HIST 294 Seminar on Historical Method: Research Techniques

Find Reference Entries (individual articles) in Search@UW

1. Search using terms that describe your topic in Search@UW (the library catalog). Click the magnifying glass icon to the right of the search bar.
2. After your search results load, look at the filter options on the left side of the page. Go to the "Resource Type" filter, and click on "Show More"
3. Click on "Reference Entries." This will limit your search results to tertiary sources, including encyclopedia articles/entries. 
4. Click on the title of the reference article/entry you'd like to read. Look under "View Online" for the database link for the tertiary source.
   
   Important: the database link may take you to the landing page for the entire tertiary source, not the specific article/entry you need. In this case, locate the entry alphabetically by title, search the text of the book, or use the page numbers of the article to navigate to your reference entry.

Link to Search@UW record for the reference entry "Area 51" that's pictured below.

Use 'Advanced Search' to find Reference Books

1. Open a Search@UW Advanced Search. This is a page with a set of 2 search boxes connected with a Boolean operator (AND, OR, NOT). To the left of each search box are 2 drop-down menus.
2. Set the first 'Any Field' drop-down menu to "Subject". Skip the 'Contains the words' drop-down.
3.  In the first search box, enter a term that describes a type of tertiary source. Here are some examples you could paste into the search box: 
   1. Encyclopedias
   2. Bibliography
   3. Dictionaries
   4. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
   5. Directories
   6. Guidebooks
   7. Reference books
4. Skip the Boolean Operator drop-down (leave it set to the default 'AND')
5. Set the second 'Any Field' drop-down to "Subject" as well. Skip the 'Contains the words' drop-down.
6. In the second search bar, enter terms that describe your topic. 

Tip: If your first search doesn't return any results, remove reset the "Subject" drop-down menu next to your topic term back to "Any Field".

Example Searches:

Links to example search results

• Subject = Dictionaries AND Subject = Old English
• Subject = Encyclopedias AND Subject = Immigration
• Subject = Directories AND Subject = Milwaukee

Find Tertiary Sources by Location

1. Type search terms that describe your topic in Search@UW
2. Find the 'Locations' filter options on the left side of the search results page.
3. Click the boxes to the left of the location option you'd like to limit your search by. Common locations for tertiary sources include:
   1. Reference Collection- Located in the Learning Commons on the 1st floor. You have to use these books in the library.
   2. American Geographical Society Library- Collection items not labeled "rare", "maps," or "atlas" are stored in compact shelving west and can be pulled for you (recommended). To get these:
      1. Place a local request for these items, pick them up from the main circulation desk
      2. If your request is denied, send an email to agsl@uwm.edu to verify the location of the books you're interested in
   3. Archives Collection- located on the 3rd floor, west wing. You have to use these books in the library.
      1. Most of the books in the Archives are reference books or books collected to help researchers contextualize primary sources