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Library Research Guides
Trinity College
Library & Information Technology Services

FYSM-170 Orientalism (Antrim)

Created Fall 2025

Getting started with your research

For this project you are required to find 1-3 articles from historical newspapers and news magazines, as well as at least 1 scholarly secondary source journal article, book chapter or book to provide context and background of your topic selection. 

The library databases listed below are the best places to search for the sources that you need for this research paper.

Secondary and Primary Sources

Quick review of secondary and primary sources:

Secondary Sources

1. Scholarly journal articles and books that are found primarily in library databases and resources like OneSearch and JSTOR.
2. Generally created by scholars or experts in a particular field of study.
3. Analytical interpretations and analyses of primary source evidence, not summaries.
4. Contain a thesis or argument statement, evidence to support or refute that argument, a conclusion and notes and references.
Primary Sources
1. Original evidence and material created by witnesses of and/or participants in a specific historical event(s) found in library databases (newspaper archives) and online from museums, libraries, archives, etc.
2. Preserve the historical, cultural, and social memory of the past.
3. May be present in many formats including written accounts, visual images, news reports, audio recordings, material objects.
4. Often represent one perspective or point-of-view.
5. Always consider who is telling the story and who is silent.

Secondary source databases

When researching in secondary source databases you will want to have some relevant keywords and search terms.

For example. If I want to research the Camp David Accords in 1978, my keywords might include:

  1. Camp David Accords
  2. United States
  3. Israel
  4. Egypt
  5. Jimmy Carter (U.S. President)
  6. Menachem Begin (Israeli Prime Minister)
  7. Anwar Sadat (Egyptian President)

I have selected these because searches with a combination of these keywords (you don't necessarily want to search ALL of them at once) should return some good results for journal articles, book chapters or books.  

Secondary Source Library Databases

Research tip: In OneSearch use the filter on the left for "Peer- Reviewed" to see academic articles. Also, if it is a book, look for books published by university presses, such as Columbia University Press, Oxford University Press and University of Chicago Press.

If you aren't sure if a resource is an academic source, check with a librarian or Professor Antrim. 

Primary Sources: Newspapers and Magazine Databases

Research tip: Whenever searching newspaper or magazines, be sure to find material near the date(s) of when an event happened. 

In my research example I want newspaper articles from 1978, when the Accords were signed not necessarily an article from 2008 that might be talking about the 30th anniversary or something similar.