HST 290: U.S. & Asia Cold War Searching for Sources

1. HST 290: U.S. & Asia Cold WarSearching for Sources Dr. Yixin Chen Ms. Sue Cody

2. How are your research skills? • Do you like doing research? • Why or why not? • What confuses/frustrates you most about doing research? • What questions do you have about conducting research for this class? • How would you rate your current research skills? • Strong/Satisfactory/Needs improvement/Poor (Take a vote.)

3. Our plan for the week • Review Research Guide for this course. • Explore various finding aids. • Learn to identify primary sources. • Become familiar with special services. • Interlibrary Loan • Ask a librarian

4. How much do you know about US-Asian Cold War relations? Where do you plan to start?

5. Which finding aids are most useful? • For books? • For scholarly articles? • For articles written during the time studied? • For other primary sources?

6. Finding Books • Library Catalog • local & UNCP/FSU • WorldCat • 9,000 libraries • Some databases lead to books • Cited directly • Book reviews • Google Books

7. Randall Online Catalog: Keyword v. Subject • What’s the difference? • What are some useful Subject Headings for the Cold War in Asia? • Start with a keyword search, then look for subjects in the records retrieved.

8. Keyword/Subject features • Keyword • Finds words anywhere in record. • Look at records to see subject headings. • Search lots of terms, word variations • Subject Headings • Controlled vocabulary • May not be “natural language” but may find more • Hierarchical arrangement helps narrow topic • Searches only the subject field

9. Searching Personal Names • Keyword searches • Either order • Try name variations, e.g., initials • Author/Subject • Last name first (Western names) • Consistent use • Example: Mao Tse-tung and Mao Zedong

10. Online Catalog links • Subjects for related items • Call numbers for related items (usually) • Library of Congress outline • http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html • SuDoc arranges by agency • Cover, summary, reviews • Location maps • Expanding search to UNCCLC • Repeating search

11. Journal Holdings & Access • Follow the citation trail! • Search your citation • Does the library have it? • What format or location? • What online access?

12. Database Exploration • Historical Abstracts • WorldCat • JStor • Academic Search Premier • Project Muse • Search your topic

13. Secondary - Primary • For Thursday: • Find a relevant secondary source (book or article) with a bibliography. • Review the bibliography to find a primary source. • Copy the page with the primary source citation. • Highlight citation, bring to class.

14. Next Class • Databases • More techniques for refining • Finding articles from a citation • Primary Sources • What they are • How to find them

15. HST 290: Korean WarSearching for Sources Dr. Yixin Chen Ms. Sue Cody

16. Bibliographies as finding aids • What did you find? • How did you decide what was a primary source?

17. Search tips • And, Or, Not • And narrows • Or adds synonyms/related • Not excludes (use carefully) • Truncate for word variations • (diploma* = diplomacy, diplomat, diplomats) • Words anywhere or phrase? • “Cold War”

18. Journal Holdings & Access • Bibliographies will cite useful publications • Follow the citation trail! • Search your citation • Does the library have it? • What format or location? • What online access?

19. Working from a known citation • Pearson, Lester Bowles. “Allies will not Back U.S. Against Communism in Asia.” U.S. News & World Report 34 (June 19, 1953):56-? • Zhang, Xiaoming, “The Vietnam War, 1964-1969: From a Chinese Perspective.” Journal of Military History 60 (1996): 731-762. • Oh, Bonnie B. C. “The Korean War: No Longer Forgotten.” Journal of Asian Studies. 57 (1998): 156-160.

20. Primary Sources • Dairies, journals, other writings of “players” • Eyewitness/Observer accounts • Memoirs, autobiographies (written later) • Official documents • Laws, treaties, reports, orders, transcripts of proceedings, addresses, etc. • Images, Artifacts

21. Primary or Secondary? • Scholarly article on President Truman’s decision-making process relating to the Korean War. • National Security Council Directives issued during the Korean War years. • An encyclopedia of the Korean War. • U.S. soldiers’ letters home from the Korean War. • Biography of General MacArthur. • Government publication from the Army’s Center of Military History. • 1986 book by a historian about the integration of African-American of soldiers in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Korean War.

22. Primary or Secondary? • English translation of a memoir by Paek Son-yop (South Korean Army officer) • New York Times articles on the Tet offensive, 1968. • New York Times articles on the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. • Photographs relating to the Korean War on the Eisenhower Library website. • Vietnam War Chronology.

23. Randall Online Catalog • Standard Subheadings • Correspondence • Diaries • Personal narratives • Sources • Treaties • See guide for others

24. Randall Online Catalog • Search general headings, use indexes • Vietnam War and personal narratives • Search specific headings or persons • Harry S. Truman as author • Look for items not tagged as primary source • Primary documents may be included in secondary sources • Eyewitness authors may not be tagged as sources

25. WorldCat • May find items at Randall that catalog search didn’t (records enhanced later) • Finds items for ILL requests • Rare items not lent • Rare items may be reprinted & available • Websites included – often w/ free access!

26. Use the Research Guides! • Links to a variety of sources for your researching pleasure. • Pre-1970s Popular Periodicals • Primary Sources Guide

27. Questions? What will you do when you have questions?

28. Ask for help – it’s what we do! codys@uncw.edu http://library.uncwil.edu/askref.html