American History Subject Guide: Start Researching

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Need to select a topic or find background information on your topic?  Search for your topic in Credo Reference:

Or try one of these online reference resources:

When integrating sources into your own work, you want to:

1.  Accurately represent those sources
2.  Use them to support your own ideas and arguments

"In most cases, your best bet is to know your material well enough that you can set a source aside and write about its ideas in your own words. Otherwise, you run the risk of simply compiling a data dump or creating a patchwork of quotations. When you can sum up the gist of a source - its main point - instead of quoting from it excessively, that will save your reader time and will demonstrate that you really know the material. It will also leave more room for you to put your own stamp on the ideas you are writing about." From Getting Started - a Guide to How the Library Works: Using Sources.

Start your research in Castleton OneSearch or one of these databases:

Selecting and evaluating sources is about credibility - the credibility of the authors of the sources and your own credibility.  Consider the quality of the source, whether the author is trustworthy on that topic, and what the source offers (does it offer facts? an opinion? a new idea?).  

Not sure which sources are best? View this Evaluating Sources for Credibility video.

See our Citing Sources Guide!