The updated fifth edition of Going to the Sources presents a practical guide to historical research and writing for all students of history. * Focuses on the basics of historians craft, introducing students to concepts including refining a topic, selecting sources, and engaging critically with their reading * Appendices illustrate style for footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographical entries, as well as a list of commonly used abbreviations * Features a new chapter on the use of non-textual sources for historians, including a case study discussion of the historical importance of D. W. Griffith s film The Birth of a Nation * Addresses how to bring the critical assessment skills of reading to bear on film and other non-textual sources * Includes a student-written historiographical essay, with marginal notes for instruction

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Fifth Edition xi Chapter 1 The Ever-Changing Shape and Texture of the Past 1 Static and Dynamic Concepts of History 1 Revising Our View of the Past 3 New Forms of Historical Consciousness 5 Toward a People s History 6 Minorities and Women Enter History 8 The Annales School and Cliometrics 10 Psychology and History 13 Microhistory and Macrohistory 14 Postmodernism 15 A Multitude of Avenues to the Past 17 Chapter 2 The Nature and Variety of Historical Sources 19 Primary Sources 20 Manuscript sources 20 Published sources 21 Secondary Works 24 Books 25 Essays 27 Articles 28 Dissertations and conference papers 30 Chapter 3 Finding Your Sources: The Online Library Catalog and Beyond 34 The Online Library Catalog 36 Subject Headings, Keywords, and Title Words 37 Creating and Using a Research Bibliography 41 Published Bibliographies 44 Printed and Electronic Indexes and Abstracts 46 Finding Scholarly Essays 51 Other Important Databases 53 Historical Research on the Internet 55 Finding Useful Reference Materials 56 Chapter 4 Getting the Most Out of History Books: Critical Reading and Assessment 59 The Need for More Effective Reading 59 Finding out about Authors 61 Comparing Similar Works of History 63 Reviewing a History Book 72 Chapter 5 Beyond Textual Sources: Historians Use of Other Media 74 Words, Images, and the Historical Imagination 74 The Birth of a Nation: Entertainment, Propaganda, and Critical Response 76 Reading, Viewing, Reflecting: A Case Study 84 The Evolving Integration of Text and Image 87 Chapter 6 Exploring Changing Interpretations: The Historiographic Essay 89 Selecting and Refining a Topic 90 Research for a Historiographic Essay: A Case Study 91 Writing the Historiographic Essay 95 Alternative Approaches 110 Chapter 7 Engaging with Primary Sources: The Research Paper 112 Searching for a Viable Topic 113 Finding Primary Sources 114 Approaching Your Reading 116 Notetaking 117 The Outline and Structure of Your Paper 121 Some Elements of Effective Writing 123 An Open Mind and Intellectual Honesty 126 Quoting 127 Footnoting 129 Editing and Revising 132 One Final Look 134 Chapter 8 Conclusion: The Open-Ended Nature of History 136 Appendix A: Published Bibliographies 140 Appendix B: Major Databases for Bibliographic Searching 142 Appendix C: Footnote/Endnote Formatting 143 Books 143 Book by a single author 144 Book by two authors 144 Book by three authors 144 Book by four or more authors 144 Book with author(s) as editor(s) 145 Articles and Essays (Chapters) 145 Journal article 145 Magazine article 145 Newspaper article 146 Encyclopedia article 146 Essay (chapter) 146 Book review 146 Other Types of Sources 146 Dissertation 146 Government document 147 Website 147 Videorecording 147 Footnote Reference to a Previously Cited Work 147 Appendix D: Bibliography Formatting 149 Book 149 Article 149 Essay (chapter) 149 Dissertation 150 Sample bibliography 150 Appendix E: Commonly Used Abbreviations 152 Suggestions for Further Reading 154 Index 156