History

In History research, Secondary Sources usually refer to articles, chapters, and books that help you contextualize your primary sources and your topic.

Features of Secondary Sources are:

• They are published in an academic journal or by a University Press.
• The include substantial bibliographies, works cited, and/or notes.
• The author is considered an expert in that field. Usually this means they have a Doctorate in History or a related field.
• They are written for an advanced audience (people who are familiar with the topic and have advanced knowledge and vocabulary to understand it).

Here area a couple of other databases related to History that may be helpful:

Historiography is the study of the methods that historians have used to research a specific topic or field and how that research has progressed through time. With any topic there are usually a few major trains of thought that have dominated the research in that field.

Your research will either fit in alongside one of those, even arguing against it, or could be an entirely new path, but you still will want to acknowledge the research that has already been done. In the scientific disciplines, this type of work is typically referred to as a "Literature Review" and is placed near the beginning of the paper. 

Historiography sources are still found in Scholarly Source Databases, but if your professor has asked you to include them and are having trouble finding them, don't forget you can email Annie!