A Student's Guide to History
Fourteenth Edition ©2019
ISBN:9781319109714
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ISBN:9781319109707
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A complete guide to success in any history course, updated to reflect The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition
This guide provides comprehensive coverage of the historians research process — from formulating a research question to how to find, evaluate, and work with sources of all types — written and nonwritten, in print and online. The writing process is explained thoroughly as advice on creating a strong thesis and writing an effective paper culminates with a model student research paper. The appendixes point students to the most helpful research resources.
“This is an all-in-one guide for taking our students through the thinking to research to writing process. The layout is exceptional.”
— John C. Savagian, Alverno College“Ive assigned it for years now, and it continues to be relevant even as the landscape of college-level history instruction has changed dramatically in a short period of time.”
— Michael Clinton, Gwynedd Mercy University“A Students Guide to History helps students develop all of the necessary skills to become a successful student of history.”
— Karen Pastorello, Tompkins Cortland Community College
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Table of Contents
Preface
A Note to Students
Chapter 1
The Subject of History and How to Use It
What History Can Tell You
How Historians Work
How Historians Think about History
Causation
Continuity and Change
Contextualization
Examining Historical Evidence
Historical Interpretation
Approaches to History
Philosophies of History
Historiography
Fields of Historical Research
How You Can Use Your History Skills
Public History
The Private Sector
Chapter 2
Succeeding in Your History Class
Keeping Up with Reading Assignments
Navigating a Textbook
Reading a Textbook
Taking Notes in Class
Guidelines for Taking Lecture Notes
From Class Lectures and Presentations
From Multimedia Presentations
Guidelines for Taking Notes on Media Presentations
Taking Exams
Guidelines for Writing In-Class Essay Exams
Objective and Short-Answer Exams
Example of a Short-Answer Question
Example of an Identification Question
Example of a Multiple-Choice Question
In-Class Essay Exams
Composing Sample Questions
Taking the Test
Take-Home Essay Exams
The Dangers of Plagiarism
Classroom Participation
Classroom Discussions
Oral Presentations
Guidelines for Speaking in Class
Guidelines for Giving an Oral Presentation
Creating Media Presentations
Group Work
Guidelines for Peer Reviewing
Interactive Course Content
Cooperative Learning
Chapter 3
Working with Different Types of Historical Evidence
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
When a Secondary Source Becomes a Primary Source
Accessing Sources of Evidence in Print, in Person, and Online
Reading Written Sources
Guidelines for Working with Written Sources
Primary Texts
Scholarly Articles
Guidelines for Identifying Scholarly Articles
Monographs
Anthologies
Literature
"Reading" Nonwritten Sources
Maps
Guidelines for Interpreting Nonwritten Sources
Statistical Data
Illustrations, Photographs, and Other Visual Material
Sound and Video Recordings
Artifacts
Chapter 4
Evaluating and Interpreting Historical Evidence
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Secondary Sources
Reviewing Secondary Sources for Basic Information
Guidelines for Evaluating Secondary Sources
Reading Secondary Sources for Signs of Bias
Evaluating Primary Sources
Written Primary Sources
Guidelines for Evaluating Written Primary Sources
Nonwritten Primary Sources
Guidelines for Evaluating Nonwritten Primary Sources
Special Problems of Evaluating Web-Based Sources
Evaluating Material Found on WebSites
Guidelines for Evaluating Websites
Guidelines for Evaluating Material Found on Websites
Documenting Web-Based Sources
Interpreting Sources and Taking Notes
Reading Your Sources
Summarizing and Paraphrasing without Plagiarizing
Summarizing Your Sources
Paraphrasing Your Sources
Quoting without Plagiarizing
Organizing Your Notes
Taking Notes on Note Cards
Taking Notes on a Computer
Photocopying, Downloading, or Printing Sources
Avoiding Plagiarism
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism and Internet Sources
Plagiarism and Group Work
Chapter 5
Writing Assignments: From Source Analysis to Comparative Critiques
Writing about Primary Sources
Single-Source Analysis
Comparative Analysis
Writing about Secondary Sources
Book Reviews
Guidelines for Writing a Book Review
Article Critiques
Comparative Reviews and Critiques
How to Organize a Short Essay
Chapter 6
Building a History Essay: From Thesis to Conclusion
Why Clear Writing Is Important
Preparing to Write
The Problem of Organization
Examining Sources
Drafting a Thesis Statement
Creating a Writing Outline
Drafting Your Essay
A Clear Introduction
A Cohesive Body
Sentences: The Building Blocks of Writing
Cohesive, Connected Paragraphs
A Meaningful Conclusion
Revising Your Essay
Guidelines for Revising Your Essay
Proofreading Your Essay
The Danger of Plagiarism
Chapter 7
Conducting Research in History
Beginning the Research Process
