LibGuides: EUH 4140: The Renaissance in Italy & Northern Europe: Research Tips

Tips for Finding Sources

1. Scholarly books - search the library catalog. Look for books published by academic presses or professional organizations, or by educated scholars in the field.

2. Scholarly articles - search OneSearch and limit results to Academic Journals, or search in a subject database.

3. Authoritative online sources (websites) - use Google Advanced search to limit results to .edu or .gov domains

Use the CRAAP test for evaluating websites:

C - currency
R - relevance
A - authority
A - accuracy
P - purpose

4. Primary sources - see the Primary Sources tab of this guide

Follow the Trail!

Following the references and footnotes in a given book or article can help you identify additional sources on a topic.

If you find a reference in a bibliography that interests you, check OneSearch or the library catalog to see if we have it. If we don't, you can request the title through Interlibrary Loan or UBorrow.

Dissertations & Theses

In addition to serving as sources for your own research projects, most doctoral dissertations include exhaustive literature reviews and/or extensive bibliographies, making them incredibly useful for identifying additional sources on a topic.

Dissertations and Theses Global (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
With more than 2 million entries, PQD&T is the single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. UMI offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microfilm or paper formats. More than 600,000 are available in native or image PDF formats for immediate free download.
Open Dissertations (Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
American Doctoral Dissertations, 1933-1955 provides electronic access to the only comprehensive record of dissertations accepted by American universities during that time period, the print index Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities.

Background Sources

The following print sources are located in the Reference collection on the first floor. Additional titles can be identified by searching the library catalog.

Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. 6 vols. (Ref. CB361 .E52 1999)

Encyclopedia of the Renaissance and the Reformation (Ref. CB359 .B47 2004)

Biographical Sources

Biography In Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Online biographical reference database in the fields of literature, science, business, entertainment, politics, sports, history, current events and the arts.Biographical information on over one million people throughout history, around the world.

Online Reference Sources

Academic reference sources are great resources for background information about a topic. Think of them as a "scholarly Wikipedia."

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Offering more than 1100 highly-regarded titles from over 120 publishers, Credo covers every major subject from the world's best publishers of reference.
Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
The Gale virtual reference library integrates some of the most heavily used encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources in a online database.