LibGuides: Spanish Courses & Research: Historical topics in Spanish

Historical topics: Start with encyclopedias

Start with encyclopedias

Historical topics will most likely benefit from a traditional research process approach. Look for encyclopedias to give your topic context and show what more specific subtopics you could pursue. Watch the video to learn how to use encyclopedias in more advanced ways than simply keyword ideas.

Mining Encyclopedia Entries video link
Watch the video to learn the advanced search strategy of mining encyclopedia entries.

Use the encyclopedia databases

Credo Reference
Full-text of over 1,000 reference works (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc).

Or browse the print encyclopedias in the Reference section, 1st floor

Historical topics related to Spanish may show up in several areas, so be adventurous:

300's (social issues, such as immigration)
400's (language), etc.
800's (literature)
900's: 946 (Spain and Portugal)
970-971 (North America)
972 (Central America)
973-9 (United States)
980-9 (South America)

Medieval Iberia: An encyclopedia
Call Number: Reference 946.02 M468
One example of an encyclopedia that shows up in the 900's section related to a historical topic

Books and other in-depth sources

Move to in-depth sources once your topic is more known

Books and documentaries can be found in OneSearch, WorldCat, and the streaming databases.
Learning how to use subject terms will transform your search results.

Physical books and DVDs:

OneSearch
Catalog that searches books, ebooks, articles, videos, equipment, digital media, and more. You can search Vogel Library and our TRAC Partner Libraries through this portal.
WorldCat
Search libraries around the world! Request items for free using the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) link.

WorldCat & TRAC Partner Libraries Video Tutorial
Learn more about searching WorldCat and borrowing from our TRAC Partner Libraries for free.
Subject Terms Video Tutorial
Learn the advanced search strategies of incorporating subject terms.

Streaming Video

AVON Academic Video Online
Streaming video database with more than 62,000 multidisciplinary video titles--documentaries, interviews, news series.
Kanopy
NEW MEDIATED ACCESS 6/1/21The entire Kanopy collection can be searched, but you will have to fill out a request form on the film's page and wait for approval in order to view. This is free to you but does necessitate planning ahead. Contact the library with any questions!

Kanopy is a streaming database of over 30,000 ad-free films--feature films, foreign films, documentaries, and more.

Article Sources

Look for articles, news, and primary sources once you have specific needs

Articles and primary source subjects vary widely, so it helps you to know what you are looking for before jumping in.

Scholarly articles

JSTOR
Multidisciplinary full-text academic journals, books, and primary sources (usually excludes the past 2-5 years).
MLA International Bibliography
Indexed books, articles and dissertations in modern languages, literature, folklore, and linguistics. Temporary full-text access through June 30, 2025.
America: History & Life
US and Canadian topics--prehistory to the present. Scholarly; some full-text.
SocINDEX with Full Text
Abstracts for 2 million records and full text for more than 860 journals dating back to 1908. This database also includes full text for more than 830 books and monographs, and full text for over 16,800 conference papers.
PubMed Central
Free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature from the National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM).
PsycINFO
Provides peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. This database provides access to scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations. For full-text, it links to PsycARTICLES.
ERIC
The database provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. Content includes journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations and theses, and books dating back to 1966.
ProQuest One Academic
Yes, this is the multidisciplinary database you already use, but did you know it has a specific collection of Latin and Iberian publications? These will search automatically, or you can go to them and search exclusively.

Databases A-Z
Look for databases from specific disciplines such as music, education, health, history, sociology, and more.

News

Google News can provide good coverage, but not everything is full-text, so be sure to check out ProQuest Central and Newspaper Source plus for more access.

News Databases + Google News

Primary Sources

Look for primary sources in print and online

Use "source" as a subject term keyword in searching OneSearch and WorldCat.
Use "primary source," museum, archive, and/or site:org as a keyword with your topic on Google or another online search engine. The example below shows a search using archives and site:org and the top result, which is relevant:

In addition, some databases and websites lead you to primary sources more directly:

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has digitized many primary sources for your use; also see the subsite "American Memory" for more collections.

Evaluation: Three questions

What is it? Why do I care? What does it really say?

You answer these three questions every time you use a source, whether you know it or not.

Whether it is a website or a scholarly journal article...
Whether it is for a 1st-year course or real life...

Start noticing how you answer these questions to ensure your sources are really meeting your needs.

The Three Questions:

What is it: What is the source type and author credibility?
- Quick Wikipedia checks are okay! You can also compare what other source say about that source.
Why do I care: Does the source type and author credibility meet your needs?
- Decide this at the beginning so you know whether to read the material or find something better.
What does it really say: Perceive how the word choices influence the knowledge.
- The author's word choices, included and excluded information, and the aim of the publication all make a difference in how or why you would use a source.