WRIT 015 - Writing and Culture

The library provides access to millions of scholarly resources through HoyaSearch. This includes many primary sources and collections of primary sources. To locate primary sources follow these important steps:

1. Create a Keyword List

Get to know your topic by explore information in reference databases like Credo Reference or read a book that provides a broad and general overview of the topic, for example, Nationalism in Germany, 1848-1866 : revolutionary nation.

Next, create a keyword list, which can include names of important events, documents, people, places, dates, and specialized vocabulary.

For example, if you are conducting research on the history of Nationalism in Germany, some of the keywords you might add to a list include:

• Otto Von Bismarck
• Prussia
• Frederick the Great
• Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke
• Franco-Prussian War
• The Imperial Proclamation, January 18, 1871

2. Search HoyaSearch using special search words to finding primary sources

Combine the keywords from this list with special keywords HoyaSearch recognizes for finding primary sources:

• Sources
• Documents
• Personal narratives
• Correspondence
• Public Opinion
• Caricatures and cartoons
• Archives

3. Review the search results and select items that look promising

The search used in the example below is German Nationalism Sources.