LibGuides: History: Overview

Introduction

This guide is intended for research involving questions of a historical nature.

Below are some databases that are frequently used to start with, but the A - Z list of Databases (tab on the left side of the screen) has a much more complete list organized by source type. The resources on this guide cover all aspects of historical research and areas of the world; for resources organized by a specific area of the world, please see the list of related guides.

For assistance with finding resources, please ask a librarian in the chat slide-out on the right. For more in-depth help, contact the History Liaison Librarian and Archivist, Colleen Marquis.

Frequently Used Sources

Historical Abstracts with Full Text
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada, which is covered by America: History and Life with Full Text) from 1450 forward.

Includes world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and much more. Provides indexing of historical articles from more than 1,800 journals in over 40 languages back to 1955.
JSTOR
Provides full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Also includes full text ebooks and open access content.
Access extended! Some journals in JSTOR are available for U-M Flint until June 30, 2023, after which they are expected to become unavailable. Many other journals will remain accessible. Click "more..." for additional information.

Mostly 3-5 years & older full text. African American studies, anthropology, botany, business, ecology, economics, education, general science, geography, history, language & literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, sociology, statistics.

Dates of coverage vary by journal title. All go back to the very first issue published, but most have a "moving wall" embargo that excludes issues from the most recent X years (where X can be anywhere from 0 up to 10 years, depending on the particular journal; most are in the 3 to 5 year embargo range).

Hint: Use documents to find useful keywords and concepts, and retrieve matching JSTOR content, via JSTOR Text Analyzer

As a public service during the COVID-19 pandemic, JSTOR provided subscribing libraries access to journals free of charge. This expanded access is expected to expire on June 30, 2023, but the Thompson Library will continue to have permanent access to hundreds of journals through JSTOR. Please contact the Thompson Library if you have any questions.
New York Times, 1851 - three months ago
Searchable access to the backfile of the New York Times (Late Eastern Edition), in full digitized page images.
Keyword(s): United States

Searchable access to the New York Times (Late Eastern Edition), from the first issue on September 18, 1851 to three months ago. Reproduces the complete full text of every issue in its original printed form, in full page images digitized from microfilm. Also incorporates indexing and subject headings from the New York Times Index, 1851-1993.
Access World News
Newspapers from Michigan, the United States, and worldwide.

Michigan publications include: Detroit News (1/1/1999-present), Flint Journal (includes 8 weekly titles) (1995-present), and several others.

Related Guides

British and UK History
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United States History
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World History
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Flint & Local History
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Primary Sources for Historical Research
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Genesee Historical Collections Center

Genesee Historical Collections Center
The GHCC, a division of the University of Michigan-Flint Thompson Library, contains both published and unpublished material concerning the history of Flint and Genesee County, Michigan, as well as the archives of the University of Michigan-Flint.