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HIST 398.003 Resistance in History: Evaluating your sources

Questions to consider

  •  What is the name of the database you are searching?  Is there a description of the database you can find, within the database or elsewhere? What kind of material does it contain?  Do you have a sense of what time period or location these materials cover? ("No" is an okay answer here, sometimes it is hard to nail down.)

  • Come up with search terms to use while exploring a new resource, ideally relevant to your planned research or interests, or general themes covered in your class.

  • Try out a search.  Do you need to refine keywords?  Can you adjust any facets/toggles to refine your search results? Click through and explore an item.  Can you download the item or find a stable link to it? Can you search within the item?  Does it lead to other items you may find useful?

  • Evaluate at least one particular item you found during your search.  What makes this item worth paying attention to?  Who wrote or created it? Is it credible?  (Your answer may include a discussion of how the source is influenced by the author’s biases.) How is it relevant to your research topic or to a class discussion?

Search Tips

  • Remember to restrict results by dates relevant to your research topic.
  • In most databases, you can refine your search using the facets on the left side of the screen.  It is not always an option, but you can sometimes narrow your results by "location" or place of publication.
  • Some of these resources allow for cross-searching across a staggering amount of primary material.  This can be helpful in assessing the big picture or looking for patterns.  However, as your progress in your research, you may find more precise and relevant material searching the individual databases in their original interface.
  • Diacritic characters (accent marks, in non-English text) and other special characters work better in some databases than in others.  You may need to try various spellings and substitutions.
  • Some databases offer the option of finding keywords "within 10 words" of each other (or similar variations).
  • Because language changes, be sure to use search terms used at the time the materials were created, even if those terms are now obsolete. For example, the following historic terms will produce more results than their modern-day counterparts: gas station or services station vs. filing station, voting rights vs. suffrage.
  • We offer a large number of newspaper and news databases, both current and historical. 
  • Use the guide linked below for further assistance in pursuing research using primary sources, especially those we have available here in several formats: paper, republication, microfilm, and electronic
  • Last Updated: Oct 10, 2025 3:42 PM
  • URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/c.php?g=1450289