About this guide
This research guide provides Chris Morier's HIST103 students with the library tools and resources needed to undertake their research assignment for the Winter 2022 term.
Research help
We are here for you! Students can get research help from a librarian the following ways:
By email: libraryresearch@camosun.ca
Online Chat: AskAway
By appointment: book online
Contact the History Librarian: Robbyn Lanning
Research assignment source criteria
A wide variety of research topics are available for the HIST 103 research assignment. For the full list of possible topics, refer to the course outline available on the HIST 103 D2L course site.
Once you have selected the topic for your research paper, keep the following in mind:
For the full guidelines for the HIST 103 research assignment (proposal and completed paper), refer to the course outline available on the HIST 103 D2L course site. For formatting and citation requirements, see the course outline accompanied by the Camosun History Style Guide.
Find your sources using the library
The library is the best place for students and researchers to find academic secondary resources. Resources found using the library's online tools are paid for, organized, and curated. This means they have been selected to be authoritative and reliable.
Look for books, book chapters, and articles using the library's Single Search tool. To narrow your search to scholarly articles, use subject specific databases such as Historical Abstracts with Full Text or Academic Search Complete. Direct links to these and other helpful resources and search tools are available on this webpage.
Be wary of internet sources – you may be able to find legitimate academic work online; however, it is often held behind a paywall. Never pay for an article you find on the open web. If you find an article that is behind a paywall, let us know, and we will get the article for you.
Searching for trustworthy academic sources on the open web will take significantly more time than using the library's search tools. Unlike using the library's tools, there are limited ways to refine your search on the open web. You will also need to spend extra time determining the reliability of the sources (including authors, journals, and ideas) you might find.
History Librarian
Every discipline at Camosun works with a corresponding librarian who specializes in a number of subject areas. My name is Robbyn Lanning, and I am the subject librarian for History. To find my direct contact information, visit my profile page.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about using the library, its tools, or locating resources. I am here to help!
The following is a starter list of some possible search terms to begin your research. Experiment with these – and other search terms of your choosing (including place, time period, theme) – by combining them in various ways when you search:
General terms to start honing your search
Searching for specific time periods
You can search for time periods in a variety of ways:
Time periods often intertwine with people, events, places, and ideologies: