 11. Project Management
- pp. 227-245
- Chapter 12. Taking Notes
- pp. 246-275
- Chapter 13. Organization
- pp. 276-308
- Part V. Stories
- Chapter 14. Storytelling
- pp. 311-340
- Chapter 15. Style
- pp. 341-376
- Chapter 16. Publication
- pp. 377-400
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 401-402
- pp. 403-414
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 Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view.  The Princeton Guide to Historical Research- Zachary Schrag
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Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product. - Language: English
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Copyright year: 2021
- Audience: College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;General/trade;
- Main content: 440
- Other: 2 b/w illus. 1 table.
- Keywords: Newspaper ; Primary source ; Writing ; Narrative ; Oral history ; Technology ; Publication ; Public history ; Secondary source ; Americans ; Storytelling ; Archivist ; Slavery ; Finding ; Scientist ; World War II ; Paragraph ; Archive ; Headline ; African Americans ; Textbook ; Deed ; The Other Hand ; Note-taking ; Illustration ; Bibliography ; Literature ; Historiography ; Institution ; Thucydides ; Blog ; Website ; Archaeology ; Politics ; Word processor ; Politician ; Database ; Historical figure ; Ideology ; Manuscript ; Instance (computer science) ; Writer ; Military history ; Tax ; Popular history ; Career ; Memoir ; Result ; The Newspaper ; Topic sentence ; Critical reading ; Thesis statement ; Google Books ; Reference Manager ; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ; Racism ; Big History ; Librarian ; Monograph ; Autobiography ; Edition (book) ; Eugenics ; Classroom ; Advertising ; Periodization ; Pamphlet ; Exploration ; Biography ; Local history ; Adviser
- Published: April 27, 2021
- ISBN: 9780691215488
- Harvard Library
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Library Research Guide for HistoryGetting what you need, general information. - Newsletter September 2024
- Exploring Your Topic
- HOLLIS (and other) Catalogs
- Document Collections/Microfilm
- Outline of Primary Sources for History
- Finding Online Sources: Detailed Instructions
- Religious Periodicals
- Personal Writings/Speeches
- Oral History and Interviews
- News Sources
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Government Archives (U.S.)
- U.S. Government Documents
- Foreign Government & International Organization Documents
- French Legislative Debates/Documents
- State and City Documents
- Historical Statistics/Data
- GIS Mapping
- Public Opinion
- City Directories
- Policy Literature, Working Papers, Think Tank Reports (Grey Literature)
- Technical Reports (Grey Literature)
- Country Information
- Corporate Annual Reports
- US Elections
- Travel Writing/Guidebooks
- Missionary Records
- Reference Sources
- Harvard Museums
- Boston-Area Repositories
- Citing Sources & Organizing Research
- Newsletter January 2011
- Newsletter June 2012
- Newsletter August 2012
- Newsletter December 2012
- Newsletter June 2013
- Newsletter August 2013
- Newsletter January 2014
- Newsletter June 2014
- Newsletter August 2014
- Newsletter January 2015
- Newsletter June 2015
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- Newsletter June 2016
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- Newsletter March 2021
- Newsletter October 2021
- Newsletter June 2019
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- Newsletter February2023
- Newsletter October 2023
- February2024
- Exploring Special Collections at Harvard
 Fred Burchsted & Anna AssogbaResearch Librarians We are always happy to give you a tour of Widener and an orientation to our catalog, HOLLIS, and our other resources. Our emails are below. This guide is intended as a point of departure for research in history. We also have a more selective guide with major resources only: Introductory Library Research Guide for History . - Finding Primary Sources Online offers methods for finding digital libraries and digital collections on the open Web and for finding Digital Libraries/Collections by Region or Language .
- Online Primary Source Collections for History lists digital collections at Harvard and beyond by topic
Please feel free to email us with questions. We can make an appointment for you to come in, and we can talk at length about your project. - Anna Assogba ([email protected]) Research Librarian and Liaison to the Department of History, Lamont Library (With particular knowledge of Zotero and other citation management systems).
- Fred Burchsted ([email protected]) Research Librarian and Liaison to the Department of History, Widener Library.
How can you get your hands/eyes on material?HOLLIS is the center of the Library ecosystem. This is often the best first step to see if we have something. In HOLLIS, click on "Online Access" or open the record and scroll down to the "Access Options" section. Check the HOLLIS section of this guide for more guidance. Browser Plugins for Library AccessHarvard Library Bookmark and Lean Library plugins can help you find out if we have access to books and articles online. Off-Site StorageBooks and other materials stored in facilities not on Harvard's main campus. Request this material through HOLLIS: - Select "Request Pick Up" in the Access section of the HOLLIS Record, then enter your Harvard Key.
- A drop down menu will allow you to choose delivery location. Sometimes there is a single delivery option. Submit your request.
- You will receive an email usually next business day (not weekends or holidays) morning. Item is usually ready for pick-up in mid-afternoon.
Sometimes Offsite storage material is in-library use only. For Widener, this is the Widener secure reading room on the 1st floor (formerly the Periodicals Room). Most Offsite storage material is available for scanning via Scan & Deliver (see below). Scan & Deliver/Interlibrary LoanUse Scan & Deliver/Interlibrary Loan to request PDFs of articles and book chapters from HOLLIS when you cannot get online access. Limit: 2 chapters from a book or 2 articles from a journal. Interlibrary LoanRequest materials from other libraries via InterLibrary Loan : - Some non-Harvard special collections may be willing and able to scan material (usually for a fee). Our Interlibrary Loan department will place the request and help with the cost (there is a cap).
- Contact the other repository to see if they're able to scan what you need. Get a price estimate for the material and the exact details (such as: Box 77 folder 4. This information is often available in Finding Aids).
- Fill in what you can (put in N/A if the field is inapplicable) with the price and other information in the Comments box.
- This will get the process going and ILL will get back to you if they need more information or to discuss the price.
BorrowDirectBorrow Direct allows Harvard students, faculty, and staff to request items from other libraries for delivery to Harvard within 4 business days. If the item you need is not available, try searching our partner institutions' collections in BorrowDirect. Purchase RequestIf there are materials you'd like to see added to the library's collections, submit a purchase request and we will look into acquiring it. We can buy both physical and electronic copies of materials; specify if have a preference. Special CollectionsSpecial Collections are rare, unique, primary source materials in the library's collections. To access, look for "Request to Scan or Visit" in HOLLIS (to place a scanning request) or contact the repository directly. Most of our larger archival collections are able to provide scans. Carrels at Widener LibraryGraduate students and visiting scholars are eligible to have a carrel in the Widener Library stacks. Start the process with the carrel request form . (If you do this right at the start of the semester, it may take a few weeks before you receive confirmation.) Materials from the Widener stacks, including non-circulating materials like bound periodicals, can be checked out to your carrel. Ivy Plus PrivilegesOur partnership with BorrowDirect allows physical access to libraries of fellow Ivy Plus institutions: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. Help with Digital ProjectsThe Digital Scholarship Group offers workshops and support to faculty, students, and staff interested in digital research methods. See also GIS Mapping Resources and Visualization Support . - Other Subject Guides
- Current Awareness Resources
More guides are available via the Harvard Library Research Guides site Finding Book Reviews Finding Dissertations and Theses Finding Harvard Library's Unique or Distinctive Primary Sources: Original and Digital Guide to Research in History of Art & Architecture Library Research Guide for Book History Library Research Guide for British Colonial and Foreign Relations Sources Research Guide for Primary Sources on Civil Rights Inter Libros: Research Guide for Classics, Byzantine, & Medieval Studies Literary Research in Harvard Libraries Library Research Guide for American Material Culture (This is in an early stage of development) Middle East and Islamic Studies Library Resources Music 219r: American Music , Library Guide Library Research Guide for HIST 1006: Native American and Indigenous Studies Library Research Guide for the History of Science Library Research Guide for History 97g: "What is Legal History ?" Library Research Guide for U.S. Foreign Relations Library Research Guide for Global History Library Research Guide for HIST 2256: Digital Archives: Europe and European Empires Library Research Guide for Educating for American Democracy Library Research Guide for American Studies Library Research Guide for Latin American Studies Germanic Languages and Literatures Slavic and Eurasian Studies at Harvard (See Research Contacts at bottom of left hand column) Library Research Guide for South Asian Studies Library Research Guide for HIST 1037: Modern Southeast Asia Research Guides at Other Institutions Go to Google Advanced Search - all of these words: Sociology library
- any of these words: guides research resources
- site or domain: edu (or ac.uk for Britain, etc.)
To find new Harvard E-Resources.Go to Cross-Search in Harvard Libraries E-Resources and choose the Quick Set: New E-Resources. This operates oddly, you sometimes have to select one of the E-Resources displayed, then close the resulting page to see the whole list of new E-Resources. This list displays some but not all new E-Resources. The following history library blogs list new history resources: - Reviews in History
- University of Washington
- Next: Newsletter September 2024 >>
- Last Updated: Sep 12, 2024 11:34 AM
- URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/history
Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy Top of page Program TeachersFinding primary sources. The Library of Congress makes millions of unique primary sources available online to everyone, everywhere. There are a few different ways to discover the best primary sources for you. Select from a curated setPrimary Source Sets – Each set collects primary sources on a specific frequently-taught topic, along with historical background information and teaching ideas. Free to Use and Reuse Sets – Batches of primary sources on engaging topics. U.S. History Primary Sources Timeline – Explore important topics and moments in U.S. history through historical primary sources from the Library’s collections. Search the online collectionsSuccessful searches of the online collections of the Library of Congress, as with any archival research institution, begin with an understanding of what is likely to be found. Many considerations, including copyright, collection strengths, and how materials were acquired, factor into what can be digitized and made available online. The Library’s online collections are extensive, but they do have limits, and are strongest in the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century. Use the search box at the top of the Library of Congress home page . A few tips: - Before starting your search take a moment to make a list of possible search terms.
- Remember that different words or phrases may have been used to describe events or items in the past. For example: In the past the flu was sometimes known as the grippe.
- People or places may have been identified differently or may have used different names previously. For example: Eleanor Roosevelt may be known as Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- There may be different spellings for names or places during the period you’re researching.
- Use the drop-down menu to the left of the search box to select a format, like Maps, before you search.
- To the left you will see a list of ways to narrow your search results. Scroll to the bottom to Access Condition and select “Available Online.”
- Scroll back to the top and narrow your search results using the facets to the left of your search results, like Date and Location.
- Select “Gallery” or “Grid” to change how you view the results. You can:
- increase the number of items you see at one time at the bottom of the page;
- change how the results are organized so they can be seen chronologically or in alphabetical order.
- Find an item that is of interest? On the item page look to the right and find the subject headings listed. You can click on those to see what other items are listed under that same subject heading.
- Explore related items at the bottom of the page.
- Additional search tips can be found on the Library’s Search Help page .
Explore online resourcesCongress.gov – Explore current and historic information on bills, laws and the legislative branch of the government. Chronicling America – Access historic newspapers from all fifty states and the District of Columbia for accounts of historic and everyday events as reported at the time they happened. Check with the expertsTeaching with the Library blog – Short (500 words or less) posts featuring primary sources and teaching ideas. Other Library blogs offer tips on finding Library resources, suggestions for other search terms or research ideas, and expert secondary information. Today in History – Provides information and links to primary sources about a specific event in history. Research Guides - In-depth guides to Library resources on a wide variety of topics. Ask a Librarian – Send a question to a Library of Congress reference librarian. We're happy to help!  Study at CambridgeAbout the university, research at cambridge. - Undergraduate courses
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Department of History and Philosophy of Science- About the Department overview
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- Digitising Philippine Flora
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- Kinds of Intelligence
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History of Medicine - Purpose and Progress in Science
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Tools and techniques for historical research- About the Department
- News and events
 If you are just starting out in HPS, this will be the first time for many years – perhaps ever – that you have done substantial library or museum based research. The number of general studies may seem overwhelming, yet digging out specific material relevant to your topic may seem like finding needles in a haystack. Before turning to the specific entries that make up this guide, there are a few general points that apply more widely. Planning your researchBecause good research and good writing go hand in hand, probably the single most important key to successful research is having a good topic. For that, all you need at the beginning are two things: (a) a problem that you are genuinely interested in and (b) a specific issue, controversy, technique, instrument, person, etc. that is likely to offer a fruitful way forward for exploring your problem. In the early stages, it's often a good idea to be general about (a) and very specific about (b). So you might be interested in why people decide to become doctors, and decide to look at the early career of a single practitioner from the early nineteenth century, when the evidence for this kind of question happens to be unusually good. You can get lots of advice from people in the Department about places to look for topics, especially if you combine this with reading in areas of potential interest. Remember that you're more likely to get good advice if you're able to mesh your interests with something that a potential supervisor knows about. HPS is such a broad field that it's impossible for any department to cover all aspects of it with an equal degree of expertise. It can be reassuring to know that your topic will evolve as your research develops, although it is vital that you establish some basic parameters relatively quickly. Otherwise you will end up doing the research for two, three or even four research papers or dissertations, when all you need is the material for one. Before beginning detailed work, it's obviously a good idea to read some of the secondary literature surrounding your subject. The more general books are listed on the reading lists for the Part II lecture courses, and some of the specialist literature is listed in these research guides. This doesn't need to involve an exhaustive search, at least not at this stage, but you do need to master the fundamentals of what's been done if you're going to be in a position to judge the relevance of anything you find. If there are lectures being offered in your topic, make sure to attend them; and if they are offered later in the year, try to see if you can obtain a preliminary bibliography from the lecturer. After that, it's usually a good idea to immerse yourself in your main primary sources as soon as possible. If you are studying a museum object, this is the time to look at it closely; if you're writing about a debate, get together the main papers relevant to it and give them a close read; if you're writing about a specific experiment, look at the published papers, the laboratory notebook, and the relevant letters. Don't spend hours in the early stages of research ferreting out hard-to-find details, unless you're absolutely positive that they are of central importance to the viability of your topic. Start to get a feel for the material you have, and the questions that might be explored further. Make an outline of the main topics that you hope to cover, organized along what you see as the most interesting themes (and remember, 'background' is not usually an interesting theme on its own). At this stage, research can go in many different directions. At some point, you'll want to read more about the techniques other historians have used for exploring similar questions. Most fields have an established repertoire of ways of approaching problems, and you need to know what these are, especially if you decide to reject them. One of the advantages of an interdisciplinary field like HPS is that you are exposed to different and often conflicting ways of tackling similar questions. Remember that this is true within history itself, and you need to be aware of alternatives. This may well involve looking further afield, at classic books or articles that are not specifically on 'your' subject. For example, it may be that you could find some helpful ideas for a study of modern scientific portraiture in a book on the eighteenth century. The best books dealing with educational maps may not be on the astronomical ones you are studying, but on ones used for teaching classical geography. See where the inspiration for works you admire comes from, and have a look at the sources they have used. This will help you develop the kind of focussed questions that make for a successful piece of work. As you develop an outline and begin to think through your topic in more detail, you'll be in good position to plan possible lines of research. Don't try to find out everything about your topic: pick those aspects that are likely to prove most fruitful for the direction your essay seems to be heading. For example, it may be worth spending a long time searching for biographical details about a person if their career and life are central to your analysis; but in many other cases, such issues may not be very important. If your interest is in the reception of a work, it is likely to be more fruitful to learn a lot about a few commentaries or reviews (where they appeared, who wrote them, and so forth) than to gather in randomly all the comments you can find. Follow up hints in other people's footnotes. Works that are otherwise dull or outdated in approach are sometimes based on very solid research. One secondary reference to a crucial letter or newspaper article can save you hours of mindless trawling, and lead you straight to the information you need. Moreover, good historians often signal questions or sources that they think would be worth investigating further. Remember that the best history almost always depends on developing new approaches and interpretations, not on knowing about a secret archive no one has used before. If you give your work time to develop, and combine research with writing, you will discover new sources, and (better still) a fresh importance for material that has supposedly been known for a long time. As you become familiar with your topic, you are likely to find that evidence you dug out at the beginning of your project is much more significant than you thought it was. In historical research, the most important evidence often isn't sitting there on the surface – it's something you need to dig out through close reading and an understanding of the situation in which the document you are studying was written, or in which the object was produced. This is especially true of instruments, paintings and other non-textual sources. Some standard reference worksYour research should become more focussed as time goes on. Don't just gather randomly: you should always have at least some idea of why you are looking for something, and what you might hope to find. Make guesses, follow up hunches, see if an idea you have has the possibility to work out. At the beginning, it can be valuable to learn the full range of what is available, but eventually you should be following up specific issues, a bit like a detective tracing the clues to a mystery. It is at this stage of research, which is often best done in conjunction with writing up sections of your project, that knowing where to find answers to specific questions is most useful. There is nothing more disheartening than spending a week to find a crucial fact, only to discover that it's been sitting on the shelf next to you all term. The Whipple has a wide variety of guides, biographical dictionaries and bibliographies, so spend a few minutes early on looking at the reference shelves. Every major country has a national biographical dictionary (the new version of the British one is the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , available 2004 online). For better-known scientists, a good place to start is Charles C. Gillispie (ed.) Dictionary of Scientific Biography (1970–1980). There are more specialized dictionaries for every scientific field, from entomology to astronomy. The University Library has a huge selection of biographical sources; ask your supervisor about the best ones for your purpose. Preliminary searching for book titles and other bibliographical information is now often best done online, and every historian should know how to use the British Library's online search facility; COPAC (the UK national library database); and WorldCat (an international database). All of these are accessible through the HPS Whipple Library website (under 'other catalogues'). At the time of writing, the University Library is remains one of the few libraries of its size to have many of its records not available online, so remember that you have to check the green guard-book catalogues (and the supplementary catalogues) for most items published before 1977. It is hoped that this situation will be rectified soon. There are also numerous bibliographies for individual sciences and subjects, together with catalogues of relevant manuscripts. Most of these are listed elsewhere in this guide. As questions arise, you will want to be able to access books and articles by other historians that touch upon your subject. There are many sources for this listed elsewhere in this guide, but you should definitely know about the Isis Current Bibliography and The Wellcome Bibliography for the History of Medicine . Both are available online, the former through the RLG History of Science, Technology and Medicine database, the latter through the website of the Wellcome Library. Libraries and museumsFinally, a word in praise of libraries and museums. As the comments above make clear, the internet is invaluable for searching for specific pieces of information. If you need a bibliographical reference or a general reading list from a course at another university, it is an excellent place to begin. If you are looking for the source of an unidentified quotation, typing it into Google (or an appropriate database held by the University Library) will often turn up the source in seconds. Many academic journals are now online, as are the texts of many books, though not always in a paginated or citable form. For almost all historical topics, however, libraries filled with printed books and journals will remain the principal tools for research, just as museums will continue to be essential to any work dealing with the material culture of past science. The reason for this is simple: what is on the internet is the result of decisions by people in the past decade, while libraries and museums are the product of a continuous history of collecting over several thousand years. Cambridge has some of the best collections for the history of science anywhere. Despite what is often said, this is not because of the famous manuscripts or showpiece books (these are mostly available in other ways), but because of the depth and range of its collections across the whole field. The Whipple Library is small and friendly, and has an unparalleled selection of secondary works selected over many years – don't just go for specific titles you've found in the catalogue, try browsing around, and ask the librarians for help if you can't see what you are looking for. Explore the Whipple Museum and talk to the curator and the staff. There are rich troves of material in these departmental collections, on topics ranging from phrenology and microscopy to the early development of pocket calculators. Become familiar with what the University Library has to offer: it is large and sometimes idiosyncratic, but worth getting to know well if you are at all serious about research. It is a fantastic instrument for studying the human past – the historian's equivalent of CERN or the Hubble Telescope. And all you need to get in is a student ID. Further readingWayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. William, The Craft of Research , 2nd ed. (University of Chicago Press, 2003). Email search Privacy and cookie policies Study History and Philosophy of ScienceUndergraduate study Postgraduate study Library and MuseumWhipple Library Whipple Museum Museum Collections Portal Research projects Philosophy of Science © 2024 University of Cambridge - Contact the University
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Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.  You are here: Library & DigitalOnline ResourcesOpen and free access materials for research. In response to libraries and archives being closed during the lockdowns in 2020 the IHR launched this page to steer researchers to freely accessible online research resources. We continue to update the page as part of our remit to help researchers nationally and internationally. We're also asking you for additional recommendations to make this resource as useful as possible. - Share page on Twitter
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 IntroductionIn response to libraries and archives being closed in 2020 the IHR launched this page to steer researchers to freely accessible online research resources. Below you will find lists of links to these resources, organised, for example, by publication type, chronology and theme. At the start you will also find helpful advice from the IHR Library team on how to make the most of this resource. So far over 750 resources have been listed but there will be many others known to you. We’re keen to hear about these and encourage you to get in touch. If you would like to recommend a freely accessible online resource please send your suggestions to [email protected] . Alternatively, you can submit your recommendations via an online suggestions box . We will then review the submissions and add them to the portal About this GuideHow to use this guide. This webpage contains a selection of curated links to online research resources that can be used for historical research of all kinds. From digitised archives to oral histories, newspapers, maps and printed collections, we hope that there will some material that can help with your work or with supporting your students. We have organised the material by period. This is always something of an arbitrary exercise, and there will be some duplication. Some key subject or perhaps unexpected formats have also been included, such as Virtual and Augmented Reality (why not, for example, visit relevant historical sites around the world via Google Streetview?). This is of course simply a small selection of the vast amount of material that is out there. You will know more about what is available in your own area of specialism, and Google, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia will uncover more. There are also numerous online guides and bibliographies, both general and specialised, that will give further suggestions, these include Wikipedia's list of digitised newspapers . Your library will also be able to advise on what is available for you behind paywalls. Some of the material has been selected by IHR librarians and colleagues in the institute, while others have been suggested by others. We are pleased to hear about suggestions, either by emailing [email protected] or through a short online suggestions box . The full spreadsheet of suggestions might also be useful to review and search. Things to think about when using online sourcesLike all sources, online materials have their own history and pose challenges and questions for historians and other researchers. How were they collected? Why were they selected? Where did they come from? Who pays for it? What's been left out? What are the differences between the physical records and their online representation? What shortcuts sneak into our methods that may undermine the rigour of our overall argument? Understanding how archives are created and arranged is an essential part of historical research, and there are similar considerations for their online equivalent. How are archival hierarchies, indexes or catalogues created online? Are they automated, do they use international standards, or their own bespoke thesaurus of terms? Technical understanding of scribal methods, forms of writing, and the purpose for which records were created are important things to understand, an awareness of digital technologies, from the limits of scanning technology to OCR and XML, can be useful, too. Many online archives have also been created from microforms, and digital archives, particularly web archives, may have been migrated from one format to another, losing data or functionality along the way. Archives also have a range of definitions, with archivists conceptualising them as the materials produced by an individual, family or organisation during the course of their life or work, and archives seen in more general terms as collections of old records. Online 'archives' may also be synthetic creations, gathering both primary and secondary materials together in new ways, perhaps with an attention to rediscover hidden voices . Again, historians will be alert to how this shapes our understanding of the past. For this list, we will be as expansive as possible. Finally, there are matters of scale and quantity. Your materials may be too vast, or too limited; but what are the opportunities opened up by this? Is close reading of one or two documents as useful as reading thousands of items? What are the opportunities opened up by analysing texts or images at scale, perhaps by using the tools of the digital humanities? Further ReadingBlaney, Jonathan and Judith Seifring, ' A Culture of non-citation: Assessing the digital impact of British History Online and the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership ', Digital History Quarterly (2017). Hauswedell, T., J. Nyhan, and M.H. Beals et al., ' Of Global Reach Yet of Situated Contexts: An examination of the implicit and explicit selection criteria that shape digital archives of historical newspapers ' , Arch Sci (2020) MacEachern, Alan and William J. Turkel, ' A Time for Research Distancing ', Active History 31 March 2020. Prescott, Andrew and Lorna Hughes, ' Why Do We Digitize: The case for slow digitization ', Archive Journal (2018). Putnam, Lara, ' The Transnational and the Text-Searchable: Digitized Sources and the Shadows They Cast ' (working paper) published as ' The Transnational and the Text-Searchable: Digitized Sources and the Shadows They Cast' , American Historical Review 121 (2016). Other School of Advanced Study and Senate House Library Guides | IHR Online Resources | | Details of free and paywalled resources with access details for SAS students, etc. | | Open Access Research Resources for the Humanities | | The School’s physical libraries may be closed for the time being, like libraries across the world, but we’re still working to help researchers access the materials that they need, whether that’s books, journal articles, databases or online tutorials. | | Senate House Library A-Z Databases (NB subscription resources for University of London only) | | Find the best library databases for your research (for SHL card holders) | | Institute of Classical Studies Library Open Access Resources | | During the COVID-19 pandemic, more publishers and institutions are making research material available online. We've compiled a growing list of resources for you to use at home during self-isolation. | | Warburg Institute Library | | Details of resources that can be accessed when the library is closed. | Secondary WorksYour own institution's library. You will be familiar with the eBooks and other resources made available by your own institution's library. There will be guides to these on the library website, perhaps along with a special guide prepared for the current situation. Many eBook and online journal providers are extending the amount of materials available at this time, so if you have not found what you needed in the past, it may be worth checking now. Your librarian many need to arrange a trial or access. Jisc has coordinated a list of suppliers now offering extended access. Some libraries, such as the Bodleian History Faculty Library, have provided useful guides and lists of tips for locating open access and other online texts, such as making use of the Internet Archive's National Emergency Library . Books, Journals and Institutional Repositories- Access to Research (Open Access directory in partnership with publishers).