Choosing a Topic
Guidelines for the Research Process
Narrowing Your Topic
Formulating a Research Question
Debatable Questions
Narrow Questions
Significant Questions
Researchable Questions
Developing a Thesis
Planning a Research Strategy
Budgeting Your Time and Staying Focused
Keeping an Open Mind
Maintaining a Working Bibliography
Conducting Research
Using the Library’s Online Catalog
The Art of Searching
Searching by Subject or by Keyword
Searching by Author and by Title
Locating Materials by Using Call Numbers
Using Print and Electronic Reference Works
The Problem of Wikipedia
Guidelines on the use of Wikipedia: Possible Dangers
Atlases, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias
Subject Bibliographies
Using Print and Electronic Periodical Databases
Locating Articles in Scholarly Journals
Guidelines for Using Periodical Databases
Locating Articles in Magazines and Newspapers
Searching for Primary Sources
Primary Sources in Published Collections
Primary Sources in Museum Archives
Primary Sources on the Web
Interviews as Primary Sources
Using Internet Search Tools
Searching Efficiently
Previewing Search Results
Chapter 8
Writing a Research Paper
Asserting Your Thesis
Why Your Paper Needs a Thesis
What Makes a Thesis Effective
Guidelines for Developing an Effective Thesis
Organizing Your Evidence with a Writing Outline
Writing the Text
The Rough Draft
Clear Writing: A Matter of Continuity
Quotations: When and How to Use Them
When to Quote Sources Directly
How to Format Quotations
Incorporating Visual Materials into Your Paper
Guidelines for Incorporating Visuals
When to Use Footnotes and Endnotes
Revising and Rewriting
Guidelines for Revising and Rewriting
Chapter 9
Example of a Research Paper
A Sample Research Paper
How the Thesis Was Developed
The Writing Outline for the Paper
Formatting a Research Paper
Sample Student Research Paper
Chapter 10
Documenting Your Paper: How to Cite Sources in Chicago Style
Formatting Footnotes and Endnotes
Organizing a Bibliography
Directory of Documentation Models for Notes and Bibliography Entries
Documentation Models
Overview of Notes
Overview of Bibliography Entries
Author Variations
Books
Guidelines for Citing Books
Guidelines for Citing Letters in Published Collections
Periodicals
Guidelines for Citing Articles in Print Journals
Guidelines for Citing Articles in Electronic Databases
Public Documents
Multimedia Sources
Guidelines for Citing Information from Web Sites
Other Published Sources
Unpublished Sources
Appendix A
Resources for History Research
Comprehensive Reference Databases
Historical Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Atlases
Historical Dictionaries — World
Historical Dictionaries — United States
Historical Encyclopedias — World
Historical Encyclopedias — Europe
Historical Encyclopedias — United States
Historical Atlases — World
Historical Atlases — United States
Biography Collections and Databases
International Biography Collections
United States Biography Collections
Newspaper Indexes and Databases
Newspaper Indexes and Databases — General
Newspaper Indexes and Databases — United States
Periodical Indexes and Databases
Magazine Indexes and Databases
Journal Indexes and Databases
Public Documents
Public Documents — International
Public Documents — Britain, Australia, and Canada
Public Documents — United States
Historical Statistics
Historical Statistics — General
Historical Statistics — National and Regional
Historical Statistics — United States
General Resources in World History
Reference Works and Bibliographies
Websites
Specialized Resources in World History
Ancient History
Europe — General
Europe — Medieval
Europe — Early Modern
Europe — Modern
Britain — General
Britain before 1800
Britain since 1800
Ireland and Scotland
Eastern Europe
Russia and the Soviet Union
Africa
Middle East and North Africa
Asia — General
South Asia — India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
China
Japan and Korea
Australia and New Zealand
Latin America and the Caribbean
Canada
General Resources in United States History
Reference Works and Bibliographies
Websites
Specialized Resources in United States History
Regional, State, and Local
Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National, 1607–1800
Native American
Slavery and the Civil War
African American
Women’s
Immigrant and Ethnic
Social and Cultural
Political
Foreign Relations, International, and War
Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine
Labor, Business, Economic, and Urban
Religious
Appendix B
Historical Sources in Your Own Backyard
How to Research Your Family History
Sources for County and Local History
Sources for Family History and Genealogical Research
Authors
Jules R. Benjamin
Jules R. Benjamin, formerly professor of history at the University of Rochester, is Emeritus professor at Ithaca College. He taught for over thirty years. He is the author of several books and articles, including The United States and Cuba: Hegemony and Dependent Development, 1880-1934 and The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution: An Empire of Liberty in an Age of National Liberation. His current research focuses on contemporary international relations.
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