hst 290: u.s. & asia cold war searching for sources dr. yixin chen ms. sue cody
TRANSCRIPT
HST 290: U.S. & Asia Cold WarSearching for Sources
Dr. Yixin ChenMs. Sue Cody
How are your research skills?
• Do you like doing research? – Why or why not?– What confuses/frustrates you
most about doing research?– What questions do you have
about conducting research for this class?
• How would you rate your current research skills?– Strong/Satisfactory/Needs
improvement/Poor (Take a vote.)
Our plan for the week
• Review Research Guide for this course.
• Explore various finding aids.
• Learn to identify primary sources.
• Become familiar with special services.– Interlibrary Loan– Ask a librarian
How much do you know about US-Asian Cold War relations?Where do you plan to start?
Which finding aids are most useful?• For books?• For scholarly articles?• For articles written during
the time studied?• For other primary
sources?
Finding Books
• Library Catalog – local & UNCP/FSU
• WorldCat– 9,000 libraries
• Some databases lead to books– Cited directly– Book reviews
• Google Books
Randall Online Catalog: Keyword v. Subject
• What’s the difference?• What are some useful
Subject Headings for the Cold War in Asia?– Start with a keyword
search, then look for subjects in the records retrieved.
Keyword/Subject features• Keyword
– Finds words anywhere in record.
– Look at records to see subject headings.
– Search lots of terms, word variations
• Subject Headings– Controlled
vocabulary– May not be
“natural language” but may find more
– Hierarchical arrangement helps narrow topic
– Searches only the subject field
Searching Personal Names
– Keyword searches • Either order • Try name variations, e.g.,
initials
– Author/Subject • Last name first (Western
names)• Consistent use• Example: Mao Tse-tung and
Mao Zedong
Online Catalog links• Subjects for related items• Call numbers for related
items (usually)• Library of Congress outline
– http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html • SuDoc arranges by agency• Cover, summary, reviews• Location maps• Expanding search to
UNCCLC• Repeating search
Journal Holdings & Access
• Follow the citation trail!• Search your citation
– Does the library have it?– What format or location?– What online access?
Database Exploration
• Historical Abstracts• WorldCat• JStor• Academic Search Premier• Project Muse• Search your topic
Secondary - Primary
• For Thursday:– Find a relevant secondary
source (book or article) with a bibliography.
– Review the bibliography to find a primary source.
– Copy the page with the primary source citation.
– Highlight citation, bring to class.
Next Class
• Databases– More techniques for refining
• Finding articles from a citation
• Primary Sources– What they are– How to find them
HST 290: Korean WarSearching for Sources
Dr. Yixin ChenMs. Sue Cody
Bibliographies as finding aids
• What did you find?• How did you decide what
was a primary source?
Search tips
• And, Or, Not– And narrows– Or adds synonyms/related– Not excludes (use carefully)
• Truncate for word variations – (diploma* = diplomacy,
diplomat, diplomats)
• Words anywhere or phrase? – “Cold War”
Journal Holdings & Access
• Bibliographies will cite useful publications
• Follow the citation trail!• Search your citation
– Does the library have it?– What format or location?– What online access?
Working from a known citation• Pearson, Lester Bowles. “Allies will
not Back U.S. Against Communism in Asia.” U.S. News & World Report 34 (June 19, 1953):56-?
• Zhang, Xiaoming, “The Vietnam War, 1964-1969: From a Chinese Perspective.” Journal of Military History 60 (1996): 731-762.
• Oh, Bonnie B. C. “The Korean War: No Longer Forgotten.” Journal of Asian Studies. 57 (1998): 156-160.
Primary Sources
• Dairies, journals, other writings of “players”
• Eyewitness/Observer accounts• Memoirs, autobiographies
(written later)• Official documents
– Laws, treaties, reports, orders, transcripts of proceedings, addresses, etc.
• Images, Artifacts
Primary or Secondary?• Scholarly article on President
Truman’s decision-making process relating to the Korean War.
• National Security Council Directives issued during the Korean War years.
• An encyclopedia of the Korean War.• U.S. soldiers’ letters home from the
Korean War.• Biography of General MacArthur.• Government publication from the
Army’s Center of Military History. • 1986 book by a historian about the
integration of African-American of soldiers in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Korean War.
Primary or Secondary?• English translation of a
memoir by Paek Son-yop (South Korean Army officer)
• New York Times articles on the Tet offensive, 1968.
• New York Times articles on the 50th anniversary of the Korean War.
• Photographs relating to the Korean War on the Eisenhower Library website.
• Vietnam War Chronology.
Randall Online Catalog
• Standard Subheadings – Correspondence– Diaries– Personal narratives– Sources– Treaties– See guide for others
Randall Online Catalog• Search general headings, use
indexes– Vietnam War and personal
narratives
• Search specific headings or persons– Harry S. Truman as author
• Look for items not tagged as primary source– Primary documents may be
included in secondary sources– Eyewitness authors may not be
tagged as sources
WorldCat
• May find items at Randall that catalog search didn’t (records enhanced later)
• Finds items for ILL requests– Rare items not lent– Rare items may be
reprinted & available
• Websites included – often w/ free access!
Use the Research Guides!
• Links to a variety of sources for your researching pleasure.
• Pre-1970s Popular Periodicals
• Primary Sources Guide
Questions?
What will you do when you have questions?
