Books and Journal Articles
Books and Journal Articles are great resources to learn more about a topic. Generally, these will be secondary sources.
These are also very helpful in discovering primary sources, especially in notes and bibliographies contained within the book or article.
Try OneSearch for books and the databases for scholarly journal articles and other material.
- Trinity Library OneSearchSearch for items in the Library and beyond.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowThis multi-disciplinary database provides active full text for more than 3,100 journals, including active full text for nearly 2,750 peer-reviewed journals.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowArchive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Includes full runs of covered journals. NOTE: Internet Explorer is no longer supported by JSTOR. See 'More Info' re: browser troubleshooting.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowHeinOnline is the world’s largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It contains comprehensive coverage from inception of both U.S. statutory materials and more than 2,300 scholarly journals, all of the world’s constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, and access to the full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase.
Discovering Primary Sources
Discovery of primary sources is a dynamic process that requires you to think critically about how to find the information you seek. Through this process, you will determine what you are looking for, where it may be found, who produced it, and how it may be incorporated into your assigned papers and projects.
At the Trinity Library you have access to a wide range of primary sources from newspapers, images, letters, memoirs, diaries, and much more. You also have search tools and people to assist you in finding this information.
Before you start searching, consider the following steps in the research process.
- Do some background reading on the topic in a secondary source
- Determine what the Trinity Library has for resources that might help you find the information you need
- Identify key words that you can use later on in a search. These include: events, people, places, ideas
- In searching for primary sources, select the database that is most appropriate for your topic area
- Try a wide range of search terms to locate information. Rarely is there ever a perfect search
- Don't stop searching if you get no results or too many. Refine you search instead
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