- Dart-Europe theses
- Directory of Open Access Journals .
- JStor and ArtStor . JStor now offers individuals access to read 100 articles every 30 days .
- Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog Book search interface for more than hundreds of million books and serials in library and book trade catalogs worldwide.
- ProjectMuse is hosting a range of free materials , including UVA and University of Pennsylvania Press books and journals during the crisis.
- Details of university presses providing temporary access to their collections from PublicBooks.org .
- Open Library of the Humanities .
- Rian : Pathways to Irish Research Comprehensive libray of Irish Open Access Irish research publications.
- Unpaywall , OA Button and CORE Discovery plugins offer help in discovering open access versions of articles. See also the British Library guide to open access tools for research.
- Many publishers also provide access to some open access materials, such as Bloomsbury Academic and Cambridge Core
Preprints and other open access collections can be also found in institutional repositories. A list of UK repositories can be found at Sherpa . Theses Databases and Online RepositoriesBelow is listed a number of online databases of PhD theses where in many instances you can also download an electronic copy. It is also worth searching general online electronic libraries such as Jisc Library Hub , Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog and Rian : Pathways to Irish Research as well as library catalogues and databases of individual universities. | Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações | | IBICT database for Brazilian theses and dissertations. | | CiNii | | Database of Japanese university theses and dissertations. Use the "本文あり / Full-Text Exists" search option to find electronic copies. | | Dart - Europe | | The European portal for finding electronic theses and dissertations. DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses. | | Ethos | | Search over 500,000 theses from UK universities, with download option available for many. | | History Theses 1970-2014: Historical research for higher degrees in the universities of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland | | A thematic listing of UK theses created by British History Online. Entries are in the process of being linked to their Ethos record where an electronic copy is available. | | Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations | | The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). We support electronic publishing and open access to scholarship in order to enhance the sharing of knowledge worldwide. Our website includes resources for university administrators, librarians, faculty, students, and the general public. Topics include how to find, create, and preserve ETDs; how to set up an ETD program; legal and technical questions; and the latest news and research in the ETD community. | | PQDT Open | | With PQDT Open, you can read the full text of open access dissertations and theses from the ProQuest database free of charge. | | Shodhganga | | The Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. | | TesiOnline | | Online database of Italian theses and dissertations. To access an electronic copy, where available, you need to create a free account. | | Theses Canada | | Theses Canada, launched in 1965 at the request of the deans of Canadian graduate schools, is a collaborative program between Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Canadian universities. It strives acquire and preserve theses and dissertations from participating universities, provide free access to Canadian digital theses and dissertations in the collection and facilitate access to non-digital theses and dissertations in the collection. | | Theses.fr | | A service similar to the UK's Ethos service. You can search the database for French completed French doctoral theses and those in preparation and access an online version for those records marked with an "Accéder en ligne" tab. | Catalogues, Bibliographies and GuidesLists of online archives. | Clio-online Web-Directory | | The Clio-online Web-Directory outlines databases and websites for historical research. | | IHR Library list of online resources | | Includes free and subscription resources, with access details | | Free online history archives | | Over 1,000 free online resources listed by the Bodleian History Faculty Library | | International Council of Archives 'The Archives are Accessible' | www.ica.org/en/the-archives-and-records-are-accessible | To enable the archives and records community to tell ICA what they are doing and what is accessible, we have developed a where you can share information about an online exhibition, digital catalogue, specific digital collections or a crowd-sourcing project that people can do while they are #StayHome. | | Internet Archive Wayback Machine | | A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. | | Endangered Archives Programme | | More than 400 projects in 90 countries worldwide, in over 100 languages and scripts. | | Open Education Database '250+ Killer Digital Libraries' | | This list contains over 250 libraries and archives that focus mainly on localized, regional, and U.S. history, but it also includes larger collections, eText and eBook repositories, and a short list of directories to help you continue your research efforts. | | Hazine: a guide to researching the middle east and beyond | | Online Archives, Digitized Collections and Resources for Middle East, North African, and Islamic(ate) Studies | | European History Primary Sources | | While not claiming to be complete, EHPS contains the major national digital libraries and many smaller series of e-sources and smaller digitization projects in Europe. It thus reflects to a considerable extent the current state of digitization of historical source materials in Europe, as well as those digitized outside Europe pertaining to its history. | | Rechtshistorie: A gateway to legal history | | An extensive international list of archival resources. | | History Online Projects | | An archive of the IHR's list of online projects; some links may no longer be current. | | Women Also Know History | | Free online resource dedicated to promoting the work of women historians. | Thematic Guides | English Monastic Archives | | The database, created by the English Monastic Archives project, is a guide to documents generated by medieval monasteries. | | LIBRAL | | Library of rural and agricultural history | | Radical Online Collections and Archives (New Historical Express) | | Free to access radical literature from around the world | | | ims.leeds.ac.uk/online-resources | Primary and secondary resources covering all aspects of medieval studies to help medievalists connect with each other, develop their research, and find opportunities to present and share their ideas.
| | Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMSLib) | https://www.memslib.co.uk | MEMSlib is an initiative of the (MEMS) at the University of Kent. This student-led project developed out of our shared desire to support academic peers and colleagues during the Covid-19 pandemic. | | Vast Early America (Omohundro Institute) | | As we all shift to reliance on online materials learning and teaching - and just for exploring - the vast early American past, the OI thought it would be useful to start a central resource. These started with resources from some of our institutional partners and scholars we have worked with, but will also include organizations and scholars we’re just learning about. Please let us know if we can add yours. | | Bibliographical Society of America | | Online Instruction Resources: Digital Repositories for Book History Teaching, Research, & More
| | | | Transport and mobility history digital sources (crowdsourced) | | European Association for Digital Humanities | | Links to digital humanities projects and databases | | Early Modern France (Dr Sara Barker's blog) | | Online resources for sixteenth and seventeenth-century French history – museums, châteaux and institutions | | | | Aimed primarily at students | | | | Exploring online and digital resources for history in Higher Education. Distance learning, remote research and accessibility. Run by | | Pinakes | | Online catalogue of Greek manuscripts from around the world. | | | | Suggestions and call for contributions of archives and other resources for student projects in the history of medicine. | Online Book CollectionsGuides and bibliographies. Bibliographical Society of America have produced an extensive guide to online resources and digital repositories , which should be your first port of call. Digitised Printed Books- Google Books
- Internet Archive (also includes lending in the National Emergency Library , offered 1.4 million titles to help support emergency remote teaching) [n.b., will close 16 June 2020]
- Liberty Fund Library (a collection of 'scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets')
- Project Gutenberg
- Biblioteca Virtual IFC (digitised collection of the publications of the Institución "Fernando el Católico")
- LIBRAL - the Library of Rural and Agricultural Literature
Hebraic and YiddishDigital CollectionsNational and regional libraries. | Aberdeen University Library - Open Access Resources | | Resource List | | Belgica | | Digitised material from the Royal Library of Belgium. | | British Library Digitised Manuscripts | | Use this website to view digitised copies of manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections, with descriptions of their contents. | | British Library digital collections | | Numerous other digital collections. A large corpus is available via Google Books and the former . | | Digital Library of the Caribbean | | The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. | | Goethe Universität - Frankfurt (Digitale Sammlungen) | | A large and growing online library of material concentrating on German and Jewish history. | | Library of Congress digital collections | | A vast range of digitised materials. | | National Institute for Newman Studies Digital Collections | | Over 250,000 images featuring letters, library records, photographs, maps, manuscripts, music scores, and more. | | Vatican Library digital collections | | DigiVatLib is a digital library service. It provides free access to the Vatican Library’s digitized collections: manuscripts, incunabula, archival materials and inventories as well as graphic materials, coins and medals, printed materials (special projects). | | Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB) | | The goal of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB) is to offer everyone unrestricted access to Germany’s cultural and scientific heritage, that is, access to millions of books, archived items, images, sculptures, pieces of music and other sound documents, as well as films and scores, from all over Germany. | | BNF Gallica | | Nearly 4 million digitised items from the French national library. | | Biblioteca de Catalunya (Memòria digital de Catalunya) | | Digitised document collection from the Biblioteca de Catalunya. | | National Library of Australia | | Access to a wide range of collections from across Australia | | National Library of New Zealand | | Newspapers, magazines, letters and diaries, and political papers, including Maori materials | | National Library of Scotland | | List of Open Access Resources. | | Qatar Digital Library | | | | National Digital Library of India | | | Research Libraries and Other Organisations | Aceh Books | | This digital collection offers full-text access to more than 1200 publications on Aceh, the province located at the northern end of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The books form part of the collection of the Royal Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden which is kept at the Leiden University Library. The titles date from the 17th till the turn of the 21th century and are in a variety of languages such as Indonesian, Acehnese, English and Dutch. Due to copyright issues titles published after 1900 can only be accessed from desktop computers situated in the University Library. | | Avalon Project | | The Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history and diplomacy. The project is part of the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. | | Beinecke Digital Collections | | | | Black Central Europe | | Site created and curated by the Black Central European Studies Network (BCESN) providing access to a number of document and picture collections highlighting the history of the Black diaspora in Central Europe from 1000 to the present day. | | British History Online (IHR) | | Brings together material for British history from the collections of libraries, archives, museums and academics. These primary and secondary sources, which range from medieval to twentieth century. | | Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts | | The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts makes images of over 12,000 texts from throughout Laos easily accessible for study. There is a wide diversity in the manuscript collection, covering a large geographical area and historical timeframe, different literary traditions and schools of scribes, and different languages and scripts. The majority of the texts are from the Lao, Lan Na and Tai Lue traditions, with smaller numbers in Tai Nuea, and Tai Dam, etc. | | John Carter Brown Library Digital Collections | | High resolution images from the Library's archive of early American images, map collection, and political cartoon collection are available through Luna. Scans of over 10,000 full books are available through Internet Archive. | | The Morgan Library Digital Facsimiles | | Literary and historical highspots, including the complete MSS of Anne Brontë and Newton's pocket notebook | | Neliti - Indonesia's Research Repository | | A free and open access collection of over 300,000 books, datasets and journal articles from Southeast Asia, funded by the National Library of Indonesia. | | Cornell University Digital Collections | | Contains a wide range of archival sources on various themes, including US history, East Asian studies, slavery, race, art and architecture, travel narratives | | Delpher | | Online archive of Dutch and Indonesian newspapers and periodicals. | | Manchester Digital Collections | | A new resource for exploring high-quality images of cultural collections and research projects at The University of Manchester, including Peterloo materials. See also . | | Newberry Library | | Explore the Newberry through online collections, exhibitions, and publications. | | Cambridge Digital Library | | Includes the Newton Papers and Sassoon Journals. | | Digital Bodleian Library | | Images of manuscripts, rare books, maps, archives and ephemera from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries. | | Ghent University Library online collections | | Online collection of coins, manuscripts, periodicals, etc. found in the Ghent University Library. | | Huntington Digital Library | | Includes the Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History | | SOAS Digital Collections | | The Archives & Special Collections at the SOAS Library specialises in the collection of archives, manuscripts, and rare books relating to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and beyond. | | LSE Digital Library | | Digitised material from the London School of Economics Library collections and also born-digital material that has been collected and preserved in digital formats. | | Flickr Commons | | Photographs from cultural institutions around the world | | Harvard Digital Collections | l | Harvard Digital Collections provides free, public access to over 6 million objects digitized from our collections - from ancient art to modern manuscripts and audio visual materials. | | Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=940072&p=6775019 | Includes access to a number of portals for digitized collections. These include Susan B. Anthony, Beecher-Stowe Family, Blackwell Family, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Inez Milholland, Alice Paul, and Dorothy West | | Wikimedia Commons | | a collection of media files | | Wellcome Digital Collections | | The Library's digital collections cover a wide variety of topics, including asylums, food, sex and sexual health, genetics, public health and war. | | Biodiversity Heritage Library | | The Biodiversity Heritage Library improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community. | | Center for Research Libraries | | CRL has taken measures to allow greater access to portions of its restricted content to support global research and teaching in view of the current circumstances. | | Somni: Coŀlecció digital de fons històric | | Digitised sources from the Biblioteca Universitaria, Valencia. | | Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana | | Growing collection of digitised manuscripts from the BML, Florence. | | Ancestry.com records held by National Archives and Records Administration (USA) | | Email registration required for special free access arranged by NARA and Ancestry.com | | ARCHIM (France) | | Archives nationales digitised materials | | St Petersburg Archives | | The portal for all the state archives in St Petersburg. Until at least 30 April 2020, it is offering access to digitised content that is usually paywalled, including over quarter of a million images from TSGAKFFD (The Central State Archive of Film, Photographic and Sound Documents) | | The National Archives (UK) | https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/ | Temporary access to some digitised materials | | SODA (Australia) | | | Late AntiquityGeneral resources. | Open Access Classics Resources | | List of open-access resources (either temporarily during the pandemic or permanently) produced by the library of the Institute of Classical Studies. | Primary Texts | Bibliotheca Palatina - Digital | | Bibliotheca Palatina – digital: A Virtual Reconstruction of the Former Crown Jewel of Germany's Libraries. | | A Digital Corpus for Graeco-Arabic Studies | | The Digital Corpus assembles a wide range of Greek texts and their Arabic counterparts. It also includes a number of Arabic commentaries and important secondary sources. The texts in the corpus can be consulted individually or side by side with their translation. | Epigraphy and Numismatics | Roman Inscriptions in Britain | | This website hosts multiple corpora of Roman inscriptions from Britain. | | Roman Provincial Coinage Online | | Online database of Roman Empire coinage. | | Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index | | This online finding-aid covers journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages. | | MEMSLib Early Medieval Resource Page | | This list contains resources of various types for the study of the history and literature of the early medieval world (c.300 - c.1100). | | MEMSLib Late Medieval History Resource Page | | Resource list relevant to the study of history in the late medieval world (c. 1100-c.1500) | | MEMSLib Manuscript Studies Resource Page | | In this resource list you will find suggestions for reading and assistance relating to the wonderful world of handwritten books and documents, both medieval and early modern. | Dictionaries, Biographical and Reference Works | Logeion | | Includes The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources. | | Anglo-Norman Dictionary | | | | Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary | | | | Dictionary of Welsh Biography | | | | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | | May be available through academic or public library subscriptions | | Medieval Londoners | | Created by Fordham University, this website introduces resources available for research about medieval London and its people, focusing not only on documentary and narrative sources in print, but also archaeological, visual, and cartographic sources that illuminate the physical and material world inhabited by medieval Londoners. An important component of the website is the (MLD), which records the activities of London residents between c. 1100 and 1520, and is searchable by name, gender, citizenship status, location (ward, parish, and street if available), craft, occupation, civic office, and craft office, among other variables. | | The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England | | Structured information relating to all the recorded inhabitants of England from the late sixth to the late eleventh century.. based on a systematic examination of the available written sources for the period. | | England’s Immigrants 1330-1550 | | A fully-searchable database containing over 64,000 names of people known to have migrated to England in this period. | | History of Parliament | | | | Victoria County History | | Full text of many of the volumes available on . | | Archaeological Data Service Library | | Includes British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography. | Library, Archive and Museum CollectionsThese are a sample of many collections from around the world. | Vatican Library digital collections | | | | FranceArchives: Portail National des Archives | | | | Wellcome Medieval manuscripts | | | | British Cartoon Archive | | Artwork for over 200,000 British editorial, socio-political, and pocket cartoons, supported by large collections of comic strips, newspaper cuttings, books and magazines. | | British Museum collection | | | | Gallica | | Digital library of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. | | British Library manuscripts | | Can filter by date | | Digital Bodleian | | | | Archives Portal Europe | | | | Metropolitan Museum of Art collections | | | | Endangered Archives Programme | | | | Pinakes | | | | Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana | | | Documentary SourcesThese include digital editions of sources and compilations of sources. | Anglo-American Legal Tradition | | Over 9 million images of manuscripts held at the National Archives UK, spanning 1176 to the end of Queen Victoria's reign; of broader interest than purely legal history | | British History Online | | Many sources for British history, can be filtered by period. Examples include Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, Inquisitions Post Mortem, Calendar of Close Rolls, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Calendar of Papal Registers, Parliament Rolls of Medieval England and many local history resources. | | Czech Medieval Sources Online | | | | The Electronic Sawyer: Online catalogue of Anglo-Saxon charters | | | | Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa. | | Scholarly open access edition of the Arabic text with English translation. | | Legal History: The Year Books | | An Index and Paraphrase of Printed Year Book Reports, 1268 - 1535. | | Legislation.gov.uk | | Legislation.gov.uk carries most (but not all) types of legislation and their accompanying explanatory documents from 1267 to the present day. | | Scripta: Database of Norman Medieval documents | | A large corpus of medieval Norman charters dating from the 10th to the 13th Century. | | Exon: The Domesday Survey of South-West England | | | | Henry III Fine Rolls Project | | | | Inquisitions post mortem: Mapping the Medieval Countryside: Properties, Places & People | | | | Irish Script On Screen | | Digital library of Irish manuscripts. | | Monumenta Germaniae Historica | | | | Regesta Imperii | | | | The Sherborne Missal | | Fully digitised edition of BL. Add. Ms. 74235 | | York's Archbishops Registers Revealed | | Free access to over 20,000 images of Registers produced by the Archbishops of York, 1225-1650. | | Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters | | Free online resource from Columbia University. Collection of medieval Latin letters to and from women, with English translation. C4th to C13th. | | English Medieval Legal Documents Database | | A Compilation of Published Sources from 600 to 1535 from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. | | EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History | | From Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. | | Gascon Rolls project | | Records relating to the English administration of Gascony in the late middle ages (1317-1467). Includes translations of most if not all of the rolls. | | Internet Medieval Sourcebook | | . | | Archivio digitale della cultura medievale | | Temporarily free. | | Revised Regesta Regni Hierosolymitani Database | | Röhricht’s Regesta Revised is a growing calendar of all the charters, other legal or formal documents and letters that were composed between 1098 and 1291 in the Latin kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Cilician Armenia, the principality of Antioch and the counties of Edessa and Tripoli, or were addressed to individuals in those settlements. It is based on Reinhold Röhricht’s Regesta regni Hierosolymitani 2 vols (Innsbruck, 1893-1904), the entries in which are signalled by the letters RRH. The revision has reached the year 1244 and will be continued to 1291, but new material is always coming to light and Röhricht’s Regesta Revised will be regularly up-dated. Suggestions for new entries or corrections are welcome. | Other Sources | UK National Historic Environment records | , , , | | | Historic England Archive | | | | Gatehouse: A comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales and the Islands. | | A comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales and the Islands. | | The Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture | | | | Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources | | | | English place-names | | | | English medieval coins | | | | Portable Antiquities Scheme database | | | | Pipe roll society | | Publishes editions of the pipe rolls of the Exchequer and related medieval documents. | | Haskins Society | | Western Europe and its encounters with the larger medieval world in the early and central middle ages. Website includes documents and other resources. | | Canterbury and York Society | | Publishes editions of English medieval ecclesiastical records. | | Henry Bradshaw Society | | Promotes the study of medieval and early modern liturgies. | | Richard III Society | | Promoting research into the life and times of Richard III. | | Selden Society | | English legal history. | Resources