HIST 1302 | American History After 1877

Types of Resources

Primary sources are created at the time historical events occurred. Primary sources could also be made after historical events have taken place by someone who was there (for example, memoirs or oral histories). Some of the most common types of primary sources are letters, diaries, newspapers, statistics, interviews, memoirs, oral histories, speeches, or artifacts.

Secondary sources interpret or analyze an historical event. Most secondary sources are books with footnotes or endnotes, journal and magazine articles that analyze or interpret past events, biographies, book reviews, or literary criticism.

Keywords & Boolean Operators

Keywords are the words you put into a database's search box for results.

Keywords are important because databases simply look for articles where your keywords show up. You want enough keywords to find a relevant article, but not so many that the database gets confused.

To come up with keywords, write down your topic's big idea terms. Don't think about the question you want answered, think about the words that would show up in your ideal article. Then do a search in one of our databases, write down other words keep coming up, and add them to your list.

This is a trial and error process, so give yourself some time and don't give up!

Boolean Operators are words that you can use in between keywords to widen or narrow your search. They're easy to use and make a big difference! The most popular Boolean operators are:

• AND--Use when you want both words to show up in your article
• OR--use between keywords that are synonymous or interchangeable
• NOT--use when you want to exclude a word from the search

Most databases have an "advanced search" option that allows you to make Boolean searches easier. Try it out!

The CRAAP Test: Evaluate Your Sources

CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate your sources.

Currency: the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has it been revised or updated?
• Are the links functional?   

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information too simple or advanced for your needs?
• Have you looked at other options??

Authority: the source of the information

• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Is the URL trustworthy (.gov or .edu)?

Accuracy: the reliability and truthfulness of the source

• Has the information been reviewed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source?
• Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?

Purpose: the reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?