National History Day Research Guide
Below is brief guide to using Library and Internet sources to find information. Before you begin you might find it useful to link to a Research Worksheet that will help you narrow and refine your topic. You may also want to review the difference between primary and secondary sources of information as you will want to incorporate both into your project.
If you need help after your visit please connect to our Research Assistance page to find out how to contact a reference librarian.
Instructions for Finding Information
1) Finding Books Using the Cofrin Library Catalog
- Connect to the library’s home page at http://www.uwgb.edu/library. You can also get there by selecting the word “Library” from the top right of the Current Students Page (the one that will open up when you log in).
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Click on the "Books and Media" tab in the green search box.
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Enter your search terms in the search box. Remember to write down the location and the call number of any items you would like to find.
2) Finding Magazine and Journal Articles
- Connect to http://www.badgerlink.net. Click on “Magazines and Journals on EBSCOhost (All Databases)”
- Make sure to also put a check in the box next to Academic Search Premier from EbscoHost.
- Select “Continue” and enter your search terms. Some articles will be in full text, but if you find information about an article that is not in full text ask us to see if we have it in our print journal collection.
3) Finding Newspaper Articles in the Historical New York Times (Available on at the Cofrin Library)
- From the library’s home page click on “Articles and Databases” beneath “HOW DO I FIND.” Click on “Databases by Subject.” Click on “News.” Click on “Historical New York Times.” Enter your search terms. Remember, you can limit your search by date.
- If your topic involves the state of Wisconsin you will also want to search in NewspaperARCHIVE Elite, a free resource that provides access to the archives of many state newspapers.
Connect to http://www.badgerlink.net. Click on the Ebsco Host image near the top of the page beneath "Resources for
Wisconsin Residents." Click on NewspaperArchive.
4) Using Google
- Connect to http://www.google.com and enter your key terms. Remember, if you want your words to stay together put your phrase in quotes, and use the plus sign (+) to make sure the word you entered is on all of the pages that are returned.
- Example: "susan b. anthony" +voting