for Byzantine History | Barbaro, Nicolo. | | Selected translations | | Berger de Xivrey, Jules. (Paris, 1851) | | Digital Copy | | Byzantine Sources in Translation | | Bibliography | | Chalkokondyles, Laonikos. | | Digitised copy of BL Add. Ms. 36670 | | Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, 91 BCE-1643 CE | | Translated excerpts | | Chronicon Paschale (translation) | | Important source for early Byzantine and Jewish history to the early seventh century | | Comnena, Anna. | | Online Translation | | (selected volumes) | | List of volumes that have been digitised and are now available via Google Books | | Council of Chalcedon, 451 | | Translation of the acts, commentaries and selected other sources. | | Council of Constantinople, 381: Documents | | Digital copy of the relevant extracts taken from, Henry R. Percival, ed. , Vol XIV of Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, (reprinted Edinburgh: T&T Clark; Grand Rapids MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans, 1988) | | Council of Constantinople, 553 | | Translation of the acts, commentaries and selected other sources. | | Council of Constantinople, 680-1 | | Translation of the acts, commentaries and selected other sources. | | Council of Ephesus, 431 | | Translation of the acts, commentaries and selected other sources. | | Council of Nicea, 787 | | Translation of the acts, commentaries and selected other sources. | | Evagrius Scholasticus. | | English translation first published in 1846 | | The Fourth Crusade: Collected Sources | | Selection of translations | | George of Pisidia. Works | | Works of the 7th century poet including accounts of the military campaign against Persia and the Avar attack on Constantinople | | Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Byzantium | | A list of extracts curated by the library at Fordham University | | Procopius. , Books I-II | | English translation first published in 1914 by H. B. Dewing | | Procopius. | | English translation hosted on the Project Gutenberg site. | | Psellos, Michael. | | Online Translation | | Theodore the Syncellus. | | English Translation | | Theophanes the Confessor. | | Chronicle covering Byzantine history from the late third to the ninth century. | | Translated Excerpts from Byzantine History: c. 700-1204 | | Translations produced by Paul Stephenson and his students. | | Zachariah of Mytilene. | | Source from early Byzantine and Church History. | Early ModernArchives Portal Europe | | The Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from different European countries as well as information on archival institutions throughout the continent. | Directory of Open Access Books | | A discovery service for Open Access books. | Directory of Open Access Journals | | DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. | | Early Modern Annotated Books from UCLA's Clark Library | | Comprising over 250 early modern printed books bearing handwritten annotations, this collection offers rich evidence for studying the material history of reading. The books collected here range in subject matter (from science and natural history to literature and philosophy), time period (1472–1818), and type of annotation (from scholarly commentary and cross-referencing to printers' notations and polemical criticism). | Ethos | | EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses. | | MEMSLib Early Modern History Resource List | | Resource list relevant to the study of early modern history (c. 1500-c.1800) | | MEMSLib Manuscript Studies Resource List | | In this resource list you will find suggestions for reading and assistance relating to the wonderful world of handwritten books and documents, both medieval and early modern. | Open Access Publishing in European Networks | | The OAPEN Library contains freely accessible academic books, mainly in the area of humanities and social sciences. | SAS Space | | SAS-Space is an online library for humanities research outputs, providing a permanent archive for scholars and researchers. | | Theatregoing: Eyewitness accounts of going to a show | | | Documented experiences of theatre visits from the 16th Century to the Modern Day. |
| Bloomsbury Academic | | Search Bloomsbury Academic's open access content. | Brill | | Search Brill’s current open access content. | UCL Press | | Listed is the UCL Press’s current OA history content. | University of London Press: Humanities Digital Library | | The Humanities Digital Library is the open access library and catalogue for books published by the University of London Press at the School of Advanced Study. |
Britain and Ireland1641 Irish Depositions | | Fully searchable digital edition of the 1641 Depositions at Trinity College Dublin Library. | | Anglo-American Legal Tradition | http://aalt.law.uh.edu/ | Over 9 million images of manuscripts held at the National Archives UK, spanning 1176 to the end of Queen Victoria's reign; of broader interest than purely legal history | | Alice Thornton's Books | | This AHRC-funded research project, in partnership with Durham Cathedral, will create an online digital edition of all four of Alice Thornton’s autobiographical manuscripts. To date our knowledge of Thornton’s life has largely been dependent on a nineteenth-century edition by Charles C. Jackson that selected materials from some of those manuscripts to produce a single, chronological narrative of her life. | Bess of Harwick’s Letters | | Bess of Harwick’s correspondence from c. 1550-1608. | British History Online | | Entire content free to all users to 30 September 2020. | British Printed Images to 1700 | | This website, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, makes available a database of thousands of prints and book illustrations from early modern Britain in fully-searchable form. | | British Renaissance Plasterwork | | Research resource created and maitained by Dr Claire Gapper on British plasterwork and workers in the 16th and 17th century. Includes a gazetteer of London plasterworkers compiled by Dr Gapper and Dr Edward Town. | Broadside Ballads Online | | Broadside Ballads Online presents a digital collection of English printed ballad-sheets from between the 16th and 20th centuries. | Casebooks Project (Simon Forman and Richard Napier) | | Digitised casebooks of two late Tudor/early Stuart physician-astrologers. | Civil War Petitions | | Database containing petitions to the state from veterans and their families for welfare payments as a result of injuries and bereavement sustained during the English Civil Wars. | Clergy of the Church of England database (1540-1835) | | Biographical database of Anglican clergy to the early 19th century. | | Connected Histories | | Connected Histories brings together a range of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain with a single federated search that allows sophisticated searching of names, places and dates. | | Court depositions of South-West England, 1500-1700 | | A digital edition of 80 fully transcribed depositions relating to 20 cases heard in the church courts and Quarter Sessions between 1556 and 1694 across Devon, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. | | Database of Court Officers 1660-1837 | | Online computer database providing the career histories of every regularly remunerated officer and servant of the English royal household and, now, satellite courts, from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. | Digital Cavendish | | Provides digital editions of the works of Margaret Cavendish. | Early English Books Online: Text Creation Partnership | | EEBO-TCP is a partnership with ProQuest and with more than 150 libraries to generate highly accurate, fully-searchable, SGML/XML-encoded texts corresponding to books from the Early English Books Online database. | Early Modern Manuscripts Online | | Database provides transcriptions, metadata and images of manuscripts from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. | Early Modern Women Research Network | | The digital archive of the EMWRN presents online editions of women’s writing that circulated in a variety of forms in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. | Early Stuart Libels | | A web-based edition of early seventeenth-century political poetry. It brings into the public domain over 350 poems, many of which have never before been published. | Eighteenth Century Collections Online: Text Creation Partnership | | ECCO-TCP resulted from a partnership with Gale to produce highly accurate, fully-searchable, SGML/XML-encoded texts from among the 150,000 titles available in Gale’s ECCO database. | English Broadside Ballad Archive | | Making broadside ballads of the seventeenth
century fully accessible as texts, art, music, and cultural records. | | Founders Online | | Searchable transcripts of correspondence and other writings by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison; includes visits to Britain | | Georgian Papers Online | | The Georgian Papers Programme will make available online the historic manuscripts, both official and private, relating to the Georgian monarchy held in the Royal Archives and Royal Library, in addition to relevant collections held by King's College London, by the year 2024. | | Gronniosaw, Ukawsaw. | | 1790 edition published in Edinburgh (hosted on archive.org) | Hearth Tax Digital | | Hearth Tax Digital is a platform for the publication and dissemination of research and analysis on hearth tax records and other associated documents. | | Legislation.gov.uk | | Legislation.gov.uk carries most (but not all) types of legislation and their accompanying explanatory documents from 1267 to the present day. | Letters of Elizabeth Montagu, 1730s-1780s | | The letters can be downloaded as txt and xml files, and they can be browsed and read on this site. | | Lewis Walpole | | Searchable transcripts of 48 volumes of Horace Walpole's correspondence, plus other items related to the Walpole family. | London Lives 1690-1800: crime, poverty and social policy in the metropolis | | A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names. | Manuscript Pamphleteering in early Stuart England | | Only provides pdfs and transcriptions from selected manuscripts. | | MarineLives | | Collaborative transcription, linkage and enrichment of primary manuscripts from the High Court of Admiralty, 1650-1669 (with some excursions into data from the 1630s and 1640s). | The Newton Project | | The Newton Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing in full an online edition of all of Sir Isaac Newton’s (1642–1727) writings - whether they were printed or not. | | Plantations in Ulster, 1600-41: a collection of documents | | A colection of documents edited by R. J. Hunter | Proceedings of the Old Bailey online 1674-1913 | | A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court. | Records of London’s Livery Companies online: apprentices and freemen 1400-1900 | | The aim of ROLLCO is to provide a fully searchable database of Livery Company membership over time. | Records of the Scottish Parliament to 1707 | | A fully searchable database containing the proceedings of the Scottish parliament from the first surviving act of 1235 to the union of 1707. | Runaway Slaves in Britain | | The Runaway Slaves in Eighteenth-Century Britain project has created a searchable database of well over eight hundred newspaper advertisements placed by masters and owners seeking the capture and return of enslaved and bound people who had escaped. | | Who Were the Nuns?A Prosopographical study of the English Convents in exile 1600-1800 | | The database contains details of 3900 nuns who entered 23 convents and the Mary Ward Institute during the period 1600 to 1800. | Work diaries of Robert Boyle | | From this site you can view images and transcripts of the work diaries, search the workdiary texts, and access reference resources on places, people and books. |
Rest of Europe| Art et Démocratie | | Online collection of writings devoted to the arts of drawing (painting, sculpture and engraving) in the first years of the French Revolution. | | Austrian Newspapers Online | | Online collection stratching back to the seventeenth century. | Bibliothèque Bleue de Troyes | | Online collection of 252 chapbooks from the 16th to 18th centuries. | Briefwisseling van Willem van Oranje | | Searchable database of William of Orange’s correspondence with pdf images of the manuscript letters. | Circulation of knowledge and learned practices in the 17th century Dutch Republic | | The CKCC project built a web application called ePistolarium. With this researchers can browse and analyze around 20,000 letters that were written by and sent to 17th century scholars who lived in the Dutch Republic. | | Delpher | | Online archive of Dutch and Indonesian newspapers and periodicals from the 17th to the 20th century. | The Electronic Capito Project | | The purpose of the Electronic Capito Project is to provide the text of letters from and to Wolfgang Capito which are either unpublished or have been published before 1850 and are therefore difficult to access. | | Esclavos en Aragón (siglos XV a XVII) | | Collection of documents, pages 69-240. | | French Revolution Digital Archive | | The is a multi-year collaboration of the Stanford University Libraries and the to produce a digital version of the key research sources of the French Revolution and make them available to the international scholarly community. The archive is based around two main resources, the and a vast corpus of images first brought together in 1989 and known as the . | Hortus Nitidissimis | | Online editions of Christoph Trew’s 18th century work on botany. | Letters of Philip II, King of Spain 1592-1597 | | Online collection of letters from the last decade of Philip II’s reign. | | A Literary Tour de France | | Publishing and the Book Trade in France and Francophone Europe, 1769-1789 | The Montaigne Project | | Digital edition of Montaigne’s Essays. | | Montesquieu - De l'esprit des Lois | | An English translation by Philip Stewart hosted on the site of the Société Montesquieu. | | Montesquieu - Lettres Persanes | | An English translation by Philip Stewart hosted on the site of the Société Montesquieu. | Münchner Digitalisierungs Zentrum: Digitale Bibliothek | | Provides access to a wide variety of collections, including incunabula and sources mainly concerned with German and Bavarian history. | | Newberry French Revolution Collection Pamphlets | | Over 30,000 pamphlets and more than 23,000 issues of 180 periodicals published between 1780 and 1810. | Post-Reformation Digital Library | | PRDL is a select database of digital books relating to the development of theology and philosophy during the Reformation and Post-Reformation/Early Modern Era. | Rousseau Online | | A full-text, fully-searchable online edition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's writings. Included are all of Rousseau's works as published in the Collection complète des Œuvres de Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Du Peyrou and Moultou in Geneva (1782-1789). | Sfondrati Family Papers | | Contains legal documents, land records, and family papers related to the Sfondrati and associated families in northern Italy between 1494 to c. 1900. | Tout d’Holbach | | An on-going project which aims to bring together fully searchable transcriptions of the vast majority of d’Holbach’s works. | | Vilnius University Library Digital Collection | | Large online collection including material on the history of Poland-Lithuania. |
The Middle East, Iran, Central Asia and IndiaAndros | | Database of Ottoman documents (from 1579 to 1821) in the Kaireios Library of the Greek island of Andros. The database offers direct access to facsimiles of the original documents as well as the possibility to search the documents for specific words and phrases. | Database of Ottoman Inscriptions | | The Database of Ottoman Inscriptions (DOI) is searchable digital database comprising information about, as well as transliterations and pictures of, all the Turkish, Arabic and Persian architectural inscriptions created in the Ottoman lands during Ottoman times. | Digital Persian Archive | | An image database of Persian historical documents from Iran and Central Asia. | | Hyde Books Project | http://hydebooks.njit.edu | Judicial Notebooks of John Hyde and Sir Robert Chambers, 1774-1798, are a unique source of primary historical information for the early years of the Supreme Court and life in India. | National Digital Library of India | | To access you will need to create a user account. | Qatar Digital Library | | An extensive archive of digitised books and manuscripts covering the history of the Middle East from the pre-Islamic period to the present. |
East and South East Asia| Chinese Text Project | . | An open access collection of pre-modern Chinese texts | Korean History Online | | Site houses a selection of digitised books and manuscripts. | Ming-Qing Women’s Writings | | |
Americas and the AtlanticAdams Family Papers | | | Archives of Maryland Online | | | Digital Quaker Collection | | | | Dutch Caribbean Digital Platform | | | Early Americas Digital Archive | | | | Early Haitian Print Culture | http://lagazetteroyale.com/#publications | Included La Gazette royale and officials and almanacs | The Plymouth Colony Archive Project | | | Probing the Past: Virginia and Maryland probate inventories | | | | Freedom on the Move | | A database of fugitives from American Slavery. | | Georgetown Slavery Archive | | A repository of materials relating to the Maryland Jesuits, Georgetown University, and slavery. | | Marronnage in Saint-Domingue | | A site devoted to fugitive slaves in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). | | Runaway Slaves in Britain | | A searchable database of over 800 newspaper reports. | | Slave Societies Digital Archive | | The Slave Societies Digital Archive (formerly Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies), directed by Jane Landers and hosted at Vanderbilt University, preserves endangered ecclesiastical and secular documents related to Africans and African-descended peoples in slave societies. | Slave Voyages | | Comprises of a number of databases concerning the Atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries. | | Thomas Thistlewood Collection | | Digitised collection of 61 items from the papers of the 18th century Jamaican slave-holder Thomas Thistlewood, now held in the Beinecke Library, Yale University. | | Massachusetts Historical Society | | Includes Adams Family and Thomas Jefferson MSS. | | A New Nation Votes | | Searchable collection of election returns from the earliest years of American democracy. | | Founders Online | | George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Over 183,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects. | | Vast Early America Resources | | | | Women Writers Online | | Women Writers Online is a full-text collection of early women’s writing in English, published by the Women Writers Project at Northeastern University. It includes full transcriptions of texts published between 1526 and 1850, focusing on materials that are rare or inaccessible. | | Women Writers in Review | | is a collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century reviews, publication notices, literary histories, and other texts responding to works by early women writers. | | Early Caribbean Digital Archive | | The ECDA has two primary related, overarching goals: the first is to uncover and make accessible a literary history of the Caribbean written or related by black, enslaved, Creole, indigenous, and/or colonized people. Although the first step in this process is digitization, the ECDA is more than a digitization or cataloging initiative. Rather, we aim to enable users—both scholars of the Caribbean as well as students—to understand the colonial nature of the archive and to use the digital archive as a site of revision and remix for exploring ways to decolonize the archive. |
Early Modern Culture Online | | | Early Modern Digital Review | | |
Modern and Contemporary | Anglo-American Legal Tradition | | over 9 million images of manuscripts held at the National Archives UK, spanning 1176 to the end of Queen Victoria's reign; contains more than purely legal history | | Archive-It | | The leading web archiving service for collecting and accessing cultural heritage on the web. Includes a number of collections relevant to contemporary history including the , and . | | British Pathé | | Large online library of 20th century news reel films. | | The 19th-Century Concord Digital Archive (CDA) | | | | Chinese Pamphlets: Political Communication & Mass Education | | Pamphlets, picture books, and other propaganda issued during the early years of the People’s Republic between 1947 and 1954. This is the “street literature” of the revolution: comic books, leaflets, and other ephemera distributed to the general population of provincial cities and villages. | | Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archive Efiles | | The CWGC's enquiry files (Efiles) are part of a collection of nearly 3,000 files which have never been made available to the public before. Nearly half have been digitised so far, alongside a previously unreleased collection of more than 16,000 photographs held in negatives in the Commission’s archive. | | Digital Transgender Archive | | The purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world. | | Dziennik Zwiazkowy | | The first ten years (1908–17) of founded in Chicago in 1908 by the Polish National Alliance. Representing local, national, and international issues of concern to the Polish community, the paper continues today as the | | In Her Own Right: Women Asserting Their Civil Rights, 1820-1920 | | Showcases Philadelphia-area collections highlighting women’s struggle leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment. | | FBI Medgar Evers files | | Files held by the FBI on the Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers and his assassination on the 12th June 1963. | | Founders and Survivors | | Founders & Survivors is a partnership between historians, genealogists, demographers and population health researchers. It seeks to record and study the founding population of 73,000 men women and children who were transported to Tasmania. | | Forward to Freedom | | A history and materials related to the British anti-apartheid movement 1959-1995 | | Georgian Papers Online | | The Georgian Papers Programme will make available online the historic manuscripts, both official and private, relating to the Georgian monarchy held in the Royal Archives and Royal Library, in addition to relevant collections held by King's College London, by the year 2024. | | Imperial War Museum collections | | Explore around 800,000 items that tell the story of modern war and conflict, collected by the museum since 1917. | | Independent Voices | | An open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century. | | IPUMS | | IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community contexts. Data and services available free of charge. | | A Journal of the Plague Year: an archive of Covid 19 | | Join us in documenting our uncertain moment. We are acting not just as historians, but as chroniclers, recorders, memoirists, as image collectors. We invite you to and impressions of how CoVid19 has affected our lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary, including the ways things haven't changed at all. | | LSE Economic History Digital Collection | | Provides access to some recent digitisation of UK statistical publications on an open government license | | Marxist Internet Archive | | Sites includes information on Marxist thinkers, excerpts of their writing and events in the Left during the 19th and 20th century. | | The Palestinian Digital Archive | | Illuminates over 200 years of the Palestinian narrative for posterity and those interested in Palestinian history wherever they happen to be with a collection nearing 70,000 endangered objects ranging from photographs and documents to artworks and posters. | | Papers Past | | Online collection of New Zealand newspapers. | | Livingstone Online: illuminating imperial exploration | | Livingstone Online is a digital museum and library that allows users to encounter the written, visual, and material legacies of the famous Victorian explorer (1813-73). | | The Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives (MIDAS) | | MIDAS, the Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives ( ), is a crowd-sourced, public access digital archive of historical documents from Mexican intelligence agencies. | | Official Gazettes and Civil Society Information | | A collection of official gazettes and other key historical government documentation from countries where the integrity of the public record is known to be at risk. | | Slavery and Manumission Manuscripts of Timbuktu | | Arabic nineteenth-century manuscripts relating to slavery and manumission in Timbuktu provide documentation on Africans in slavery in Muslim societies. From the Bibliothèque Commémorative Mama Haidara in Timbuktu, Mali. | | Spare Rib Project | | Explore digitised images from this ground-breaking feminist 20th-century magazine. | | Theatregoing: Eyewitness accounts of going to a show | | Documented experiences of theatre visits from the 16th Century to the Modern Day. | | Union Makes Us Strong | | Includes the MS of The RaggedTrousered Philanthropists | | Queen Victoria's Scrapbook | | | | William Godwin's Diary | | Digital edition of the diary of William Godwin (1756-1836) | | University of Southampton Special Collections | | Includes Duke of Wellington and Palmerston | | Williams, Wendy. | | Report concerning the UK government's wrongful detention and deportation of British-born subjects and descendents of the Windrush generation. | | Wilson Centre Digital Archive | | The Digital Archive contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe, uncovering new sources and providing fresh insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy. | | Windrush Stories | | Over 60 digitised items | | Women Writers in Review | | is a collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century reviews, publication notices, literary histories, and other texts responding to works by early women writers. | National and International Organisations | Digital Archive of the Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive | | This site currently includes over 10 million scanned images of documents from the National Police Historical Archive. This digital archive mirrors and extends the physical archive that remains preserved in Guatemala as an important historical patrimony of the Guatemalan people. | | Eastview Information Services | dlib.eastview.com/login | free access to Pravda and other Russian and Chinese publications until 31 July 2020 (registration required) | | European Union: Official Journal of the European Union | | Digital copies of the starting in 1952 are available here. | | US Government Printing Office | | Details of how to access US Gov. Printing Office materials via explore.bl.uk. | | NATO Archives Online | | Explore the first 10 years of the Alliance’s history through the Committee documents of the North Atlantic Council and its sub-committees, the Military Committee and its working groups, as well as a complete collection of NATO Publications. | | CIA Freedom of Information Reading Room | | Do UFOs fascinate you? Are you a history buff who wants to learn more about the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam or the A-12 Oxcart? | | League of Nations Digital Archive | | Access to the League of Nations Archives Project (LONTAD) will ensure state-of-the-art free online access and the digital and physical preservation of approximately 15 million pages, or almost three linear kilometres, the entirety of the archives of the League of Nations (1920-1946). | | Hansard | | Hansard is a “substantially verbatim” report of what is said in Parliament. Members’ words are recorded, and then edited to remove repetitions and obvious mistakes, albeit without taking away from the meaning of what is said. Hansard also reports decisions taken during a sitting and records how Members voted to reach those decisions in Divisions. | | UK Legislation 1267-2020 | | Anglo-American Legal Tradition | | Over 9 million images of manuscripts held at the National Archives UK, spanning 1176 to the end of Queen Victoria's reign; contains more than purely legal history. | | Baden-Powell Papers | | Collection of Lord Baden-Powell's papers held at Bringham Young University. | | Boehm-Casement Papers | | This collection consists largely of letters from Roger Casement to Captain Hans Boehm, during Casement's stay in Germany in 1915, as well as some associated material (photographs, medals) relating to his first contact with the German authorities in November and December 1914 and the formation of the Irish Brigade in 1915. | | Brexit Talks | | A collection of videos where a cross-section of people living and working in London reflect on Brexit and its impact on the capital. | | Britain and UK Handbooks, 1954-2005 | | Digitised collection held in the National Library of Scotland. | | Britain at Work | | Materials related to memories of people at work between 1945-1995. | | British History Online | | British History Online is a not-for-profit digital library based at the . It brings together material for British history from the collections of libraries, archives, museums and academics. These primary and secondary sources, which range from medieval to twentieth century, are easily searchable and browsable online. | | British Political Speech | | Texts of speeches given by Conservative, Labour and Liberal/Liberal Democrat Party leaders going back to 1895. | | Charles Booth's London (LSE) | | Charles Booth's London enables you to search the catalogue of over 450 original notebooks from the (1886-1903), view 41 digitised notebooks and explore the London poverty maps. | | Connected Histories | | Connected Histories brings together a range of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain with a single federated search that allows sophisticated searching of names, places and dates. | | Georgian Papers Online | | The Georgian Papers Programme will make available online the historic manuscripts, both official and private, relating to the Georgian monarchy held in the Royal Archives and Royal Library, in addition to relevant collections held by King's College London, by the year 2024. | | Gertrude Bell Archive | | Digital copies of the diaries, letters and photographs of the archaeologist and explorer Gertrude Bell. | | Grace's Guide | | Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in the UK. | | HistPop: the Online Historical Population Reports Website | | The Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937. | | Kevin Barry Papers | | A collection of material relating to Kevin Barry, who was executed for his part in the killing of three British soldiers in 1920. The collection includes material associated with his days at Belvedere College, his year as a medical student in UCD, and his brief time in custody at Mountjoy Prison before execution. | | Legacies of British Slave Ownership | | Includes data recording compensation paid to slave owners in Britain. | | Legislation.co.uk | | Legislation.gov.uk carries most (but not all) types of legislation and their accompanying explanatory documents from 1267 to the present day. | | Letters 1916-1923 | | Extensive online archive of letters highlighting the history of Ireland from the Easter Rising until the end of the Civil War. | | Lloyd's Register Foundation: Heritage and Education Centre | | This library provides links to a number of digitised works relevant to martime history and the history of marine engineering. | | Mass Observation Project (MOP) Database 1981+ | | Provides potential users of the MOP archive with information about the biographical/demographic characteristics and writing behaviours of individual Mass Observation Project writers. | | Moving Here | | Moving Here explores, records and illustrates why people came to England over the last 200 years and what their experiences were and continue to be. It offers free access, for personal and educational use, to an online catalogue of versions of original material related to migration history from local, regional and national archives, libraries and museums. | | NHS at 70 | | Since 2017 - supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund – ‘NHS at 70’ has worked across the UK, recording over 1000 interviews from patients, staff, policymakers and the public about experiences of health and the place of the NHS in everyday life and work. In March 2020 we adapted to remote interviews and have recorded over 400 interviews capturing experiences as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded. | | Old Bailey Online | | A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court. | | Prince Albert Project | | Online image and archive collections of Prince Albert (1819-1861) | | Queen Victoria's Journals | | Browsable by date or name, a collection of Queen Victoria’s journals digitised as well as a interactive timeline and illustrations from the journals. Images of the journals and typed up copies are available. | | RTÉ Archives: Easter Rising | | Online exhibition by RTÉ radio and television giving access to interviews of witnesses and participants of the 1916 Easter Rising. | | The Suffrage Interviews | | This is a collection of oral history interviews about the British first wave feminist movement. The interviews were conducted by the historian Brian Harrison between 1974 and 1981, as part of a project funded by the Social Science Research Council (he later extensively used these interviews in his book ' ' Oxford University Press 1987). The recordings were deposited with the Women’s Library in 1981 and the collection consists of 205 interviews with 183 individuals. | | UK Web Archive | | The UK Web Archive (UKWA) collects millions of websites each year, preserving them for future generations. Use this site to discover old or obsolete versions of UK websites, search the text of the websites and browse websites curated on different topics and themes. | | Warwick University Digital Collections: Racism and Xenophobia | | Collection includes 54 digitised documents from the late nineteenth century to the late 1960s highlighting the history of racism and xenophobia in Britain. | | Williams, Wendy. | | Report concerning the UK government's wrongful detention and deportation of British-born subjects and descendents of the Windrush generation. | | Windrush Stories | | Over 60 digitised items. | | (7th Feb. 1920-25th Jun. 1921) | | Digitised copies of the publication of the Workers' Committee of Scotland held in the Marx Memorial Library. | America, North | Adams Papers Digital Edition | | Provides access to the correspondence of the Adams family, including John and Abigail Adams and John Quincey Adams. | | Agents of Social Change: an online exhibition | | Includes digitised texts and photographs | | American Women Making History and Culture: 1963-1982 | | The American Women Making History and Culture: 1963-1982 collection includes 2,024 reel-to-reel tapes and 2,024 WAV files preserved as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives’ 2013-2016 “American Women Making History and Culture: 1963-1982” (“American Women”) preservation project. The recordings were selected as an “artificial collection” to document the Women’s movement and second-wave feminism as it was broadcast on the Pacifica network. | | American Political Prints 1766-1876 | | Large collection of early US political cartoons. | | Andrew Jackson Papers | | Digitised papers held at the Library of Congress | | Angela Davis ephemera collection | | Collection of 44 items about political activist, academic and author Prof. Angela Davis | | Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project | | Between 1865 and 1869, thousands of Chinese migrants toiled at a grueling pace and in perilous working conditions to help construct America’s first Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University seeks to give a voice to the Chinese migrants whose labor on the Transcontinental Railroad helped to shape the physical and social landscape of the American West. The Project, co-directed by Professors Gordon H. Chang and Shelley Fisher Fishkin, coordinates research in North America and Asia to create an online digital archive available to all, along with books, digital visualizations, conferences, and public events. | | Chronicling America | | Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. | | Civil Rights Digital Library | | Resource portal for items on the US Civil Rights Movement. | | Civil Rights Oral History Collection | | This site focuses on Washington state residents with ties to the Civil Rights Movement. | | A Conversation with Betty Friedan | | Interview held in 2005 at the Library of Congress. | | Cornell Hip Hop Collections | | Established in 2007, the Cornell Hip Hop Collection preserves more than 250,000 items across dozens of archives documenting the origins of Hip Hop culture and its spread around the globe. | | Digital Public Library of America: Native American collection | | Over 500 texts and 10,000 images available. | | DocsTeach | | DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives. | | Documenting the American South | | Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs. | | Documents Relating to Indian Affairs | | The collection currently includes Documents Relating to the Negotiation of Ratified and Unratified Treaties With Various Indian Tribes, 1801-1869 and the Office of Indian Affairs, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. | | The Equal Rights Amendment: digital source set | | Selection of digitised sources hosted by the Digital Public Library of America | | FBI W.E.B. Du Bois files | | Files held by the FBI on W.E.B. du Bois. | | FBI Medgar Evers files | | Files held by the FBI on the Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers and his assassination on the 12th June 1963. | | Founders Online | | Provides access to the published papers of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. | | Freedom on the Move | | A database of fugitives from American Slavery. | | La Gazette Royale d'Hayti Project | | Digitised collection including: 19th century Haitian almanacs. Gazette Officielle de l'etat d'Hayti (1807-11) Gazette Royale d'Hayti (1813-20) | | Georgetown Slavery Archive | | A repository of materials relating to the Maryland Jesuits, Georgetown University, and slavery. | | Ida B. Wells and anti-lynching activism | | Small selection of sources and images and links to addtional sources on the life of Ida B. Wells and her anti-lynching campaigns. | | In Her Own Right: Women Asserting Their Civil Rights, 1820-1920 | | Showcases Philadelphia-area collections highlighting women’s struggle leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment. | | Independent Voices | | An open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century. | | Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project | | Search the published volumes of the for transcribed (sometimes digitisted) copies of his correspondence. | | The Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives (MIDAS) | | MIDAS, the Mexican Intelligence Digital Archives ( ), is a crowd-sourced, public access digital archive of historical documents from Mexican intelligence agencies. | | National Security Archive - the Virtual Reading Room | | Makes available over six thousand documents on US foreign relations. | | The Niagara Movement Digital Archive | | A selection of digitised sources about the Niagara Movements and its influence from 1905 to 1914. | | No Safe Space | | Transcript of interview with Gloria Steinem. | | Presidential Campaign 1972 | | 25 minutes of film clips from the 1972 presidential campaign. | | Primary Source Spotlight: Shirley Chisholm | | Selection of sources by and about U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. | | Public Papers of the Presidents | | Digitised papers from Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton held by the University of Michigan. | | Riots and Rebellions | | Online collection created by the National Library of Jamaica bringing together a selection of materials on the Baptist War of 1831-2 and the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. | | Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection | | Includes thousands of digitised anti-slavery and abolitionist sources. | | The Sandino Rebellion, Nicaragua 1927-1934 | | This Website is envisioned as a comprehensive, interpretive, open-access digital archive on the nationalist rebellion against US military intervention in Nicaragua led by Augusto C. Sandino in the 1920s and '30s. | | Schlafly, Phyllis. | | Report produced by U.S. conservative Phyllis Schlafly | | Slave Societies Digital Archive | | The Slave Societies Digital Archive (formerly Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies), directed by Jane Landers and hosted at Vanderbilt University, preserves endangered ecclesiastical and secular documents related to Africans and African-descended peoples in slave societies. | | Toward Racial Equality: reports on Black America, 1857-1874 | | Image library of illustrations published in on the last years of US slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction. | | Treaties Explorer | | Part of the larger Indigenous Digital Archive, the IDA Treaties Explorer explains that while treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties. Here you can view them for the first time with key historic works that provide context to the agreements made and the histories of our shared lands. | | Vision Project | | YouTube channel which hosts recorded interviews with African Americans who shaped the history of the 20th century. | | Voices of Democracy: the U.S. Oratory Project | | Site includes transcripts of speeches, texts and lists of further resources. | | Women's Libraration Movement Digital Collection | | This collection housed in Duke University Library contains manifestos, speeches, essays, and other materials documenting various aspects of the Women's Movement in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. | The Middle East | Arabic Collections Online | | (ACO) is a publicly available digital library of public domain Arabic language content. ACO currently provides digital access to 10,042 volumes across 6,265 subjects drawn from rich Arabic collections of distinguished research libraries. | | Gertrude Bell Archive | | Letters, diaries and photographs from the British archaeologist who travelled extensively throughout the Middle East and Iran. | | Institute for Palestine Studies - Digital Projects | | The Institute for Palestine Studies has assembled a number of databases and collections of documents on the question of Palestine that constitute a rich source of information for researchers and scholars. (Resources in Arabic and English) | | Iranian Oral History Project | | The collection consists of the personal accounts of 134 individuals who played major roles in or were eyewitnesses to important political events in Iran from the 1920s to the 1980s. Of these, 118 narratives have been digitized and are available to researchers through this database. | | Israel's Foreign Policy - Historical Documents | | Published by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these are documents (official statements, press conferences, interview, letters, etc.) relating to Israel's foreign relations from 1947-2004. | | The Middle East, 1916-2001 : a documentary record | | Government documents, transcripts of speeches by government leaders and UN resolutions. Arranged by year. | | The Palestinian Oral History Archive | | The Palestinian Oral History Archive is a project to digitize, index, catalog, preserve, and provide access (through a searchable digital platform) to an archival collection of around 1,000 hours of testimonies with first generation Palestinians and other Palestinian communities in Lebanon. | | The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook | | Brings together five briefing books previously published by the National Security Archive into one searchable file of primary sources. These include "Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction," "Eyes on Saddam," "Alleged Iraqi War Criminals in 1992," "Operation Desert Storm," and "Shaking Hands with Saddam: U.S. Policy before the Gulf War." | | Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran | | Explore the lives of women during the Qajar era (1796-1925) through a wide array of materials from private family holdings and participating institutions. Women’s Worlds in Qajar Iran provides bilingual access to thousands of personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, publications, everyday objects, works of art and audio materials, making it a unique online resource for social and cultural histories of the Qajar world. | Garden HistoryDigital collections and archives. | Biodiversity Heritage Library | | Digitised copies of books, journals and papers from a consortium of natural history libraries. Search by author, title or date of publication. | | Catena: digital archive of historic gardens and landscapes | | The primary mission of Catena, the Digital Archive of Historic Gardens and Landscapes, is to fill a void in American higher education by assembling a searchable collection of historic and contemporary images that include plans, engravings, paintings, and photographs. | | Historic England Archaeological Research Reports | | Many archaeological reports available to download here. | Individual Digitised Sources | Blomfield, Reginald. The formal garden in England | | | | Brown, Capability. Account Book | | | | Evelyn, John. Sylva; or, A discourse of forest-trees and the propagation of timer. | | | | Furber, Robert. A short introduction to gardening. | | | | Hill, Thomas. The gardeners labyrinth | | | | Jekyll, Gertrude. Colour in the flower garden. | | | | Marshall, Charles. An introduction to the knowledge and practice of gardening | | | | Meager, Leonard. The English gardener, or, A sure guide to young planters and gardeners | | | | Rea, John. Flora: seu, do florum cultura. Or a complete florilege | | | | Repton, Humphry. Observations on the theory and practice of landscape gardening | | | Online Reference Works | | | | | Parks and Gardens | | Extensive database of British and Irish parks and gardens browsable by name, area, period, heritage organisation, etc. Includes former parks and gardens which have now been lost. | | Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest | | The National Heritage List for England is the only official and up to date database of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England. Search by place, post code or listing number, or use the advanced search for more options. | Periods and Styles | Medieval Gardens to c. 1400 | | | | Albertus Magnus. De Vegetabilibus | | Pdf of the Latin text. | | Capitulare des Villis | | This decree issued by Charlemage towards the end of the 8th century describes, in an idealised form, the management of royal estates. | | Geoponika | Volume 1. Volume 2. | 10th cenury compilation of earlier Byzantine works on agriculture, gardening and botany. | | Plan of St. Gall | | The Plan of St. Gall is the earliest preserved and most extraordinary visualization of a building complex produced in the Middle Ages. Drawn and annotated on five pieces of parchment sewn together, the St. Gall Plan is 112 cm x 77.5 cm and includes the ground plans of some forty structures as well as gardens, fences, walls, a road, and an orchard. | | Strabo, Walafrid. Hortulus | | Digital edition with facing English translation of Walafrid Strabo's 9th century poem describing his monastic garden at Reichenau. | | Gardens from c. 1400-c. 1700 | | | | Alberti, Leon Battista. De Re Aedificatoria | | Digitised copy published in 1485 of Alberti's treatise on the ideal villa and garden. | | Bacon, Francis. On Gardens | | 1902 edition of Bacon's essay. | | Hill, Thomas. The Profitable Art of Gardening | | 1579 edition. | | Palladio, Andrea. I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura. | | Although one of the most influential works on western architecture it also considers garden design. | | East Asian Garden History and Design | | | | Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Qing) | | The legend of Mount Penglai influenced Chinese garden design from the Qin onwards. | | Peng, Y. Zhongguo gudian yuanlin fenxi (1984) | | Although a secondary work on classical Chinese design it includes garden plans and illustrations. Digital copy of the 1984 edition. | Local HistoryUnited kingdom. | | | | | Archaeology Data Service | | | | Atlas of Hillforts in Great Britain and Ireland | | Includes 4,147 sites across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (1,224 in England). For each site details of archaeological investigation, secondary literature (including early editions of the VCH, with correct page references) are provided. | | British Association for Local History (BALH) including their journal | The Local Historian
| Back issues of their excellent journal, , temporarily available for free online. They also publish a [printed] guide to internet sources for local historians. | | British and Irish Furniture Makers Online | | Online resource for British and Irish furniture makers from the beginning of the 16th century to the onset of the Great War. | | British History Online | | Entire content free to all users to 30 September 2020. | | The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure | | Population research, techniques and datasets. | | Churchwardens' Accounts of England and Wales | | A searchable national database of all surviving churchwardens' accounts in England and Wales from the earliest known sets (c.1300) to c.1850. | | Commercial Motor Magazine Archive | | A useful free resource providing detail of the road transport industry both passenger and freight. | | From Great War to Race Riots | | Digital project investigating the race riots of 1919 and the murder of Charles Wootton. Includes a digital archive of selected documents. | | GENUKI Reference Library | | GENUKI provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland. | | Grace's Guide | | Grace’s Guide is a free-content not-for-profit project dedicated to publishing the history of industry in the UK and elsewhere. Includes trade journals. | | Historical Directories of England and Wales, 1760s-1910s | | Digitised copies of selected directories held by the University of Leicester library. | | Industrial Heritage Online (IHO) | | The aim of IHO is to provide free web access to information about Industrial Heritage Sites. IHO is a fully searchable database, that has been developed by a group of Industrial History Societies, and which aims to provide an on-line repository for members' knowledge, photographs research notes, audio, and sound recording of industrial sites, artefacts and processes. It is hoped that, in time, this will become a comprehensive record of our shared Industrial Heritage and an invaluable resource to everyone researching the development of Industry. | | Integrated Census Microdata | | This purpose-built system can be used to filter the database of over 180 million census records for censuses between 1851 and 1911 based on 20 key variables, then download the resulting data table of individual census records with 100+ variables per record. Note that the county breakdown is for the ‘census’ county and that some communities may not be in the county expected. Especially useful is the availability of occupation data, a great boon for work on economic and social history. | | Legacies of British Slave Ownership | | Includes data recording compensation paid to slave owners in Britain. | | Library of Rural and Agricultural Literature | | Over 700 items. Password available on application. | | Magic Map (DEFRA) | | DEFRA-produced map based on modern OS data with local authority boundaries, aerial photographs, landscape typology and land use. More accurate than Google mapping and can be printed out for use with fieldwork, etc. | | Medieval Genealogy | | Does far more than the name suggests, including links to online sources, guides to what they contain and primary documents in translation. | | Making Britain: discover how South Asians shaped the nation, 1870-1950 | | This online database provides information about South Asians in Britain from 1870 to 1950, the organizations they were involved in, their British connections, and the major events in which they participated. Designed as an interactive tool, it offers engaging and innovative search and browsing options, including a timeline, location maps, and network diagrams modelled on social networking sites which demonstrate South Asians' interactions and relationships in Britain at the time. Some entries have extracts from archival sources with explanation of their content and relevance. | | Railway Work, Life and Death project | | Dataset and analysis of railway worker accidents in Britain and Ireland from the late 1880s to 1939. We’re providing data about who was involved, what they were doing on the railways, what happened to them and why. | | Society for all British and Irish Road Enthusiasts (SABRE) | | Changes to roads and classifications of them assembled by SABRE are invaluable: useful Wiki with dates of construction, opening and closure with bypass schemes, junctions and other details. | | Trade Directories: Open Bibliography | | An open bibliography for anyone using trade and local directories in their research or teaching. It is a companion to the collection hosted by University of Leicester Special Collections Online (also included in this guide) | | UK Data Service | | Explore the UK’s largest collection of social, economic and population data resources. | | A Vision of Britain through Time | | Population and other statistic with boundaries of parishes and local government units. | | | | | | Anti-Chinese articles from | 27th June 1913
