Have a history assignment coming up and need help choosing/narrowing down a topic? Are you struggling to find credible historical sources? We can help!
In this guide, you will find information about:
"History is an academic discipline that examines the past. As an applied critical approach or for public policy development, it traces present conditions in human society and outlines future alternatives—considering likely societal and technological changes... Perspective and context are important processes in analyzing history: viewing actions by the standards of their times and acknowledging influences on the author’s (and reader’s) thinking."
Kronzek, Lynn. 2022. “History.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, February.
Add Quotation Marks to search for an exact phrase or words in a specific or EXACT order. An exact phrase will return more accurate results because it snaps all of the words together, turning it into a phrase that must be found exactly in that order.
Example: separation anxiety vs. “separation anxiety”
Apply filters to limit your search results. Because they limit your results, filters might also be called limiters. The most common and helpful filters to limit your results are:
Create a list of keywords associated with your topic.
What else could it be called (synonyms)? What describes it specifically (hyponyms)? What is it related to broadly (hypernyms)?
Topics can be narrowed or broadened depending on the use of search terms.
General: monkeys
Narrower: howler monkeys
Broader: primates