Guides: Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.: Beginning Your Research

Using Reference Sources

Consider using encyclopedias and other reference sources when you begin researching a topic. Some encyclopedias will provide more in-depth information than others, but any general encyclopedia is a good source to consult for background information of your chosen subject area. Most encyclopedias provide the following:

Main concepts, including names, dates, places
Keywords and subject terms related to topic
Lists of related articles or additional resources

African American Experience This link opens in a new window
Covers the black experience from its African origins to the present day. Topics include history, biography, literature, arts, music, pop culture, folklore, business, slavery, civil rights, politics, sports, education, and science & technology.
Includes hundreds of primary documents: manuscripts, speeches, court cases, quotations, advertisements, statistics, and other papers; More than 4,000 interviews with former slaves, including the WPA slave narratives from the acclaimed The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography; Sixty-seven Negro University Press texts from the late 1700s to the early 1970s classics in black scholarship. Other Features: In their Own Voices (audio clips, such as interviews with former slaves and music files). Links to vetted Web sites. Lesson plans, directly tied to associated primary source documents and images, and other classroom resources. Hundreds and hundreds of photographs, maps, and other images.
African-American History This link opens in a new window
Reference book articles, videos, timelines, primary sources, biographies, maps, and more.
Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
Explore tens of thousands of articles, videos, primary sources and journals/periodicals. Browse popular topics, news, biographies, and more! This is a great resource for getting research started or getting more acquainted with a particular topic.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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A starting point for research and learning that offers unlimited access to hundreds of full text reference books on every subject. Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Contains over 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Also includes the Oxford Companions Series.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
A searchable, full-text database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources.

Information Literacy Videos

Information Literacy Videos
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Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.

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Using Reference Sources

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