1st May 1914
27th May 1914
12th June 1914
| A series of racist articles directed at Chinese communities and workers published in the newspaper of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union between 1913-1914. | | England’s Immigrants | | A fully-searchable database containing over 64,000 names of people known to have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation. | | Extensive Urban Surveys (EUS) | | The Extensive Urban Surveys (EUS) project is part of a national programme of surveys of the archaeology, topography and historic buildings of England’s historic towns and cities, supported by English Heritage. | | Historic England National List | | Interrogate Historic England's database of designation and listing descriptions, along with crowdsourced images. | | Know Your Place West | | Coverage of the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire and Devon (and the unitary authorities in ‘CUBA’ – Counties that Used to Be Avon: North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire) including, for most of the area, georectified Tithe Maps, with overlays of OS and other mapping with information from various local authority and personal local history data interposed. | | Moving Here | | Moving Here explores, records and illustrates why people came to England over the last 200 years and what their experiences were and continue to be. It offers free access, for personal and educational use, to an online catalogue of versions of original material related to migration history from local, regional and national archives, libraries and museums. (This project is archived but no longer maintained by the National Archives). | | Post-Windrush: African Caribbean migration between 1948-1957 | | Give access to six documents found in Warwick University Library. | | | | | | National Library of Scotland Digital Resources | | To access some resources you may need to join the NLS online. | | National Library of Scotland Maps | | Home of open access historic mapping from the Ordnance Survey and others with lots of interpretative tools. | | Scotland's People | | Genealogical databases are free to search. Registration is required and there are fees to downloading digital copies of the documents themselves. | | Scottish Economic History Database, 1550-1780 | | Site provides data on Scottish economic history from 1550-1780 organised by crop yields, demographic data, price series, wage series and weather statistics. | | Scottish Post Office Directories | | Over 700 digitised directories covering most of Scotland and dating from 1773 to 1911 are available here for you to use. | | The Scottish Register of Tartans | | Register contains thousands of tartan designs that are free to access and can be searched by date, name, colours and keywords. Free to search without registering. | | The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563-1736 | | Database of the 4,000 known to be accused of witchcraft in Scotland. Includes and interactive database and supporting webpages. Provided by the University of Edinburgh. | | Women's History Scotland - Resources | | Resource List | | | | | | Stormont Papers | | Parliamentary Debates of the devolved government of Northern Ireland from June 7 1921 to the dissolution of Parliament in March 28 1972. | | | | | | The Blue Books of 1847 | | Series of reports conducted in the mid-nineteenth century on education in Wales. | | Cymru 1914: y Rhyfel byd Cyntaf a'r Profiad Cymreig | | This digital archive is the output of a large-scale digitization project. Here you will find a collection of primary sources from Welsh libraries and archives. The project provides a digital collection which reveals the hidden history of the First World War and shows how the history affected life, language and culture in Wales. The project has collected scattered and often inaccessible material in one place to create a unique digital archive of interest to researchers, students and the public in Wales and beyond. | | Davies, Walter. Board of Agriculture reports | | Three digitised volumes of the agricultural reports produced by Walter Davies in the early nineteenth century. | | Dictionary of Welsh Biography | | This website contains over five thousand concise biographies of individuals who have made a significant contribution to national life, whether in Wales or more widely. | | GPM Gogledd Cymru=North Wales BMD | | Searchable database of births, marriages and deaths from the nineteenth century. | | Welsh Almanac Collection | | Gives access to digitial copies of Welsh alamanacs from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. | | Welsh Journals Online | | Welsh Journals provides access to journals relating to Wales published between 1735-2007. Titles range from academic and scientific publications to literary and popular magazines. | | Welsh Newspapers Online | | is a free online resource from the National Library of Wales where you can discover millions of articles from the Library’s rich collection of historical newspapers. | | Welsh Tithe Maps | | Search and browse over 300,000 entries and their accompanying apportionment documents using original and present-day maps. | Individual Counties and Metropolitan Districts (England) | | | | | Cheshire Tithe Maps Online | | Overlay of tithe maps (1836-51) with a selection of OS maps and aerial surveys. | | Mapping Medieval Chester | | This project brings together scholars working in the disciplines of literary studies, geography, archaeology and history to explore how material and imagined urban landscapes construct and convey a sense of place-identity. The focus of the project is the city of Chester and the identities that its inhabitants formed between c.1200 and 1500. | | Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society | | Selected volumes available between 1886 to 2013. | | VCH Cheshire. Volume 5 (The City of Chester) | Part 1
Part 2
| Part 1. General History and Topography. Part 2. Culture, Buildings, Institutions. | | | | | | Cornish Archaeology=Hendhyscans Kernow | | Publication of the Cornish Archaeology Society. Vols 1-49 (1962-2010) available in pdf format. | | Cornwall Online Census Project | | Although the project ended in 2008 it has useful information on Cornish Census data from 1841 to 1901. | | | | | | Cumbria Image Bank | | Image library including maps. | | Otley, Jonathan. | | 4 edition (1830) | | | | | | Derbyshire Archaeological Journal | | Volumes available 1879-2014. | | Derbyshire Heritage Mapping Portal | | The portal contains selected historical maps of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The maps can be overlaid on a current Ordnance Survey map to see how the area has developed over the past 200 years. | | Derbyshire Prisoner Records | | A database of Derbyshire prisoners between 1729 and 1913. | | | | | | Devon's World War One Roll of Honour Project | | This project provides access to the World War One Roll of Honour held in the Devon Heritage Centre. | | Eighteenth Century Devon: People and Communities | | Project provides access to transcribed copies of the Devon and Exeter Oath Rolls, 1723, the Episcopal Visitation Returns of 1749 and 1779 and Devonshire Freeholders 1711-1799. | | | | | | Archaeologia Aeliana | | Volumes available 1822-2014. | | Coal Mining Oral History | | Oral history archive devoted to County Durham's mining history. | | Durham Probate Records 1540-1599 | | Wills and inventories held by Durham University Library. | | Durham University Gazette | | Selected issues from 1953 to 1986. | | Durham University Journal | | Selected issues from 1876 to 1973. | | Pictures in Print | | A collaborative project to create a union catalogue, with viewable images, of printed maps and topographical prints of County Durham created before 1860. | | Surtees Society: selected volumes | | Selected volumes hosted on the archive.org site. | | | | | | Essex Place Names Database | | The Essex Place-names database contains names of fields, roads, inns, houses, farms, manors, places, rivers, streams, woods, etc, and names of owners, tenants, landlords, parties to agreements etc, recorded from historic documents such as Tithe Awards, Rental Agreements, Surveys, Maps, Rolls, Inquisitions, Deeds, Charters. | | | | | | Historical Association (Bristol Branch) Pamphlets | | The site gives access to digital copies of historical pamphlets of the HA Bristol branch produced between 1960 and 2007. | | | | | | Hampshire History Resources Guide | | Portal to hundreds of links to local historical societies and resources about the history of Hampshire | | | | | | MEMSLib Medieval and Early Modern Canterbury and Kent Resource Page | | Research portal of resources freely available for the history of Kent and Canterbury from 597 to 1597. | | | | | | Bolton Worktown: photography and archives from Mass Observation | | Primarily a photo library, with a selection of digitised documents. | | Liverpool History Projects | | Hosts a number of databases on Liverpools history. | | Peterloo Digital Collection | | Selection of documents digitised by the University of Manchester. | | Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society | | Selected volumes available between 1886 to 2013. | | VCH Lancashire, Volumes 2-8 | | Available via | | | | | | Bulletin of the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society | | 1958-1991 | | | | | | Yellow Belly Index | | This database is an index of Lincolnshire people. Unlike the people in the parish records, census or strays this list contains people who appear in any record related to Lincolnshire. | | | | | | 1958 Riots | | This page gives access to a number of digitised documents concerning the Notting Hill Riots of August and September 1958. | | Black and Asian People discovered in records held in the Manuscripts Section, Guildhall Library | | List of Black and Asian people found in London parish registers found in Guildhall Library. | | Charles Booth's London (LSE) | | Charles Booth's London enables you to search the catalogue of over 450 original notebooks from the (1886-1903), view 41 digitised notebooks and explore the London poverty maps. | | Everyday Muslim: Exploring the diversity of Black British Muslim heritage in London | | Selected written and oral sources are available through this site. | | Grunwick Remembered | | Here you can find a number of recorded interviews about the Grunwick Strike of August 1976, including reflections from the strike leader Jayaben Desai. | | Jewish East London | | This page give access to a handful of digitised documents highlighting the history of Jewish communities in East London in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. | | Layers of London | | Layered historical mapping and associated collections for all of London’s 36 boroughs (many formerly parts of Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Hertfordshire and Essex). | | Medieval Londoners | | This website introduces resources available for research about medieval London and its people, focusing not only on documentary and narrative sources in print, but also archaeological, visual, and cartographic sources that illuminate the physical and material world inhabited by medieval Londoners. An important component of the website is the (MLD), which records the activities of London residents between c. 1100 and 1520, and is searchable by name, gender, citizenship status, location (ward, parish, and street if available), craft, occupation, civic office, and craft office, among other variables. | | | | | | Norfolk Archaeology | | Journal dates available: 1847-2005 | | Norfolk Transcription Archive | | Includes indexed transcriptions of Norfolk Parish Registers, Archdeacon's Transcripts, Census and many other documents. | | | | | | Archaeologia Aeliana | | Volumes available 1822-2014. | | Dukefield Documents | | Transcriptions of documents show-casing the history of lead smelting in the North-East. | | Early deeds relating to Newcastle upon Tyne | | Surtees Society publication, 1924. | | Northumberland Communities | | Provides information on 77 of Northumberland's towns, villages and hamlets with a selection of online sources for each. | | Speeches delivered by Joseph Cowen, as candidate for Newcastle-upon-Tyne a the General Election, 1885 | | Published: Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Andrew Reid, 1885. | | Surtees Society: selected volumes | | Selected volumes hosted on the archive.org site. | | | | | | Staffordshire Past Track | | Database makes available maps, documents and photographs on the history of Staffordshire. | | Stoke-on-Trent Archaeology: unpublished reports | | 1995-2017 available to download. | | VCH Staffordshire: selected volumes | | Volumes 3, 5, 7-9, 14 and 17 available via | | | | | | Ipswich 1974-1990 Excavation Archive | | Interactive map of archaeological excavations in Ipswich between 1974 and 1990 together with downloads of data from the reports they produced. | | Ipswich Maritime Trust: Image Archive | | Hosted on Flickr, over 2000 photographs show-casing Ipswich's 19th and 20th century maritime history. | | Suffolk Archives: Digital Exhibitions | | A number of exhibitions show-casing items found in Suffolk Archives. | | Understanding Ipswich: Historical Sources | | Site discusses the various types of sources that can be used while researching Ipswich's history. | | | | | | Bradfer-Lawrence Collection | | Selections from the collection of the antiquarian Harry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence. | | From Weaver to Web: online visual archive of Calderdale history | | Image library of 23,000 items documenting Calderdale's history. | | Leeds General Cemetery Burial Registers | | The Leeds General Cemetery Burial Registers Index is a database of transcriptions of all entries in the burial registers of the Leeds General Cemetery. The registers hold information on each person buried at the cemetery, covering the period 1835-1992. There are 97,112 entries in the index. Digital images of the registers are available to view alongside the transcribed data. | | West Yorkshire Tithe Maps | | Created by the West Yorkshire Archive Service, this site currently provides free access to tithe maps of the Bradford district. | | Yorkshire Archaeological Journal (selected volumes) | | Volumes available: 1885, 1887-95, 1897-1907, 1909-1918, 1920-22, 1924-43, 1945-46, 1948-53, 1955-56, 1958-59, 1962, 1966-67. | Individual Counties and Metropolitan Districts (Scotland) | | | | | Mounthooly Smallpox Hospital: list of patients 1872-1875 | | The register is primarily of interest to those pursuing family history. It provides details of the four hundred inhabitants admitted to the hospital during in the epidemics, including whether or not the patient died. As the register also notes the occupation and place of residence of each patient, it can also be used to trace the progress of the disease through families in the crowded courts of Victorian Aberdeen, the status of those affected and the level of mortality in each outbreak. | | Pitsligo School Logbook 1874-1912 | | The log book provides a detailed account of daily life in a nineteenth-century rural school in north-east Scotland. It gives the names and duties of the headteacher, pupil teachers and monitors, and contains copies of the annual inspection reports from 1875 to 1909. | | | | | | Smith, James. | | A rare journal of a nineteenth century Dundee stonemason | | | | | | Beattie, Thomas. / edited by Edward J. Cowan | | Freely available e-book published by the European Ethnological Research Centre. | | Cavan, John. / edited by Peter Didsbury | | Freely available e-book published by the European Ethnological Research Centre. | | / transcribed and edited by Lynne J. M. Longmore. | | Freely available e-book published by the European Ethnological Research Centre. | | / edited by Willie Waugh | | Freely available e-book published by the European Ethnological Research Centre. | | | | | | Kilsyth Heritors' Minutes 1813-1844 | | Transcripts of minute book from Kilsyth parish. | | | | | | Cess book for the county of Lanarkshire 1724-1725 | | Digital copy of early 18th century Lanarkshire tax records. | | | | | | Wallace, James. (1684) | | Digitised manuscript copy of Wallace's work which would be later published in 1693. | | | | | | Lieutenancy book, county of Roxburgh, 1797-1802 | | This volume from Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre, includes a list of men, organised by parish, who were ballotted to serve in the militia between 1797-1802 in Roxburghshire. | | | | | | Mathewson, Thomas. c. 1889-1890 | | The notes are about local antiquarian matters. They comprise anecdotes about local people and families, and archaeological matters, mainly about Yell, sometimes with a genealogical tinge. The notebook is an important corpus of inforfmation about local antiquarian matters not otherwise dealt with in documents. There is a strong oral tinge to the collections - something that was becoming popular among antiquarians in Shetland in the late nineteenth century. | Individual Counties and Metropolitan Districts (Wales) | | | | | Skinner, John. | | Digital copy hosted on archive.org | | Transactions of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society (selected volumes) | | Volumes scanned include those from the years 1913-14 and 1920-1930 including | | | | | | Chartist Trial Documents | | This project aims to transcribe more than 3,000 documents that were gathered together shortly after the Chartist uprising that took place in Newport on 3rd and 4th November 1839. Digital images of many of the documents are accesible through this site. | | | | | | Workhouse Drawings Collection | | Collections of plans mainly of the workhouse built in Mallow, County Cork, held by University College Dublin. | | | | | | County Tyrone Resources | | Website with transcriptions useful to genealogists and historians covering not only County Tyrone but also Antrim, Fermanagh and (London)Derry and Donegal. | | Ulster Towns Directory | | Database created from the Ulster and Belfast Towns Directory (1910) | | | | | | Wexford County Archive: Digital Projects | | List of projects including digitised records, diaries and maps. | United States | | | | | Birmingham Public Library: Digital Collections | | Digital library of resources about the history of Birmingham, Alabama. | | | | | | Digital Library of Georgia | | The Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative based at the University of Georgia Libraries that collaborates with Georgia's Libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. | | | | | | Logan, Daniel. (1907) | | Digital Copy from the collections of the Library of Congress. | | | | | | New Mexico Digital Collections | | New Mexico Digital Collections is the central search portal for digital collections about New Mexico. | | | | | | 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission | | "The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission will leverage the history surrounding the events of nearly 100 years ago by developing programs, projects, events and activities to commemorate and inform. We will remember the victims and survivors, and create an environment conducive to fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and heritage tourism within the Greenwood District specifically, and North Tulsa." | | Parrish, Mary E. Jones. | | Digital copy. | | Tulsa Race Massacre | | Collection of 326 digitised documents from the Greenwood Massacre of 1921. | | Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 | | Photographic collection curated by Oklahoma State University Library. | | Tulsa Race Riot Documents | | Documents gathered and digitised by the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum. | | | | Report created in 2001. | | | | | | Bexar Archive Online | | The Bexar Archives are the official Spanish documents that preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas. Both in their volume and breadth of subject matter, the Bexar Archives are the single most important source for the history of Hispanic Texas up to 1836. | | Texas Slavery Project | | Includes transcriptions of primary sources about slavery in Texas between 1820 and 1850. |  LGBTIQ+ History | Digital Transgender Archive | | The purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world. | | LGBT Religious Archives Network: Oral Histories | | This page provides in-depth interviews with more than 40 early leaders of LGBTQ+ religious movements. | European LGBTIQ+ History | Gay Liberation Front Manifesto (rev. ed. 1978) | | Transcribed text of the 1978 edition. | | Homosexuality in 18th century England: a sourcebook | | Compiled by Rictor Norton | | Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals (Online Exhibition) | | Online exhibition curated by the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum. | | West Yorkshire Queer Stories | | From 2018-2020, West Yorkshire Queer Stories collected more than 200 interviews about LGBTIQ+ life across the region. You can visit the website wyqs.co.uk to listen to these stories, read transcripts and blogs and watch newly commissioned short films. | North American LGBTIQ+ History | Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony | | The Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony collects and makes available the oral histories of people who presently or at one time identified as same-sex and same-gender attracted women. | | Bay Area Reporter | | Selected issues (1514 items) of the Bay Area Reporter hosted on Archive.org from 1971 to 2005. | | Black Light Online | | Includes selected articles from the Black Light publication. | | FBI Documents 1953-1956: Mattacine Society | | | | FBI Documents 1971-1976: Gay Activist Alliance | | | | GLBT Historical Society Online Collections | | Digitised library of sources from the GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco. | | Lesbian Herstory Archive Photographic Collection | | The Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York is home to the largest collections of materials about lesbians in the world. Our photo collection, which we are now starting to digitize, holds tens of thousands of images, and reflects the growth of the Archives since 1974. Many of the 664 items showcased here came to us from women who simply wanted their images saved, their lives remembered. The collection holds snapshots, professional photography, found images and everything in between. | | ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives: Digitised Collections | | ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives is the oldest active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ) organization in the United States and the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world. A small subset of this material has been digitized and is available online. | | Stonewall and its impact of the Gay Liberation Movement | | Handful of sources (written, visual and audio) | | University of Minnesota Trans, Non-Binary and Gender Fluid Oral History Archive | | | HIV/AIDS and LGBTIQ+ Communities | ACT UP and the Aids Crisis | | Small collection of written and visual sources. | | AIDS Posters: Wellcome Collection | | Over 3000 digitised public health posters relating to AIDS, from 99 countries, are freely available to view and download. | | Oral Histories of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco | | | Medical History | Library of Congress: Chinese Medical Manuscripts | | Small collection of twelve medical manuscripts dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. | | The Medical Heritage Library | | The Medical Heritage Library (MHL), a digital curation collaborative among some of the world’s leading medical libraries, promotes free and open access to over three-hundred thousand quality historical resources in medicine. | | Medicine in the Americas, 1610-1920: a digital library | | is a digital library project that makes freely available original works demonstrating the evolution of American medicine from colonial frontier outposts of the 17th century to research hospitals of the 20th century. | | NHS at 70 | | Since 2017 - supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund – ‘NHS at 70’ has worked across the UK, recording over 1000 interviews from patients, staff, policymakers and the public about experiences of health and the place of the NHS in everyday life and work. In March 2020 we adapted to remote interviews and have recorded over 400 interviews capturing experiences as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded. | | National Library of Medicine Digital Collections | | Digitized personal papers and organizational records documenting predominantly American medical practitioners, biomedical research and medical institutions. | | National Library of Medicine Oral History Collection | | The Archives and Modern Manuscript Program's (AMMP) Oral History Collections cover a broad range of topics, people and institutions from throughout the medical and health sciences. Chiefly from the 1960s to the present, the collections consist of interviews with physicians, scientists, government administrators, medical librarians, and health-business executives. | | Qatar Digital Library: Medicine | | Digital library of 72 manuscripts touching upon various subjects within Islamic medicine. | | Wellcome Library Digital Collections | Arabic Manuscripts
