Use the tabs below to find information on using WPI Library Search, using the library's databases, finding books, finding journal articles, finding primary sources, 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 |
colonization AND violence |
Narrows the search to entries containing both terms. |
|
OR |
violence OR conflict |
Broadens the search to entries containing either term. |
|
NOT |
Stonewall NOT Jackson |
Excludes entries containing the second term. |
|
“ ” |
“British empire" |
Retrieves results containing the exact phrase in quotes. |
|
? |
globali?ation |
Wildcard: Retrieves both globalization and globalisation. |
|
* |
colonial* |
Truncation: Retrieves colonial, colonialization, 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 global history research journals, covering 1450 to the present.
Full text access to scholarly humanities, social sciences, and mathematics journals.
Indexing and full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world on various humanities topics.
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.
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.
Listed below are examples of books about European empires.
The 1857 Indian Uprising and the British Empire by 
Africa in the Colonial Ages of Empire: Slavery, Capitalism, Racism, Colonialism, Decolonization, Independence As Recolonization, and Beyond by 
Genocidal Empires: German Colonialism in Africa and the Third Reich by 
Human Rights in the Shadow of Colonial Violence: The Wars of Independence in Kenya and Algeria by 
Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire by 
The Military Enlightenment: War and Culture in the French Empire from Louis XIV to Napoleon by 
Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West by 
The Yaquis and the Empire: Violence, Spanish Imperial Power, and Native Resilience in Colonial Mexico 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.
Primary sources are materials that provide firsthand testimony to a subject under investigation. Researchers often use these firsthand accounts of specific events to understand events from the viewpoint of people living during that time period. Primary sources include letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper articles, and pamphlets. Primary sources also include writings and recordings by witnesses who experienced the events or conditions being documented. For example, oral histories, autobiographies, and memoirs are primary sources.
Search full text and images 1851-2020 including news, illustrations, editorials, and advertisements.
In the New York Times Historical database, go to the Advanced Search page and enter your keywords. Under Publication Date, select "Specific Date Range," and enter the dates you are studying.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
To find primary sources in JSTOR, enter your keywords. On the search results page, go to the "Primary Source Content" filter on the left, and select Serials, Documents, Books, and/or Images.
You may also want to search directly within these collections from JSTOR:
Early English Books Online (EEBO) is the definitive online collection of early printed works in English. With over 125,000 titles from before 1700, the EEBO contains virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700.
To find primary sources via Google, try adding keywords like primary sources, documents, archives, journals, papers, letters, or documentary history to your search terms. Primary sources can often be found on library, museum, and government websites.
Here are some examples of websites that have primary sources for menstruation:
Sometimes collections of primary source documents are republished in books. To find books like these, search WPI Library Search for books about your topic and add keywords like sourcebook, documents, primary sources, documentary history, papers, letters, journal, diary, memoir, or autobiography to your search terms.
Here are some examples of books containing primary sources:
The Great Exhibition, 1851: A Sourcebook by 
The Third Reich Sourcebook by
No documentation of National Socialism can be undertaken without the explicit recognition that the "German Renaissance" promised by the Nazis culminated in unprecedented horror--World War II and the genocide of European Jewry. With The Third Reich Sourcebook, editors Anson Rabinbach and Sander L. Gilman present a comprehensive collection of newly translated documents drawn from wide-ranging primary sources, documenting both the official and unofficial cultures of National Socialist Germany from its inception to its defeat and collapse in 1945. Framed with introductions and annotations by the editors, the documents presented here include official government and party pronouncements, texts produced within Nazi structures, such as the official Jewish Cultural League, as well as documents detailing the impact of the horrors of National Socialism on those who fell prey to the regime, especially Jews and the handicapped. With thirty chapters on ideology, politics, law, society, cultural policy, the fine arts, high and popular culture, science and medicine, sexuality, education, and other topics, The Third Reich Sourcebook is the ultimate collection of primary sources on Nazi Germany.
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.
