LibGuides: World History: A Guide to Library Research: Overview

Introduction

This guide is intended for research about world history. Use the tabs on the left to find resources dealing with a particular geographic area.

Below are some databases that are frequently used to start with, but you can find more resources through the left-side tabs. For resources focused on American history or British history, please see the list of related guides.

For assistance with finding resources, please ask a librarian!

Frequently Used Databases

Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
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 This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and science, plus 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.

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 This link opens in a new window
Searchable access to the backfile of the New York Times (Late Eastern Edition), in full digitized page images.
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.

Keyword(s): United States
Gale OneFile: World History This link opens in a new window
40+ journals provides balanced coverage of both the current thought and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.

Books & eBooks

Books on World history can be found under the following call number ranges:

DA - Great Britain

DAW - Central Europe

DB - Austria, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Czechoslovakia

DC - Franc, Andorra, Monaco

DD - Germany

DE - Greco-Roman World

DF- Greece

DG - Italy, Malta

DH - Low Countries

DJ - Netherlands

DJK - Eastern Europe General

DK - Russia, Soviet Union, Former Soviet Republics, Poland

DL - Northern Europe, Scandinavia

DP - Spain, Portugal

DQ - Switzerland

DR - Balkan Peninsula

DT - Africa

DU - Oceania, Australia

DX - Romanies