How do historians conduct research online?
This is your second-most asked question after how did everyday people live their day-to-day lives in early America.
As the Doing History series explores how historians work, it offers the perfect opportunity to answer your question.
Sharon Block, a Professor of History at the University of California-Irvine, has made use of computers and digital resources to do history for years, which is why she serves as our guide for how to research history online.
Episode Summary
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Sharon Block, a Professor of History at the University of California-Irvine, serves as our guide through how historians conduct historical research online.
During our exploration, Sharon reveals how the digital age has changed and added to the ways historians research; How historians research history online; And, how we can locate historical information online.
What You’ll Discover
- How early American men and women thought about race
- How the digital age has changed how historians research
- Digital privilege and what it means in terms of available historical sources
- How historians conduct historical research online
- The role of Google web products in online historical research
- Why the difference between human and computer organized information matters
- How we can maximize our ability to find information with keyword searches
- Databases historians use to conduct research online
- How to locate databases with historical information
- What digital historical sources look like
- Why some history databases employ paywalls
- Whether historians employ a set of “best practices” when they conduct online research
- Ways computers facilitate what historians can do with their research
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Sharon Block
- Sharon’s UC-Irvine webpage
- Sharon’s Twitter
- Huntington Library
- Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Founders Online
- Zotero
- America’s Historical Newspapers
- Early American Imprints
- St. Louis Circuit Court Criminal Records Project
- Martha Ballard’s Diary
- JStor
- Accessible Archives
- Alexander Street Press
- The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
- Runaway Connecticut
- UC-Irvine Research Guide
- Latter Day Saints’ Family Search
- Claudio Saunt, Indian Nation Interactive Map
- Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
- Molly Warsh’s Audio of Chesapeake Oysters
- Omohundro Institute Digital Projects