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- History 299: The Holocaust: Global Perspective
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History 299: The Holocaust: Global Perspective
Why is gathering background research important?
It's important to familiarize yourself with a topic before you begin doing more specific and extensive research.
Background research will help you:
- Narrow your topic and focus your research question
- Find historical information, trends, agreements and disagreements, related to the topic, and uncovers gaps in your knowledge
- Learn the context of a topic -- the who, what, when, where, why, and how
- Uncover keywords you can use to do more extensive research
- Find additional sources on your topic
Start your research in reference sources (handbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries, etc.) to be sure you have a strong foundation for your topic. Most of these sources will include bibliographies of important secondary and primary sources, which can save you time!
Holocaust Encyclopedia (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Reference Databases
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowOffers full-text access to over 500 highly-regarded titles from 70 publishers. Covers every major subject in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences from the world's best publishers of reference.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowOxford Reference Online brings together language and subject reference works from one of the world's biggest and most trusted reference publishers into a single cross-searchable resource.
Suggested Reference Books
Encyclopaedia JudaicaCall Number: Rolvaag Ref: DS102.8 .E52 2007
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the HolocaustCall Number: DS135.E8 E45 2001 (Reference Room)Publication Date: 2001
Holocaust Literature : An Encyclopedia of Writers and their WorkCall Number: PN56.H55 H66 2003 (Reference Room)Publication Date: 2002
The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos During the HolocaustCall Number: D805.A2 Y33 2009 (Oversize)Publication Date: 2010
Openly Editable Encyclopedia
- Wikipedia"The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit."
Tips for Wise Wikipedia Use
- Be aware that anyone can edit entries in Wikipedia.
- Consider it as a starting point for research; get to know your topic and identify important keywords.
- Look for references to reliable, published sources (in the References or Bibliography sections).
- Pay attention to the alert boxes and symbols. "Featured Articles" have a star to indicate their high quality; articles that are in need of updating (e.g. citation needed, newly available information, relies too much on primary sources) will be marked at the top of the page.