| The Library's digital collections cover a wide variety of topics, including asylums, food, sex and sexual health, genetics, public health and war. Published books, pamphlets, archives, posters, photographs, and film and sound recordings are completely free to view. Digitised materials are released under a variety of Creative Commons non-commercial, attribution and Public Domain licenses. | | Yale Medical Library Digital Collections | | Digitised collections in the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library. | Image Libraries | Anatomia: anatomical plates 1522-1867 | | This collection is comprised of more than 4,500 full-page plates and other important illustrations of human anatomy from the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Particularly useful is the “Highlights” section, which provides an introduction to works notable for its scientific or artistic merit. | | Historical Anatomies on the Web | | Historical Anatomies on the Web is a digital project designed to give Internet users access to high quality images from important anatomical atlases in the Library's collection. The project offers selected images from NLM's atlas collection, not the entire books, with an emphasis on images and not texts. Atlases and images are selected primarily for their historical and artistic significance, with priority placed upon the earliest and/or the best edition of a work in NLM's possession. | | National Library of Medicine Image Collections | | Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) in NLM Digital Collections provides online access to images from the historical collections of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. IHM includes image files of a wide variety of visual media including fine art, photographs, engravings, and posters that illustrate the social and historical aspects of medicine dating from the 15th to 21st century. | | Osler Library Prints Collection | | McGill University Library’s collection of 2,500 images provides a look at the history of medicine through the lens of popular imagery. The collection, which includes material from the 17th to the 20th century, is largely comprised of prints of portraits, but also contains photographs, cartoons, drawings, and posters. | Disease and Treatment | The American Influenza Empidemic of 1918: a digital encyclopedia | | An online reference work which also provides access to 1000s of documents and images detailing the history of the 1918 influenza epidemic in the United States. | | Cholera Online: a Modern Pandemic in Texts and Images | | Online exhibition from the National Library of Medicine with digital text and image library. | | The Discovery and Earlt Development of Insulin | | This site documents the initial period of the discovery and development of insulin, 1920-1925, at the University of Toronto. It presents over seven thousand page images reproducing original documents ranging from laboratory notebooks and charts, correspondence, writings, and published papers to photographs, awards, clippings, scrapbooks, printed ephemera and artifacts. | | International Leprosy Association - History of Leprosy | | Includes reference tools and interviews with those suffering from and treating Hansen's Disease. | | John Snow Archive and Research Companion | | Presents information on John Snow as well as a number of his works, including his work on cholera and public health. | | Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine | | Collection of thirteen digitised documents from the Eisenhower Library. | | League of Nations Malaria Documents | | Presents digitised copies of documents produced by the Malaria Commission between 1924 and 1932. | | Lowson, James A. | | Published in Hong Kong in 1895 | | Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection (highlights) | | The documents in this collection are of special interest from the Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection chosen by the project staff. While the sampling cannot begin to cover the broad sweep of history represented in a compilation whose time period spans 1850 to 1966, it is intended to point out the diverse nature of people and ideas represented in this material. | | The Star: radiating the light of truth on Hansen's Disease | | The STAR, a world renowned international publication educating the public on Hansen's disease, was created in 1941 by patient Stanley Stein at the National Leprosarium (now the Gillis W. Long Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Center) in Carville, Louisiana. Issues available (1941-2011). | | Wyler, E. J. | | Published in Liverpool in 1915. | Medicine and Empire | Chadwick, Osbert. | | Published in London in 1882 | | Johnstone, Charles. | | (Natal, 1860) | | Lowson, James A. | | Published in Hong Kong in 1895 | | Medical History of British India | | Here you can browse and search over 400 reports which are held at the National Library of Scotland, and which are available for the first time online. These rare documents, from the NLS's , consist of reports related to disease, public health and medical research between around 1850 to 1950. | | Wyler, E. J. | | Published in Liverpool in 1915. | Individuals (general papers, correspondence, photographs, etc.) | Blackwell, Elizabeth. | | Digital archive held in the Schlesinger Library, Harvard. | | Freud, Sigmund. | | The Library of Congress's digital edition comprises the contents of more than two thousand folders. | | Guy de Chauliac. | | Digitised manuscript copy of the held in New Academy of Medicine library. | | Harvey, William. Digitised works | | Digitised copies of many of Harvey's works held in the Wellcome Library including multiple editions of | | Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa. | | Scholarly open access edition of the Arabic text with English translation. | | Ibn-Sīnā (Avicenna) Digitised works | | Digitised copies of some of Ibn-Sīnā's works held in the Wellcome Library. | | Koch, Robert. Digitised works | | Digitised copies of many of Koch's works held in the Wellcome Library. | | Nightingale, Florence. | | The Florence Nightingale Digitization Project began in 2014 as a collaborative effort between the Florence Nightingale Museum in London, England, the Boston University Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, the Royal College of Nursing and the Wellcome Library. (N.B. not all links work, especially those from the Florence Nightingale Museum) | | Osler, William. | | Page curated for the University of Pennsylvania library with links to many book and articles by William Osler. | | Paracelsus. | | Includes links to the Karl Sudhoff edition of Paracelsus's works. | | Piaget, Jean. | | Research society dedicated to the life and works of psychologist Jean Piaget. Includes texts and images in pdf formet. | | Sabin, Albert B. | | Digitised collection held at the Henry R. Winkler Center, University of Cincinnati. | | Winston, Thomas. | | Thomas Winston was a physician with Illinois troops during the Civil War. These papers relate primarily to Winston's activities as a surgeon during the Civil War. Includes biographical material, case histories, lists of medical supplies, receipts for effects of soldiers, and various documents relating to individual soldiers. Also contains some material relating to real estate after the Civil War. | Rural and Agricultural History | Digital Archive of Tamil Agrarian History | | Digital archive part of the British Library's Endangered Archive Project. | | Indian Famine Commission Report 1880 | Part 1 - Part 2 - | | | Mahalanobis, P. C. The Bengal Famine | | Digital Reprint of a short article published in 1946. | | Planters' Association of Ceylon Publications | | Provides digital copies of the PAC publications from the 19th to the 20th century. | | BFI Britain on Film: Rural Life | | A vast collection of film and TV titles set in the countryside, or dealing with rural life. Many videos available to view for free, searchable . | | Davies, Walter. Board of Agriculture reports | | Three digitised volumes of the agricultural reports produced by Walter Davies in the early nineteenth century. | | The Great Irish Famine Online: Atlas | | An interactive atlas giving detailed information charting changes in the social, economic and political landscape of pre- and post-famine Ireland. | | LIBRAL | | LIBRAL is the library of Rural and Agricultural Literature, a free-of-charge, public, open-access resource provided by the BAHS. | | Museum of English Rural Life: Online Exhibitions | | Browse past displays from the Museum and exhibitions. | | National Library of Scotland: Map Images | | | | Rural History Today | | Published by the British Agricultural History Society. | Europe (exl. Britain and Ireland) | Agro-ecosystems Laboratory | | Project which offer a number of publications and datasets available to download, mainly on Spanish agricultural history. | | The Holodomor Project: atlas | | The Harvard Holodmor Project is a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based project, which uses latest technological advances to shed a new light on the history of the Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33. | | Holodomor Survivor Documentation Project | | This site has collected a number of interviews of survivors of the Holodomor now living in Canada. | North America | Census of Agriculture Historical Archive | | The site provides digital copies the the census taken between 1840 and 2002. | | Core Historical Literature on Agriculture | | Selected agricultural texts depecting rural life and investigating agricultural technology published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. Full-text and searchable. | | Farm, Field and Fireside Agricultural Newspaper Collection | | Collects historically significant farm weeklies published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Searchable and full-text. | | Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records | | Records of the slave-owning family, the Halls, and their plantation in Jamaica. | | The Homestead Act, 1862 | | Offers transcripts and pdfs of the original document. | | Organic Roots Collection | | Assembles historic full-text agricultural journals published before the wide spread use of synthetic chemicals. Includes information on agricultural technology before 1942 and organic farms. | | Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin migrant workers collection, 1940-1941 | | is an online presentation of selections from a multi-format ethnographic field collection documenting the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant work camps in central California in 1940 and 1941. | Scientific HistoryBibliographic and reference resources. | Biographies of Women Mathematicians | | On this site you can find biographical essays or comments on the women mathematicians profiled, as well as additional resources about women in mathematics. | | ECHO | | Online portal that lists 5,000+ websites concerning the history of science, technology, and industry. | | History of Physics Finding Aid | | Resource directory compiled by the American Institute of Physics. | | Hyle | | Online Bibliography on the history and philosophy of Chemistry. | | MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive | | MacTutor is a free online resource containing biographies of nearly 3000 mathematicians and over 2000 pages of essays and supporting materials. | | Race-Sci | | Directory of resources on the history of race and science. | General Sources | Islamic Scientific Manuscripts Initiative | | ISMI provides access to a database of thousands on scientific manuscripts in Arabic, Farsi and Turkish. In the browse and search facilities go to "Scanned Codices" to access the text which have been digitised. | | Qatar Digital Library - Astronomical Works to 1800 | | 73 astronomical manuscripts and books. | | Science History Institute - Digital Collections | | Over 8000 digitised items available from the archives and library of the Science History Institute, Philadelphia. | | Wellcome Arabic Manuscripts Online | | Includes items from the 10th to the 20th century about not only medicine and pharmacology but also cosmology, astronomy, mathematics, farming and natural history. | To the 8th Century | Aryabhata, | | Digitised English translation. | | Bede, (excerpt) | | Digitised copy of NLW Peniarth MS 540B | | Institute of Classical Studies - Open Access Resources | | Portal of open access resources created and maintained by the library staff of the Hellenic and Roman Library. | | | | | From the 8th Century to the 16th | Digital Averroes Research Environment | | DARE makes accessible online digital editions of Averroes’s works, and images of all textual witnesses, including manuscripts, incunabula, and early prints. Averroes’s writings and the scholarly literature are documented in a bibliographical database. | | Bacon, Roger. Philosophical Works and Fragments | | Digitised edition of BL Royal MS 7 F VIII | | Oresme, Nicole. | | Online edition hosted on the Hathi Trust. | | Sacrobosco, Johannes de, | | Digitised manuscript held in the library of the University of Pennsylvania. | From the 16th to the late 19th Century | The Robert Boyle Project | | Includes information on Robert Boyle and digitised copies of some of the published editions of his manuscripts. | | The Encyclopedia of Diderot and d'Alembert Translation Project | | This site has been designed to make accessible to teachers, students, and other interested English-language readers translations of articles from the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert in the 18th century. | | Galileo Texts | | Searchable database of Galileo's texts. | | The Complete Correspondence of Carl Friedrich Gauß | | Online edition of the mathematicians letters. | | Johannes Kepler, | | Digitised edition of Kepler's works. | | Panopticon Lavoisier | | Information on the 18th century chemist and, where digitised, scanned images of mauscripts and works. | | The Newton Project | | The Newton Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing in full an online edition of all of Sir Isaac Newton’s (1642–1727) writings — whether they were printed or not. | | Royal Society - Philosophical Transactions | | Freely accessible digital editions of the Royal Society's journal from 1665-1886 | The History of Science from the late 19th century | W3 Tim Berners-Lee page | | Links to interviews, videos and texts by and about Tim Berners-Lee. | | The Crick and Watson Papers | Francis Crick Papers
James Watson Papers
| Digitised copies of the papers held at the Wellcome Library. | | Darwin Correspondence Project | | Read and search the full texts of more than 12,000 of Charles Darwin’s letters, and find information on 3,000 more. Discover complete transcripts of all known letters Darwin wrote and received up to the year 1877. | | Darwin Online | | Includes online editions of some of his works as well as biographical information. | | Digital Mathematics Archive | | The Digital Mathematics Archive is a digital collection of mathematical sources, with a primary focus on documents from the late 19th century through today. | | The Einstein Papers Project | | Provides digitised editions to the published volumes of Einstein's papers. | | The Eugenics Society Archive | | View items from the Society's archive digitised by the Wellcome Library. | | The Feynman Lectures | | Online edition of Richard Feynman's lectures on physics. | | Rosalind Franklin Papers | | Includes biographical information and digitised copies of some of Franklin's papers. | | Katherine Johnson interview | | Interview with Katherine Johnson from February 2017. | | Manhattan Project Resources | | is a joint collaboration between the Department of Energy’s Office of Classification and Office of History and Heritage Resources. This effort is designed to disseminate information and documentation on the Manhattan Project to a broad audience including scholars, students, and the general public. | | NASA Documentary Histories | | Online editions of documents on the NASA Space programmes. | | The Linus Pauling Research Notebooks | | Digitised copy of Pauling's Notebooks. | | The papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan | | Digitised manuscripts held at Trinity College Cambridge. | | The Turing Digital Archive | | This archive contains many of Turing's letters, talks, photographs and unpublished papers, as well as memoirs and obituaries written about him. It contains images of the original documents that are held in the Turing collection at King's College, Cambridge. | | The Alfred Russell Wallace Page | | Site contains digitised texts of some of Wallace's writings. | | World Wide Web History Project | | The World Wide Web History Project is a collaborative effort to record and publish the history of the World Wide Web and its roots in hypermedia and networking. | African History | African Online Digital Library | | AODL is an open access digital library of African cultural heritage materials created by Michigan State University in collaboration with museums, archives, scholars, and communities around the world. | | British Library Endangered Archives Programme: Africa | | The Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) facilitates the digitisation of archives around the world that are in danger of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration. | | Digital Namibian Archive | | Hosted by Namibia University of Science and Technology, this website serves as a portal to a number of collections on Namibian history, and specifically the Digital Namibian Archive, which contains over 13 thousand primary source documents. | | UNESCO General History of Africa | | Open-access editons of the unabridged volumes of this series. | | University of Wisconsin African Studies Collection | | | European Exploration, Invasion and Colonialism | The Barbary Treaties 1786-1836 | | A digitised collection of treaties made between the United States and North Africa. | | British Documents on the end of Empire | Central Africa
Egypt
Ghana
Nigeria
| is the online platform for the British Documents on the End of Empire Project (BDEEP). | | Emmergency: an exhibition on the Mau Mau conflict and British Colonial rule in 1950s Kenya. | Exhibition
3D Models
| Exhibition curated by the Museum of British Colonialism. It includes testimony from three witnesses of the conflict. Also a number of 3D models from the 'Pipeline' camps have been created in partnership with African Digital Heritage. | | The Emma B. Andrews Diary Project | | Digitised collections relevant to late 19th and early 20th century travel writing in Egypt as well as the history of Egyptology of this period. | | Politics and Society in Eastern Africa | | Gives access to a collection of digitised documents about the 20th century history of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, especially the Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s. | | Slave Societies Digital Archive | | The Slave Societies Digital Archive (formerly Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies), directed by Jane Landers and hosted at Vanderbilt University, preserves endangered ecclesiastical and secular documents related to Africans and African-descended peoples in slave societies. | | Sources on German Colonial History Online | | Frankfurt University Library digitized some of the books and journals originally collected by the German Colonial Society (Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft). The journals , , , , and several books including even a colonial cook-book are available online. | Contemporary Africa | African Activist Archive | | | | Forward to Freedom: the history of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement 1959-1994 | | A free archive of resources including interviews and digitised text. | | President Nasser online resources | | Site containing documents and recorded speeches of President Nasser. | Asia, China | Berlin State Library: Chinese Digital Library | | Included among the library's digital collections are 1664 items. | | Cambridge University Chinese Collections | | 15 digitised works show-casing the collections housed in Cambridge University Library | | Chinese Land Records, 1584-1978 | | Collection of over 200 documents held in Pittsburg University Library. | | Chinese Text Project | | Online library of Chinese texts from the pre-Qin period to the early 20th century. | | Digital East Asian Collection | | Digital collection of Chinese, Japanese and Korean materials found in the Bavarian State Library. | | East Asian Library Digital Bookshelf | | Collection of 146 titles mainly in Chinese from Princeton University. | | National Central Library: Digital Images of Rare Books | | Large online library of Chinese titles administered by the National Central Library, Taiwan. | | Táiwān wénxiàn cóngkān zīliào kù | | Online library of texts concentrating mainly on the history and culture of Taiwan. | China pre c.1800 | Chinese Local Gazatteers | | Collection of digitised Chinese gazatteers from the Qing period now housed in the library collections of Harvard University. | | Endangered Archives Project: China | | Digitised images from 10 digitisation projects. | | International Dunhuang Project | | Global collaborative project providing access to a growing library of artefact images, manuscript fragments and photographs. | | Ming Qing Women Writers | | Online library of works by women in late Imperial China (1368-1911) | | Sīmǎ Qián. Shiji (extracts) | | Extracts published on the Project Gutenberg site. | | Tōyō Bunko Collection | | Part of the Digital Silk Road Project, collection of books, maps and photographs from the Tōyō Bunko library, Japan. | 19th and 20th Century China | Chiang Kai-Shek. | | Volume 1 (1937-1940) only | | China, 1989 | | This collection features sources on the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and other developments in China at the end of the Cold War. | | China's Cultural Revolution 1966-1976 | | Small collection showing how he Cultural Revolution was perceived by foreign leaders. | | China's Great Leap Forward 1958-1961 | | Collection of documents housed in the Wilson Center Digital Archive. | | Chinese Maritime Customs | | Over 100 works from the Maritime Customs collection in Harvard Library, dating from late Qing through early twentieth century. Links to fully digitized books in Harvard Library catalog, which can be browsed and downloaded in high quality PDFs by any user. | | Chinese Marriage Documents | | Collection of 25 20th century marriage documents held in Pittsburg University Library. | | Chinese Pamphlets | | Online collection of Chinese educational pamphlets from the civil war and early years of the PRC. | | Conversations with Mao Zedong | | This collection brings together conversations held between Mao and foreign leaders from both within and outside of the communist bloc in order to offer insights into Mao's worldview and major developments in China's domestic history and foreign relations. | | Conversations with Zhou Enlai | | This collection features hundreds of conversations that Zhou held with leaders from dozens of countries. | | Historical Photographs of China | | Open access archive of 22,000+ photographs of China, c.1850s-1940s, from private and some institutional collections. Digitised by a team at the University of Bristol. | | Late Qing and Republican Era Chinese Newspapers | | Open access newspaper archive of 69 Chinese newspapers published between 1911 and 1949. | | Li Long Women's Magazine | | Exhibition about Lin Long Women’s Magazine published in Shanghai between 1931 and 1937. Incudes links to digital copies. | | Old Hong Kong Newspapers | | Online collection of 19th and 20th century Hong Kong newspapers. | | Opium War Collections | | Electronic collections of documents found in the Internet Archive and the Hathi Trust site. | | PRC History Group | | Site run by a global group of academics with research interests in the People’s Republic of China. Includes online copies of . | | Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping | | Works illustrating Deng Xiaoping's ideological viewpoints. | Asia, South | British Library Endangered Archives Projects |
| The Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) facilitates the digitisation of archives around the world that are in danger of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration. Thanks to generous funding from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, we have provided grants to more than 400 projects in 90 countries worldwide, in over 100 languages and scripts. | | Digital South Asian Library | | The Digital South Asia Library provides digital materials for reference and research on South Asia, including books and journals, full-text dictionaries, bibliographies, images, maps, and statistical information from the colonial period through the present. | | GRETIL: Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages | | Digital library of transliterated texts in a variety of languages (mainly Sanskrit, Pali and Tamil) on religion, epic poetry and chronicles. | | National Digital Library of India | | To access you will need to create a user account. | | Panjab Digital Library | | The Panjab Digital Library is a voluntary organization digitizing and preserving the cultural heritage of Panjab since 2003. With over 23 million digitized pages, it is the biggest resource of digital material on Panjab. | South Asian History to c.1526 | Sarit: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts | | Collection of 60 documents, mainly in Sanskrit. Topics include religion, philosophy, literature and history. | South Asia during the Mughal hegenomy c.1526 to the mid-18th century | Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records | | Online exhibition showcasing documents and artworks from and about the reign of Aurangzeb. | | Aurangzeb. | | 1908 digital English edition. | | Fazl, Abu'l. | Vol 1.
