Secondary sources interpret, summarize, or critique the evidence surrounding a historic event. Secondary sources include books and articles written by historians.
Use the tabs below to find information on using WPI Library Search, using the library's databases, finding books, finding journal articles, and getting full-text access to resources.
WPI Library Search (the main search box on the library homepage) searches across most of the library's resources at once and can be used to find books, articles, and more. Enter your keywords to get started. Then use the tips below to refine your search results.
Use these search terms to narrow or broaden your search:
|
Term |
Example |
Result |
|
AND |
Watergate AND Nixon |
Narrows the search to entries containing both terms. |
|
OR |
farm OR agriculture |
Broadens the search to entries containing either or both of these terms. |
|
NOT |
Stonewall NOT Jackson |
Excludes entries containing the second term. |
|
“ ” |
“Great Depression” |
Retrieves results containing the exact phrase in quotes. |
|
? |
wom?n |
Wildcard: Retrieves women, woman, etc. |
|
* |
educat* |
Truncation: Retrieves educate, education, educational, educator, etc. |
After you search, refine your search results using the filters on the left. Filter by availability, resource type, publication date, and more.
Use the databases listed below to find journal articles, books, and book chapters related to your research topic.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
Historical abstracts of North American and global history research journals, covering 1450 to the present.
Full text access to scholarly humanities, social sciences, and mathematics journals.
A powerful search tool to streamline your library research. Entering terms into a single search box yields results that include: books and e-books, research and news articles, project reports, electronic theses and dissertations, archival materials, patents, open access collections and more.
Google search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports on all topic areas. Use to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, prepublication repositories and universities.
Catalog of books (and other materials) in libraries worldwide.
Books are a vital sources of historical scholarship. To find books at the Gordon Library, type your keywords into the WPI Library Search. Use the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to select "Books & Media."
To limit your search to online books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available online.
To limit your search to print books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available on shelf.
Ebooks: Many of Gordon Library's books are available digitally, and you can access these via the links in WPI Library Search.
Print books: Print books in the library are organized by call number. When you find a print book in the WPI Library Search, look for the book's call number. Call numbers A-N are on the ground floor of the library. Call numbers P-Z are on the 1st floor. (Please note that the main entrance to the library is on the 2nd floor.) You can check books out at the information services desk on the main floor. Your WPI ID is your library card.
Listed below are examples of books about the history of post-1920 America.
The Banking Panics of the Great Depression by 
On the Dirty Plate Trail: Remembering the Dust Bowl Refugee Camps by 
The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction by 
Five Days in August: How World War II Became a Nuclear War by 
Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity by 
The Black Power Movement and American Social Work by 
Watergate: The Presidential Scandal That Shook America by A peer-reviewed journal is a respected publication. Before articles are published within these types of journals, they are sent by the editors of the journal to other scholars in the field ("peers"), often anonymously, to get feedback on the quality of the scholarship, review research methods, as well as relevance or importance to the field. The article may be accepted, often with revisions suggested, or rejected for publication. Many peer-reviewed journals have low acceptance rates.
Peer-reviewed articles are typically substantial in length (often 10 pages or more) and typically have many citations.
To find peer reviewed articles in WPI Library Search, enter your keywords and then choose the Peer-Reviewed Journals filter on the left.
When searching in the library's databases, you may find an abstract for an article but not the full-text. When this happens, click on the FullTextFinder icon.
The FullTextFinder will either redirect you to another database that has the full-text of the article or it will tell you that we don't have this article in our collections. If we don't have an article that you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Is there something you need that the WPI library doesn't have? Our Interlibrary Loan service allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Use WorldCat.org to search for books, articles, and more at libraries around the world. Request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan.
The Academic and Research Collaborative (ARC) allows member users to borrow directly from Worcester area libraries. Before you can borrow materials directly from participating libraries, you need to sign up for an ARC card in person at the Gordon Library's Information Desk. Pick up your ARC card today!
As a resident of Massachusetts, you can sign up for a library card at the Worcester Public Library (WPL). WPI students with a college ID can are eligible for WPL cards. You can also sign up for an ecard, which allows you to access the WPL's online resources.
As a resident of Massachusetts, you can also sign up for a library card at the Boston Public Library (BPL). Students who live in Massachusetts while attending school are eligible for a BPL card. The BPL also has an option for an ecard, which allows you to access the BPL's online resources.
Below you will find examples of secondary sources on advertising and consumerism in American culture, 1920s-1950s.
Radio Active: Advertising and Consumer Activism, 1935-1947 by 
Point of Purchase: How Shopping Changed American Culture by 
From Submarines to Suburbs: Selling a Better America, 1939-1959 by 
Pedestrian Modern: Shopping and American Architecture, 1925-1956 by 
A Word from Our Sponsor: Admen, Advertising, and the Golden Age of Radio by 
The Expert Consumer: Associations and Professionals in Consumer Society by Below you will find examples of secondary sources on women, work, and the family in American culture, 1950s - present.
Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America 1, Thirtieth Anniversary Edition967-1975 by 
Divorce, American Style: Fighting for Women's Economic Citizenship in the Neoliberal Era by 
Governing NOW: Grassroots Activism in the National Organization for Women by 
In Pursuit of Equity: Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in 20th-Century America by 
Matters of Choice: Puerto Rican Women's Struggle for Reproductive Freedom by 
Searching for Scientific Womanpower: Technocratic Feminism and the Politics of National Security, 1940-1980 by 
The Sex of Class: Women Transforming American Labor by 
Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement by 