Finding Articles In Popular Magazines
Magazine articles are usually written by journalists, laypersons, or freelance writers. Such articles rarely contain footnotes or a bibliography. Magazine articles are mostly intended for the general public.
To locate magazine articles, use general periodical indexes or visit the University Libraries' Homepage (http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on Research Port. From the subject categories of databases, select General/Multidisciplinary. Recommended databases include Academic Search Premier; Ethnic NewsWatch; and LexisNexis Academic.
To search for a specific E-magazine title or research your topic within an E-magazine, click on E-journals (which includes journals, magazines, and newspapers). Next, enter the E-magazine titile (i.e. Black Enterprise, Newsweek etc.), and follow the available search options.
Finding Articles In Newspapers
Newspapers articles provide timely information on a variety of topics. To locate relevant news stories on your subject, use newspaper indexes, as well as, electronic databases.
Visit the University Libraries' Homepage (http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on Research Port. From the subject categories of databases, select News Sources/Current Events. Recommended databases include Academic Search Premier; African American Newspapers (19th Century); Ethnic NewsWatch; LexisNexis Academic; and Black Thought and Culture (i.e. Black Panther Party Newspaper).
To search for a specific E-newspaper title or research your topic within an E-newspaper, click on E-journals (which includes journals, magazines, and newspapers). Next, enter the E-newspaper title (i.e. New York Times), and follow the available search options.
Finding Primary Sources On Your Topic
Primary sources
are eyewitness accounts or participants' reports. Secondary sources
interprets or analyzes topics. Examples of primary sources include diaries, speeches,
interviews, letters, manuscripts, photographs,
minutes and papers of organizations, microfilm collections in some instances, video recordings that document what happened,
and newspaper articles written at the time of an event. Memoirs and autobiographies are
sometimes considered primary sources.
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To locate primary sources, use the search methods listed below.
- Visit the University Libraries' Homepage
(http://www.lib.umd.edu), and click on Catalog. Conduct a keyword search
and combine your topic with the desired primary source.
Example(s): Malcolm X Interviews or Malcolm X Speeches
- Visit the University Libraries' Homepage
(http://www.lib.umd.edu) and click on Databases. Next, search the databases listed under General Databases, or search under Databases By Subject, to locate a list of
databases on your topic.
- Also, visit the
Microform Collections by Subject web site, and click on History--U.S.--African Americans
(http://www.lib.umd.edu/MICROFORMS/subject_list.html).
- To identify more African American related materials in
Special Collections, visit the following web sites:
African American History Resources
Web Address:http://www.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/rguide/afram.jsp
African and African-American Pamphlet Collection
(http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/RareCollection/africanpamphlet.html)