Reference Sources
While primary sources and scholarly articles will be the main focus of your research in this course, don't leave out the value of reference sources. These include items like encyclopedias and subject dictionaries that can provide basic definitions to key terms, and provide "who/what/where/when/why" style answers to a research topic.
Additionally, literature reviews can be tremendously helpful in providing context for your research topic and give you clear starting places for articles and scholars to search for. Because they discuss the articles and books published about a topic, they can offer a 10,000 foot view of which scholars are talking about which topics in scholarly literature (articles, books, etc.).
As you begin your research assignments for this class and any other research-intensive courses, before diving right into scholarly articles and/or primary sources, consider searching for reference sources first to provide a more focused approach to your research.
Example Reference Sources
- Annual Review publications
- Annual Reviews provides literature reviews that capture current understandings of topics, including what is well-supported and what is controversial. These articles also set the topic in historical context, highlight the direction of future research, and outline the general significance of the research to society. Subjects are wide-ranging from science to law to social sciences to politics.
- While there is no specific A.R. publication for history research, the publications below can still be useful in finding contextual information about the Civil Rights Movement and segregation:
- Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc.
African American Political Thought by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780226725918Publication Date: 2021African American Political Thought offers an unprecedented philosophical history of thinkers from the African American community and African diaspora who have addressed the central issues of political life: democracy, race, violence, liberation, solidarity, and mass political action.
Encyclopedia of African American History by Call Number: Boatwright Library - Level B2 - E185 .E544 2010ISBN: 9781851097692Publication Date: 2010A fresh compilation of essays and entries based on the latest research, this work documents African American culture and political activism from the slavery era through the 20th century.
Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement by Call Number: Boatwright Library - First Floor Reference Collection - E185.61 .L84 2014ISBN: 9780810860643Publication Date: 2014The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement is a guide to the history of the African-American struggle for equal rights in the United States.
Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 0313015244Publication Date: 2007The entries [in Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition] have a worldwide focus, covering antislavery movements and important developments in slavery abolition and slave emancipation in many places around the globe.
Very Short Introductions
VSI offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects, written by experts in the field.
*Note: Only five simultaneous users may access these works, so if you run into issues accessing these works, wait about an hour and try again, or contact Kyle Jenkins (kyle.jenkins@richmond.edu).
The Civil Rights Movement: a Very Short Introduction by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780190605421Publication Date: 2023
American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 0199380783Publication Date: 2014
Abolitionism: A Very Short Introduction by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780190213237Publication Date: 2018
