Now that you have some general background and have analyzed your primary source, it is time to expand your research to find reliable, academic sources. In this step, you will do ALL the research you need to complete Step #5.

For this step, you will find THREE journal articles using the Library “General Search” and seeking out secondary sources that you found via Chat GPT (if available via the UNBC library).

Remember that some topics are not as well researched as others. Most of the articles you find will not be exactly on the topic of your primary source, but rather will look at some of the central themes highlighted within it. For example, if your primary source is “Gabriele de Mussis: on the Origins of the Black Death”, your article search could focus on medicine and the Black Death or Mongols and the Black Death or debates about the origins of the Black Death. 

Using the Library Website

One of the key ways that historians find information about a topic they are researching is through the use of academic databases. DO NOT SIMPLY SEARCH FOR YOUR TOPIC ON GOOGLE. Remember that you need to use appropriate, academic sources for your assignment.

Academic articles are shorter written pieces, usually 10-30 pages that focus on more specific aspects of a given topic. For example, where a book might explore the entire history of the Black Death in a community, an academic article would focus on one aspect of how that community met with the challenges faced by the Black Death. Academic articles are useful sources because they often provide details merely touched on in books and they tend to consider any debates amongst historians regarding specific topics. 

Make sure you attend the library workshop during your tutorials the week of September 18th for assistance in navigating the UNBC library catalogue.

You can also review the short video below for assistance:

Using “General Search”:

Your secondary sources must conform to the following criteria: 

  • Published AFTER 1970
  • Peer-reviewed
  • Articles (you can use books on top of the required three sources)
  • Language (only choose languages you can read!)

Use the themes you identified in step #3 of the assignment, but make sure you are connecting them to a particular time period or place. For example, searching “Black Death” will give you thousands of articles, but looking at “Black Death” “Caffa” or “Black Death” “Mongols” will help to narrow your focus. 

From the list of sources compiled, choose THREE articles. Make sure that you choose articles that are available via the UNBC library. To find out if they are available, click on the title. It will take you to a page that will provide you with information about how to access that source. 

Hints

  • Make sure to attend the library workshop the week of September 18th in your tutorials. It will provide you with all the information you need to successfully search for material.
  • Don’t be tempted to choose the first article that comes up in your search, unless it seems useful. Remember you are searching for material that will help you complete Step #5 of the assignment. You need to think about what you want to include in the assignment so that you can find appropriate sources. Choose only articles that are understandable to you as some academic articles are very dense and difficult to understand (even for professors like me!).
  • Look at the journal in which your article appears. If the journal focuses on topics not related to History, maybe this isn’t the best article for your project. For example, if your primary source looks at Confucianism, but your article focuses on Confucianism and modern medicine, does it really work for a project in a History course?
  • You must choose articles or books published after 1970. If you cannot find sources published after that time, please contact Dr. Wessell Lightfoot. 
  • USE THE LIBRARIANS!!! If you are having trouble finding resources, get in touch with a librarian via their online portal. Their job is to help you with your research!!

To Submit

Word Version of the below questions:

Research Assignment Step #4

Provide the following for THREE ARTICLES that you’ve found. Please double-space your assignment. 

  1. Name of your primary source. What are the key themes you found in Step #3?
  2. Provide a reference to each article, formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style. 
  3. What did you learn about your primary source or its key themes from each article? Your answer for this question should be at least two paragraphs for each of your articles. It should be SPECIFIC and provide examples of the type of information that you found in your sources. This section should encompass several paragraphs.Â