Vol. 2.
Vol. 3.
| Digital copies of an early 20th century English edition held on archive.org. | | Jahangir. | | 1909 edition and English translation of the Emperor Jahangir's autobiography. | South Asia during the period of British Invasion and Occupation c.1757-1947 | 1947 Partition Archives | | Growing oral history database of witness interviews about the Partition. | | Amritsar Massacre 1919: British Parliamentary Debate | | Debate in the House of Commons on the Amritsar Massacre of the previous year. | | Amritsar Massacre 1919: Evidence taken before the Disorders Inquiry Committee | | , Volume 5 (so far the only volume tracked down so far which is freely available online) | | Amritsar Massacre 1919: Punjab disturbances compiled from the Civil and Military Gazette | | Digital copy of the 2nd edition. | | Bichitra: Online Tagore Variorum | | Digital library of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry, prose fiction and non-fiction. | | Gandhi Heritage Portal | | Site provides information, digitised texts and links to other relevant sites. | | Hyde Books: Judicial Notebooks | | The Judicial Notebooks of John Hyde and Sir Robert Chambers, 1774-1798, are a unique source of primary historical information for the early years of the Supreme Court and life in India. The court notebooks do not tell a single story but are a dense repository of legal and social action over time. | | Indian Famine Commission Reports 1880 | Part 1 - Part 2 - | | | Iqbal Cyber Library | | Open access library concentrating on the work and thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) | | Ker, James Campbell. | | 1960 edition of Ker's 1917 work. | | Mahalanobis, P. C. | | Digital Reprint of a short article published in 1946. | | Nehru Memorial Museum and Library: Digital Archives | | Digital collections of Nehru's papers. | | Planters' Association of Ceylon Publications | | Provides digital copies of the PAC publications from the 19th to the 20th century. | | Rai, Lala Lajpat. | | Digital copy of the 1916 edition. | | Ram Mohan Roy resource page | | Page on archive.org listing 79 works on or about Ram Mohan Roy. | | Sedition Committee Report 1918 | | Report, headed by Sidney Rowlatt, whose recommendations, including the stringent control of the press, the summary trial of political offenders by judges without trial, and the internment of persons suspected of subversive aims, led to the Rowlatt Act of 1919. | | South Asian Open Archive | | Open Access collection of 19th and early 20th century publications. | Contemporary South Asia since 1947 | Muktijuddho e-Archive | | Muktijuddho e-Archive, also known as Bangladesh Liberation War e-Archive, is a 'Library, Archive & Research' organization, founded in 2007, working with collection, preservation & distribution of historical documents & research on the Liberation War of Bangladesh and Genocide of Innocent Bengali People in 1971.
(Site in Bengali) | | Nehru Memorial Museum and Library: Digital Archives | | Digital collections of Nehru's papers. | South Asian Diaspora History Resources | Bangla Stories | | Site includes information on the Bengal diaspora and eight interviews. | | Indian South Africans | | General site about the history of South Asian communities in South Africa. Includes a number of digitised documents. | | Making Britain: discover how South Asians shaped the nation, 1870-1950 | | This online database provides information about South Asians in Britain from 1870 to 1950, the organizations they were involved in, their British connections, and the major events in which they participated. Designed as an interactive tool, it offers engaging and innovative search and browsing options, including a timeline, location maps, and network diagrams modelled on social networking sites which demonstrate South Asians' interactions and relationships in Britain at the time. Some entries have extracts from archival sources with explanation of their content and relevance. | | South Asian American Digital Archive | | Site provides information and source material on the history of South Asian communities in the US. | | South Asian Oral History Project | | Site gives access to interviews from individuals from the South Asian communities of the Pacific Northwest. | | Uganda Stories | | Interview with artist Sunil Shah was was expelled, with her family, from Uganda in 1972. | Australia, New Zealand and the PacificAustralia: general resources. | AIATSIS Digital Collections | | Digital collections from the Australian Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. | | Australian Dictionary of Biography | | The is Australia's pre-eminent dictionary of national biography. In it you will find concise, informative and fascinating descriptions of the lives of significant and representative persons in Australian history. | | Immigration Museum: Online Resources and Tools | | A selection of projects and items from the Immigration Museum, Melbourne. | | Library of Australiana | | Portal of online texts from the 18th to the first half of the 20th century. | | National Archives of Australia | | An increasing number of items have been made available online. In the search tick the "Digital Only" box to see what is available. | | National Library of Australia | | An increasing number of items in the NLA have been digitised and are available online. | | Trove | | A national discovery service run by the National Library of Australia with details of items over 1000s of Australian libraries, archives, galleries and museums. To drill down to see what is available online tick the "Free access" option where applicable. | | University of Sydney Digital Collections | | Collections of various aspects of Australian history and literature and much more. | | Women Australia | | Online biographical reference work. | Australia to c. 1901 | Assisted Immigrants Shipping List | | Digitised shipping lists to New South Wales from 1828 to 1896. | | Australian Explorers, Discoverers and Pioneers | | Portal links to free texts about the exploration and invasion of Australia. | | Bonwick, James. | | Nineteenth century account of the British genocide of Tasmania's indigenous population. For context and suggestions for further reading see the by Dr. Kristyn Harman. | | Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia 1788-1930 | | Site devoted to Australian colonial massacres. Includes an interactive map. | | Convict Records of Australia | | This website allows you to search the British Convict transportation register for convicts transported to Australia between 1787-1867. Information available includes name of convict, known aliases, place convicted, port of departure, date of departure, port of arrival, and the source of the data. | | eGold: Electronic Encyclopedia of Gold in Australia | | Online reference work, especially strong Australia's Gold Rush. | | First Fleet Online | | First Fleet OnLine is a resource for students and teachers of any age, professional historians, family tree enthusiasts, descendants of the First Fleeters, and amateur researchers, anywhere in the world. | | Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archives | | Provides access to growing number of transcriptions and digitised images. | | | | Digitised copy of the register covering the years 1868 to 1972. | | Phillip, Arthur. | | Digitised 1790 edition held in the Wellcome Library. | | Ryan, Lyndall. 'List of multiple killings of Aborigines in Tasmania: 1804-1835' (5 Mars, 2008) | | Article published online about the British genocide of Tasmania's indigenous population. | Australia since c. 1901 | 100 Stories Project | | Hosted on YouTube, Monash University has produced a number of interviews about the experience of Australians during the First World War. | | Anzac Portal | | Extensive portal sight about the military history of 20th century Australia. | | Australian Federation Full Text Database | | Database give access to documents from the 1890s and early 1900s concerning Australia's federation. | | Bringing them Home | | Site explores the Stolen Generations of indigenous Australians taken from their mothers and fathers and fostered to white familes. Includes testimonies, the text of the report produced by the Australian government in 1997 and an interactive map. | | Federal Government Records: Historic Hansard | | Records from the Senate and House of Representatives from 1901 to 1980. | | Federal Government Records: Journals of the Senate | | Journals available from 1901. | | The Mabo Decision: Keon-Cohen, B. A. 'The Mabo litigation: a personal and procedural account' 893 (2000) | | Account by the junior counsel representing Eddie Mabo against the state of Queensland. | | The Mabo Decision: Mabo vs. Queensland (No. 1) 1988 and (No. 2) 1992 | 1988
1992
| Text from the High Court of Australia of the decision. | | The Mabo Decision: The Native Title Act 1993 | | Text from the High Court of Australia. | | Queensland Legislature: Acts Passed | | Pdf copies of acts passed from 1963. | | The Redfern Park Speech | | Video of Paul Keating's speech of the 10th December 1992 delivered at Redfern Park. | | Right Wrongs - The 1967 Referendum | | Online exhibtion on the 1967 referendum which sought to change the way the indigenous peoples of Australia were referred to in the constitution. Includes iinterviews. | | WhitlamDismissal.com | | Site exploring the government of Gough Whitlam in the early 1970s. Includes document excerpts and links to related resources. | | The Whitlam Institute | | The Institute's large collection has been largely digitised. | New Zealand | AtoJs Online | | Digitised copies of the appendices of the House of Representatives from 1854 to 1950. | | New Zealand Electronic Text Collection | | The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection comprises significant New Zealand and Pacific Island texts and materials held by Victoria University of Wellington Library. This encompasses both digitised heritage material and born-digital resources. | | New Zealand Heritage List : Rārangi Kōrero | | Search the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero (formerly the Register) for information about New Zealand's significant heritage places, including Ngā Manawhenua o Aotearoa me ōna Kōrero Tūturu/National Historic Landmarks. | | Papers Past | | The Papers Past content is divided into 4 sections — all containing digitised primary source materials. These include: Newspapers, Magazine and Journals, Letters and Diaries, and Parliamentary Papers. | | | | Site gives access to this Maori periodical published between 1952 and 1976. | | Te Ara | | Online encyclopedia on all aspects of New Zealand's histories and cultures. | | | | Volumes available, 1868-1961. | | Turnbull Archive Photographic Archive | | Extensive photographic archive. | | Women and the Vote | | Online history on the women's sufferage movement in New Zealand. Includes links to digitised sources. | Pacific Ocean | Arbousset, Thomas. (1867) | | Digital copy of a 19th century travel account. | | Marsden, J. B. | | Digital copy of 19th century edition. | | National Archives of Fiji Online | | Includes selected digitised items from the NAF. | | South Seas: Voyaging and Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Pacific (1760-1800) | | The South Seas Project documents the history of European voyaging and cross-cultural encounters in the Pacific between 1760 and 1800. It features full texts of James Cook's Endeavour Journal, as well as journals kept by Joseph Banks and Sydney Parkinson. It also features digitised engravings and related images. Hosted by the National Library of Australia. | Audio Visual and Oral History, 3D, AR and Internet Archives3d and augmented reality. Many museums and libraries have created 3D scans of their collections. Notable resources include the British Museum on Sketchfab (257 models). Sketchfab's Cultural Heritage and History filter can also surface useful models. Europeana, which brings together collections in a host of European and international repositories, can also be searched for 3D models . Google for Education provides a list of over 100 'Augmented Reality' expeditions . Computer Games and Software ArchivesThe Internet Archive provides a good place to start for the history of software or the uses of history and heritage in the games industry. Internet and Web Archives- Internet Archive
- UK Web Archive
- National and other archives constituting the International Internet Preservation Consortium .
- Some international organisations also manage their own institutional web archives, such as UNESCO .
Digital Humanities and Digital Tools | The Programming Historian | | We publish novice-friendly, peer-reviewed tutorials that help humanists learn a wide range of digital tools, techniques, and workflows to facilitate research and teaching. | | Digital Archives Austria | https://digital-humanities.at/en/dha/projects | | | | | | Oral History | Oral History Society advice on remote oral history interviewing | | Includes ethical considerations and lists of tools | | British Library Sound Archive | | The oral history collections at the British Library cover a wide range of subject areas. | | Essex Sound and Video Archive | | You can find material by searching for ‘oral history’. To find only material that’s available online, you can refine the search by ‘Audio visual’ material. | Art and PhotographyMany of the collections listed elsewhere in this guide, such as the Library of Congress or Europeana , will point to extensive photographic and visual arts collections. | TimePix | | This collection of almost 46,000 post-war geo-located street photos of
Greater Manchester. Free for non-commercial use. | | Artstor | | Includes public collections and community collections as well as subscription-only content. | | | | | Newspapers and Maps | Austrian Newspapers Online | | Online collection stretching back to the seventeenth century. | | The Belgian War Press | | introduces you to hundreds of Belgian newspapers that were written, printed and distributed clandestinely during the two World Wars. | | Belgica Press | | Online archive of nineteenth and twentieth century Belgian newspapers. | | Chronicling America | | Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. | | Delpher | | Online archive of Dutch and Indonesian newspapers and periodicals from the 17th to the 20th century. | | Deutsches Zeitungsportal | | Digital library of German newspapers from 1671 to 1950. | | Dziennik Zwiazkowy | | The first ten years (1908–17) of founded in Chicago in 1908 by the Polish National Alliance. Representing local, national, and international issues of concern to the Polish community, the paper continues today as the | | Europeana Newspapers | | | | & | | Digital Belgian newspaper archive: (from the 3rd November 1891), (1896-1953) | | La Gazette Royale d'Hayti Project | | Digitised collection including: 19th century Haitian almanacs. Gazette Officielle de l'etat d'Hayti (1807-11) Gazette Royale d'Hayti (1813-20) | | List of Online Newspaper Archives (Wikipedia) | | | | Atlas of Digitised Newspapers and Metadata | | A project exploring the metadata of digitised newspapers | | Online Kranten | | Online portal of sites of digitised European newspaper collections hosted by the Flemish Heritage Library. | | Papers Past | | Online collection of New Zealand newspapers. | | Trove | | | | National Library of Scotland: Map Images | | | | David Rumsey Historic Maps Collection | | | | BL Maps Collections | | See also the project | | British History Online | | | | Library of Congress Maps | | | | National Library of Scotland Maps | | | | New York Public Library Maps and Atlases | | | | New York Public Library Map Warper | | The NYPL Map Warper is a tool for digitally aligning ("rectifying") historical maps from the NYPL's collections to match today's precise maps. Visitors can browse already rectified maps | Related Content British History OnlineBritish History Online is a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland.  Explore an A-Z list of eResources available through the Wohl Library  Research Resources. Support for historiansThe IHR creates resources to encourage, support and facilitate new research by historians.  IHR Library & Digital provides a wealth of services and resources, both in person and online, to all those interested in history. Related content Historical Research – A Guide Based on its Uses & StepsPublished by Alvin Nicolas at August 16th, 2021 , Revised On August 29, 2023 History is a study of past incidents, and it’s different from natural science. In natural science, researchers prefer direct observations. Whereas in historical research, a researcher collects, analyses the information to understand, describe, and explain the events that occurred in the past. They aim to test the truthfulness of the observations made by others. Historical researchers try to find out what happened exactly during a certain period of time as accurately and as closely as possible. It does not allow any manipulation or control of variables . When to Use the Historical Research Method?You can use historical research method to: - Uncover the unknown fact.
- Answer questions
- Identify the association between the past and present.
- Understand the culture based on past experiences..
- Record and evaluate the contributions of individuals, organisations, and institutes.
How to Conduct Historical Research?Historical research involves the following steps: - Select the Research Topic
- Collect the Data
- Analyse the Data
- Criticism of Data
- Present your Findings
Tips to Collect DataStep 1 – select the research topic. If you want to conduct historical research, it’s essential to select a research topic before beginning your research. You can follow these tips while choosing a topic and developing a research question . - Consider your previous study as your previous knowledge and data can make your research enjoyable and comfortable for you.
- List your interests and focus on the current events to find a promising question.
- Take notes of regular activities and consider your personal experiences on a specific topic.
- Develop a question using your research topic.
- Explore your research question by asking yourself when? Why? How
Step 2- Collect the DataIt is essential to collect data and facts about the research question to get reliable outcomes. You need to select an appropriate instrument for data collection . Historical research includes two sources of data collection, such as primary and secondary sources. Primary SourcesPrimary sources are the original first-hand resources such as documents, oral or written records, witnesses to a fact, etc. These are of two types, such as: Conscious Information : It’s a type of information recorded and restored consciously in the form of written, oral documents, or the actual witnesses of the incident that occurred in the past. It includes the following sources: | Records Government documents Images autobiographies letters | Constitiutions Court-decisions Diaries Audios Videos | Wills Declarations Licenses Reports | Unconscious information : It’s a type of information restored in the form of remains or relics. It includes information in the following forms: | Fossils Tools Weapons Household articles Clothes or any belonging of humans | Language literature Artifacts Abandoned places Monuments | Secondary SourcesSometimes it’s impossible to access primary sources, and researchers rely on secondary sources to obtain information for their research. It includes: - Publications
- Periodicals
- Encyclopedia
Step 3 – Analyse the DataAfter collecting the information, you need to analyse it. You can use data analysis methods like - Thematic analysis
- Coding system
- Theoretical model ( Researchers use multiple theories to explain a specific phenomenon, situations, and behavior types.)
- Quantitative data to validate
Step 4 – Criticism of DataData criticism is a process used for identifying the validity and reliability of the collected data. It’s of two types such as: External Criticism :It aims at identifying the external features of the data such as signature, handwriting, language, nature, spelling, etc., of the documents. It also involves the physical and chemical tests of paper, paint, ink, metal cloth, or any collected object. Internal Criticism :It aims at identifying the meaning and reliability of the data. It focuses on the errors, printing, translation, omission, additions in the documents. The researchers should use both external and internal criticism to ensure the validity of the data. Step 5 – Present your FindingsWhile presenting the findings of your research , you need to ensure that you have met the objectives of your research or not. Historical material can be organised based on the theme and topic, and it’s known as thematic and topical arrangement. You can follow these tips while writing your research paper : Build Arguments and NarrativeYour research aims not just to collect information as these are the raw materials of research. You need to build a strong argument and narrate the details of past events or incidents based on your findings. Organise your ArgumentYou can review the literature and other researchers’ contributions to the topic you’ve chosen to enhance your thinking and argument. Proofread, Revise and EditAfter putting your findings on a paper, you need to proofread it to weed out the errors, rewrite it to improve, and edit it thoroughly before submitting it. Are you looking for professional research writing services?We hear you. - Whether you want a full dissertation written or need help forming a dissertation proposal, we can help you with both.
- Get different dissertation services at ResearchProspect and score amazing grades!
In this world of technology, many people rely on Google to find out any information. All you have to do is enter a few keywords and sit back. You’ll find several relevant results onscreen. It’s an effective and quick way of gathering information. Sometimes historical documents are not accessible to everyone online, and you need to visit traditional libraries to find out historical treasures. It will help you explore your knowledge along with data collection. You can visit historical places, conduct interviews, review literature, and access primary and secondary data sources such as books, newspapers, publications, documents, etc. You can take notes while collecting the information as it helps to organise the data accurately. Advantages and Disadvantages of Historical Research | Advantages | Disadvantages | | It is easy to calculate and understand the obtained information. It is applied to various time periods based on industry custom. It helps in understanding current educational practices, theories, and problems based on past experiences. It helps in determining when and how a specific incident exactly happened in the past. | A researcher cannot control or manipulate the variables. It’s time-consuming Researchers cannot affect past incidents. Historical Researchers need to rely on the available data most excessively on secondary data. Researchers cannot conduct surveys and experiments in the past. | Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat are the initial steps to perform historical research. Initial steps for historical research: - Define research scope and period.
- Gather background knowledge.
- Identify primary and secondary sources.
- Develop research questions.
- Plan research approach.
- Begin data collection and analysis.
