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HIST 315: East Asia Displayed: Global Sports & International Exhibitions: Primary Sources

Spring 2024

Successful Searching

WHOSE VOICES?

Similarly to academic articles, there are some very general tools that you can use to search primary sources broadly. However, it is usually more productive to work out in advance....

Who do you want to hear from...

This could be a perspective, a category of people, a specific group/organization, a geographic area or country, etc.
 

...And where are they? 

Next, figure out where your voices "live" in the historical record. For example: 

  • Public opinion will often appear in newspapers, magazines, and other 'popular' publications. 
  • Political perspectives could show up in places such as public addresses; government documents, or in mainstream newspapers. 
  • etc. 

This page of the guide is designed to give you some starting points -- but you can also ask Jennifer or Prof. Ren for suggestions. 

SEARCH

  • Keep your searches simple, and be creative with your search terms. How did people in the period you are researching speak and write?  What words would they have used to describe events or ideas? Medical terms? Technology?
     
  • Work with, not against, your search tools. Databases designed for primary sources often will let you narrow your search by features like publication date, geographic location, or type of source. 
     
  • Pay attention to the order of search results.  If your search is very broad or you get a lot of results, sorting by relevance can help you find starting places. But when looking at newspapers or other sources that might build on each other and create a story over time, you may want to sort Oldest to Newest instead! 
     
  • Don't just search -- browse! Keyword searching for primary sources can be imprecise, especially if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. Give yourself time to click in and out of sources you're unsure of, browse through the pages, and look at the context of sources like newspaper articles (what other stories appeared on the same day? what advertisements?) for maximum information. 
     
  • Pace yourself. Primary sources can take longer to find than academic articles. You may also need more time to decipher, digest, and interpret the content of your primary sources. Leave yourself plenty of time to do this work, and ask questions or for assistance earlier rather than later! 

ANALYZE

Collections of Primary Sources

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES

For even more options, visit: https://libguides.holycross.edu/newspapers

U.S. Publications

Chinese & Other Asian Publications

  • Beijing Review (North American edition) [Dinand Oversize DS701 +P37]
    Date(s): 1967-1968, 1970-2020 
    A valuable source for "official" perspectives from the Chinese Communist Party. All volumes are located together in the DS oversize section of the Dinand Stacks. This journal's English-language version has been published under multiple titles over time, so it has several different pages in the catalog for its different titles -- first the Peking Review (of which we have1967-1968, 1970-1978), then the Beijing Review (1978-1988) and finally the Beijing Review, North American ed. (of which we have 1988-2020). 

Other International Publications

PAMPHLETS & OTHER EPHEMERA

Ephemera are sources that were usually meant for very temporary use. One way to think of them is as the byproducts of everyday life! These kinds of sources can be harder to search, but provide really interesting perspectives/ 

BOOKS

Print Resources in Dinand: 

Although we often think of primary sources as being located online, some primary sources can also be found in the library. This includes books published during the relevant time period as well as memoirs, collections of essays, and others. 

When searching in the Library Catalog, used Advanced Search to choose a publication date range. When using CrossSearch, you can check the Catalog box on the left navigation bar to only search for items in the library catalog, then use the date slider to look at publication dates in your time period. 

[A note on historical language] 
Because the call number arrangement and subject headings used in the Library of Congress system are quite old, both the organization and the language used can sometimes be problematic. Librarians as a profession are working hard to change the way our information is organized -- but in the meantime, subject headings will help you find information filed under terminology we wouldn't typically use today. 

It is important to recognize where the catalog may use outdated terminology, both to acknowledge, in our position as researchers, its shortfalls and inherent biases, AND to enable us to find the sources we are looking for. 

IMAGES

MISC. WEB ARCHIVES
 

Web Search Strategies:

You may wish to use a Google site search to browse websites on the domains for China and other East Asian countries.

For example, 

site:*.cn will find your keywords on all Chinese websites;
site:*.gov.cn will find your keywords on Chinese government sites; 
site:*.jp searches Japanese websites;
site:*.ac.jp searches Japanese academic websites; 
site:*.kr will find your keywords on Korean websites; 
site:*.go.kr will find your keywords on Korean government websites. 

Note, though, that many of these websites will not be available in English. 
[ Video tutorial: Navigating websites in other languages. ] 

Suggested Sources:

Collections of Primary Sources