You May Also LikeBaffled by the concept of reliability and validity? Reliability refers to the consistency of measurement. Validity refers to the accuracy of measurement. You can transcribe an interview by converting a conversation into a written format including question-answer recording sessions between two or more people. A variable is a characteristic that can change and have more than one value, such as age, height, and weight. But what are the different types of variables? USEFUL LINKS LEARNING RESOURCES  COMPANY DETAILS   The historical research process explained Researching for a History assessment piece can often be the most daunting part of the subject. However, it needn't be. Research is a systematic process that, if followed step-by-step, will become a logical and efficient part of your work. Below are links to the nine stages of good research, providing explanations and examples for each one. - Key Inquiry Question
- Background Research
- Sub-questions
- Source Research
- Organise Quotes
- Topic Sentences
- Draft Writing
- Final Draft
Other potential research stages: - Research Rationale
- Critical Summary of Research
Overview of the research processBelow is a pictorial explanation about how the research process works to create a hypothesis from the results of question-driven research. As you follow the research steps, each section of the diagram is completed.  Let's get started Need a digital Research Journal? Additional resourcesWhat do you need help with, download ready-to-use digital learning resources.  Copyright © History Skills 2014-2024. Contact via email Resources for Genealogists  Start Your Genealogy ResearchIntroduction to nara resources. The records in our holdings that are most commonly used by genealogists include, Census, Military, Immigration (Ship Passenger Lists), Naturalization, and Land records. To learn more about these records and how to access them, we recommend that you: Start by reviewing our PowerPoint presentationThe " Beginning your Genealogical Research at the National Archives and Records Administration " presentation provides an excellent introduction to most popular genealogical records at NARA. (Save to your computer and then open, or open directly.) View our Introductory Videos on YouTube- View our video on " Introduction to Census Records "
- View our videos on Military Records: Pension Records , Regular Service , and Volunteer Service
- View our videos on " Introduction to Immigration Records " and " Immigrant Records: More than just Ship Passenger Arrival Lists "
- View our video, " Early Naturalization Records at the National Archives "
- View our video on " The Homestead Act: Land Records of your Ancestors "
Learn more on our Research Topics pagesOn the Research Topics pages, you will learn about records available at NARA, and how to use them. You will also find links to articles, finding aids, and links to digitized records in the Catalog, when available. You may want to start with these records: - Immigration
- Naturalization
View Additional Videos from our Family History WorkshopsWe have many genealogy presentations available online, where you can learn about additional records available at NARA for genealogy, and how to use them. - Videos from our "Know Your Records" series
- Videos and handouts from our annual Genealogy Series
Learn more about NARA's online Genealogy ResourcesOther genealogy resources for getting started, online tutorials and guides. Genealogy Tool Kit Getting Started page from National Genealogical Society Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500-1800: A practical online tutorial , from The National Archives of the U.K. Genealogy Learning Center from Genealogy.com Genealogy Classes , free online classes on beginning genealogy, internet genealogy, and tracing immigrant origins. Legacy Family Tree webinars FamilySearch Wikis If your research seems to hit a dead-end or poses a tough problem, you can often find other paths by learning how others solved their research problems. Here are some online resources that may provide some ideas and answers. - View NARA at Riverside's How to Begin Genealogical Research page
- Ancestry's video on Brick Wall Busters
- Links to beginners tips on Cyndi's List
- Links from the Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)
Consult books and articlesConsult books and articles about what records are available, where they can be found, and steps in the genealogical research process. Here are the names of some books you may find in your local library or bookstore. (Please note: these are not endorsed by the National Archives. They are mentioned here as possibly helpful resources.) - Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. The Genealogist's Address Book, 4th edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999.
- Crandall, Ralph J. Shaking Your Family Tree. Dublin, NH: Yankee Publishing, 1986.
- Croom, Emily A. Unpuzzling Your Past: A Basic Guide to Genealogy. Cincinnati, OH: Betterway Books, 1995.
- Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990.
- Jacobus, Donald Lines. Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968. Reprint, 1991.
- Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997.
- Rubincam, Milton. Pitfalls in Genealogical Research. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1987.
- Stryker-Rodda, Harriet. How to Climb Your Family Tree. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977. Reprint, 1993.
- Szucs, Loretto D., and Sandra H. Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Revised edition. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1997
Read Journal ArticlesThe following can be found in libraries with a large genealogical collection, or you may be able to purchase back issues from the societies that published them. - NGS Quarterly
- New England Historical and Genealogical Register
- NYG&B Record
Attend Workshops and ConferencesWe provide workshops to help people learn how to use historical documents when conducting genealogical research. See our list of upcoming workshops and the annual Genealogy Series . National, regional, and local genealogical societies also often hold workshops and conferences geared towards beginning genealogists. You can also listen to recordings of lectures from previous national and regional genealogy conferences , and attend ongoing webinars . These cover the vast array of genealogical research topics, and many are geared to the beginner. Join Genealogical SocietiesIn addition to sponsoring workshops and webinars, other help is also available through genealogical societies. Most publish newsletters and other materials describing genealogical research and services in the area. Many also have libraries and other helpful resources. You may find it helpful to join both your local genealogical society as well as those where your ancestors lived. To find a genealogical society in North America, you can search by state/province from the National Genealogical Society website. Other web site that may assist you in locating local societies are: U.S. Genealogy sites state by state Directory of Genealogy Libraries in the U.S. What are people asking on History Hub about Genealogy Records? - Forum Post: RE: can I find out if my grandfather Francisco Godino was naturalized. He arrived into NY in 1905 and lived in NJ the rest of his life.
- Forum Post: RE: I am trying to find all the ships and passenger lists that sailed from Italy to NY in 1890.
- Forum Post: RE: 1901 Portland, ME Passenger Lists
- Forum Post: RE: I am looking for records for Luigi Bacchiocchi DOB 5/27/1895 came to US via Fano Pesaro E Urbino, Marche Italy to Ellis Island on or abt 1911 Parents Pavlso Bacchiocchi and Barbra
- Forum Post: RE: Looking for obituary for Cleveland Robinson from Allendale, SC.
Find answers to your research questions at History Hub - Request Info
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How Institutions Use Historical Research Methods to Provide Historical Perspectives An Overview of Historical Research MethodsHistorical research methods enable institutions to collect facts, chronological data, and other information relevant to their interests. But historical research is more than compiling a record of past events; it provides institutions with valuable insights about the past to inform current cultural, political, and social dynamics. Historical research methods primarily involve collecting information from primary and secondary sources. While differences exist between these sources, organizations and institutions can use both types of sources to assess historical events and provide proper context comprehensively. Using historical research methods, historians provide institutions with historical insights that can give perspectives on the future. Individuals interested in advancing their careers as historians can pursue an advanced degree, such as a Master of Arts in History , to help them develop a systematic understanding of historical research and learn about the use of digital tools for acquiring, accessing, and managing historical information. Historians use historical research methods to obtain data from primary and secondary sources and, then, assess how the information contributes to understanding a historical period or event. Historical research methods are used with primary and secondary sources. Below is a description of each type of source. What Is a Primary Source? Primary sources—raw data containing first-person accounts and documents—are foundational to historical and academic research. Examples of primary sources include eyewitness accounts of historical events, written testimonies, public records, oral representations, legal documents, artifacts, photographs, art, newspaper articles, diaries, and letters. Individuals often can find primary sources in archives and collections in universities, libraries, and historical societies. A primary source, also known as primary data, is often characterized by the time of its creation. For example, individuals studying the U.S. Constitution’s beginnings can use The Federalist Papers, a collection of essays by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, written from October 1787 to May 1788, as a primary source for their research. In this example, the information was witnessed firsthand and created at the time of the event. What Is a Secondary Source? Primary sources are not always easy to find. In the absence of primary sources, secondary sources can play a vital role in describing historical events. A historian can create a secondary source by analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting information or data provided in primary sources. For example, a modern-day historian may use The Federalist Papers and other primary sources to reveal historical insights about the series of events that led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution. As a result, the secondary source, based on historical facts, becomes a reliable source of historical data for others to use to create a comprehensive picture of an event and its significance. The Value of Historical Research for Providing Historical PerspectivesCurrent global politics has its roots in the past. Historical research offers an essential context for understanding our modern society. It can inform global concepts, such as foreign policy development or international relations. The study of historical events can help leaders make informed decisions that impact society, culture, and the economy. Take, for example, the Industrial Revolution. Studying the history of the rise of industry in the West helps to put the current world order in perspective. The recorded events of that age reveal that the first designers of the systems of industry, including the United States, dominated the global landscape in the following decades and centuries. Similarly, the digital revolution is creating massive shifts in international politics and society. Historians play a pivotal role in using historical research methods to record and analyze information about these trends to provide future generations with insightful historical perspectives. In addition to creating meaningful knowledge of global and economic affairs, studying history highlights the perspectives of people and groups who triumphed over adversity. For example, the historical fights for freedom and equality, such as the struggle for women’s voting rights or ending the Jim Crow era in the South, offer relevant context for current events, such as efforts at criminal justice reform. History also is the story of the collective identity of people and regions. Historical research can help promote a sense of community and highlight the vibrancy of different cultures, creating opportunities for people to become more culturally aware and empowered. The Tools and Techniques of Historical Research MethodsA primary source is not necessarily an original source. For example, not everyone can access the original essays written by Hamilton because they are precious and must be preserved and protected. However, thanks to digitization, institutions can access, manage, and interpret essential information, artifacts, and images from the essays without fear of degradation. Using technology to digitize historical information creates what is known as digital history. It offers opportunities to advance scholarly research and expand knowledge to new audiences. For example, individuals can access a digital copy of The Federalist Papers from the Library of Congress’s website anytime, from anywhere. This digital copy can still serve as a primary source because it contains the same content as the original paper version created hundreds of years ago. As more primary and secondary sources are digitized, researchers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to search, gather, and analyze these sources. An AI method known as optical character recognition can help historians with digital research. Historians also can use AI techniques to close gaps in historical information. For example, an AI system developed by DeepMind uses deep neural networks to help historians recreate missing pieces and restore ancient Greek texts on stone tablets that are thousands of years old. As digital tools associated with historical research proliferate, individuals seeking to advance in a history career need to develop technical skills to use advanced technology in their research. Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program prepares students with knowledge of historical research methods and critical technology skills to advance in the field of history. Prepare to Make an ImpactThrough effective historical research methods, institutions, organizations, and individuals can learn the significance of past events and communicate important insights for a better future. In museums, government agencies, universities and colleges, nonprofits, and historical associations, the combination of technology and historical research plays a central role in extending the reach of historical information to new audiences. It can also guide leaders charged with making important decisions that can impact geopolitics, society, economic development, community building, and more. Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History prepares students with knowledge of historical research methods and skills to use technology to advance their careers across many industries and fields of study. The program’s curriculum offers students the flexibility to choose from four concentrations—Public History, American History, World History, or Legal and Constitutional History—to customize their studies based on their career goals and personal interests. Learn how Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History degree can prepare individuals for career success in the field of history. Recommended Readings What Is Digital History? A Guide to Digital History Resources, Museums, and Job Description Old World vs. New World History: A Curriculum Comparison How to Become a Researcher Getting Started with Primary Sources , Library of Congress What Is a Primary Source? , ThoughtCo. Full Text of The Federalist Papers , Library of Congress Digital History , The Inclusive Historian’s Handbook Historians in Archives , American Historical Association How AI Helps Historians Solve Ancient Puzzles , Financial Times Explore Norwich UniversityYour future starts here. - 30+ On-Campus Undergraduate Programs
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Explore your sense of adventure, have fun, and forge new friendships. High school students and incoming rooks, discover the leader you aspire to be – today.   4.3. By Area of Research Interest: Time PeriodsUsers may also refine the Directory to show members by the broad ‘Time Period’ of their research, again either singly or in combination with other options in this category. The time periods selected draw on widely used chronological ranges and terms, of principal use in the study of Western societies. We appreciate that these categories will not best reflect the extent and terminology for disciplines for all members of the Directory; but hope these allow each user to identify the date range/s that most closely apply to their research interests. 4.4. By Area of Research Interest: RegionsAs above, you may refine the Directory to show the region of historical research and activity—once again either singly or in combination with other options. 4.5. By Membership, 1: categories of Royal Historical Society membershipUsers may restrict results to show members who belong to one or more of the Society’s four membership categories: Fellow, Associate Fellow, Member and Postgraduate Member. - Fellows are established historians elected to the Society for their contribution to historical scholarship;
- Associate Fellows include historians at an earlier career stage who have not yet published a monograph or series of articles, or may support history through professional roles such as teaching or curation;
- Members are those with an interest in history that is typically personal and individual;
- Postgraduate Members are students working towards a postgraduate degree (masters or PhD) in a field of historical research.
For more on these categories, see the Join Us pages of the Society’s website. 4.6. By Membership, 2: countries of residence You may also limit results to those members in the Directory who reside in a particular country. This data is drawn from the Society’s membership database and provides a listing of country only. 4.7. By the keyword search boxVia the keyword box in the top left-hand corner of the screen, users may search the Directory by a chosen word or phrase. Participants in the Directory are invited to include a free text description of their research, and the keyword search will match records with search queries where these exist. The keyword search identifies hits in all elements of a person’s membership record. Therefore, a search for French Revolution will identify members with the personal name form ‘French’ as well as free text references in the ‘French Revolution’, plus (for example) the ‘French enlightenment’ and ‘revolution’. Results are ranked by weight, with personal name matches shown at the top of the list, and the least exact matches at the end of the results list. To focus a keyword search, please use quotation marks: a search for “French Revolution” identifies only those members with this term in their record.  5. Putting your searches together*Users may combine the options above to identify members of the Society in whose research and attributes they may be interested. For example, a search for current members: - with a research interest in Economic History, plus the eighteenth century, plus the Caribbean identifies 21 people;
- with an interest in ‘global’ history (via keywords) and the early modern period identifies 27 people;
- who are Fellows or Associate Fellows resident in Ireland identifies 41 people;
- who are Fellows of the Society, resident in the UK, with research interests in Political History, North America and in the twentieth century identifies 190 people
*Numbers provided here were correct at the launch date of the Directory. As the Directory is a dynamic resource, numbers by category will change over time Having completed a search, users may reset to begin a new search by clicking on the ‘RHS Directory’ label at the top of the page. 6. I’m a current member of the Society: how do I gain access to the Directory?The Directory was made available from Wednesday 11 September 2024. All current Fellows and Members of the Society were sent an individual email on the afternoon of 11 September with information on how to create a personal login to access to the Directory. This login requires the email address which you have supplied to the Society (and at which you will have received the aforementioned communication), plus a password of your choosing. Once created, please use these login details to access the Directory. If you did not receive an initial email on 11 September, please first check your Junk folders for this communication. If it has not arrived, please contact [email protected] . 7. I’m a current member of the Society: how do add my details to the Directory?All current Fellows and Members of the Society may register for and access the Directory as above. If you wish to add your details to the Directory, you may do so by accessing the site and using the Edit Profile option (top right of the Directory screen) to do so, choosing what level of information you provide to be displayed on your Directory page. Please use this same route if you wish to update your existing listing on the Directory, or to remove yourself from the Directory if you no longer wish your details to appear. If you have any questions about these actions please contact [email protected] . We hope this brief guide is useful to Fellows and Members of the Society in getting started with the Directory. If you have any questions about the RHS Members’ Directory and / or its use, please contact [email protected] .  If you are interested in joining the Royal Historical Society, please see our Join Us pages which provide details of our four membership categories: Fellow, Associate Fellow, Member and Postgraduate Member. Applications to join the Society are welcome at any time. HEADER IMAGE, iStock mohd izzuan Follow This Blog | |
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Part 1: Research methodology. Curatorial Research Centre's research method for online historical enquiry. 1. Starting points. These are the who, what, when, where, how of your research topic and are important for framing your research. A simple research question starting with these words can do wonders for keeping you on track, e.g.
This step-by-step guide progresses from an introduction to historical resources to information about how to identify a topic, craft a thesis and develop a research paper. Table of contents: The Range and Richness of Historical Sources. Secondary Sources. Primary Sources.
The following offers methods for finding online historical resources which are more focused than a simple Google search. Most find items within digital collections. A few search the full text. ... At Please find our list of open access resources for research in Soviet History there is a large list of resources. Slavic, Eastern European, and ...
Mastering the Stages of the Research Process. There are certain predictable stages that all historical research questions go through: Asking Good Questions. Finding Documents. Searching for Information. Taking Notes. Arguing and Telling Stories. Positioning Yourself Relative to Others. Drafting, Editing, and Revising.
Here's how to start researching records at the National Archives: Get Started Step 1 Determine your Topic of Interest Step 2 Gather Information about your Topic Step 3 Find Records and Information about Records Step 4 Decide if you Should Visit and Plan Your Visit About the Records at the National Archives Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United ...
Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication. Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian. Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches. Shares tips for researchers at every skill level.
Episode Summary. Sharon Block, a Professor of History at the University of California-Irvine, serves as our guide through how historians conduct historical research online. During our exploration, Sharon reveals how the digital age has changed and added to the ways historians research; How historians research history online; And, how we can ...
Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer for Environmental Historians and Others. by William Cronon and his students, University of Wisconsin. A website designed as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past. Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College ...
The essential handbook for doing historical research inthe twenty-first century The Princeton Guide toHistorical Research provides students, scholars, andprofes...
Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication. Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian. Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches. Shares tips for researchers at every skill level.
The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian's craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins ...
This guide is intended as a point of departure for research in history. We also have a more selective guide with major resources only: Introductory Library Research Guide for History. Finding Primary Sources Online offers methods for finding digital libraries and digital collections on the open Web and for finding Digital Libraries/Collections ...
U.S. History Primary Sources Timeline - Explore important topics and moments in U.S. history through historical primary sources from the Library's collections. Search the online collections Successful searches of the online collections of the Library of Congress, as with any archival research institution, begin with an understanding of what ...
For almost all historical topics, however, libraries filled with printed books and journals will remain the principal tools for research, just as museums will continue to be essential to any work dealing with the material culture of past science. The reason for this is simple: what is on the internet is the result of decisions by people in the ...
Find Records and Information about Records Our website contains answers to many of the preliminary research-related questions you might have. To find copies of Federal records on our website and/or information about the records and their historical context, you will have to look in several places. Some sources listed below are databases while others are online guides, publications, and ...
ss you might take at each stage of yo. n more detail.Step one: Your research questionsCome up wit. the questions you want your research to answer. Mak. sure your questions are focused and achievable. Learn. historical sources.Step two: General researchYour research question.
Online Exhibits Exhibits featuring online documents, photos and primary sources from the National Archives. Our Documents 100 Milestone Documents of American History. Getting Started with Research How to start researching records at the National Archives. Finding your topic, identifying records, planning a visit, and more.
The Medical Heritage Library (MHL), a digital curation collaborative among some of the world's leading medical libraries, promotes free and open access to over three-hundred thousand quality historical resources in medicine. Medicine in the Americas, 1610-1920: a digital library.
Step 2- Collect the Data. It is essential to collect data and facts about the research question to get reliable outcomes. You need to select an appropriate instrument for data collection. Historical research includes two sources of data collection, such as primary and secondary sources.
A popular aphorism declares that "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." Humans study history in part because social behaviors and global trends repeat themselves over time. If we understand how to study history, we can orient ourselves toward a future of progress rather than repeated mistakes.
Researching for a History assessment piece can often be the most daunting part of the subject. However, it needn't be. Research is a systematic process that, if followed step-by-step, will become a logical and efficient part of your work. Below are links to the nine stages of good research, providing explanations and examples for each one.
Make a new list of steps that apply to you. Keep reading and you will find a discussion of each of these steps below. Decide what you want to know. Find out what has been done already. Envision the overall research project. Consider possible end products. Make a list of necessary equipment, people, and materials.
The new virtual issue from Historical Research shines a light on some of the classic articles from the journal's recent archive. It features some of the most read and most cited articles from the journal's archives and covers a wide range of topics of perennial interest to both historians and to a wider readership. Browse the virtual issue.
Start by reviewing our PowerPoint presentation. The "Beginning your Genealogical Research at the National Archives and Records Administration" presentation provides an excellent introduction to most popular genealogical records at NARA. PowerPoint Tutorial. (Save to your computer and then open, or open directly.)
An Overview of Historical Research Methods. Historical research methods enable institutions to collect facts, chronological data, and other information relevant to their interests. But historical research is more than compiling a record of past events; it provides institutions with valuable insights about the past to inform current cultural ...
Writing Historiography. McLaughlin Library University of Guelph Write a Historiography. Finding historiographic essays - first steps. For topics that are of wide interest, you may be able to find an essay that reviews the literature on that topic, and that sets it in context by discussing how other historians have approached that topic.
On 11 September 2024 the Royal Historical Society (RHS) launched its online Members' Directory. The Directory is a resource available to current members of the Society to identify fellow historians—at all career stages—with research interests similar to their own, or in areas they wish to explore as their own work develops.