Below is a list of Primary and secondary source databases that cover topics associated with CRES studies. Please read their descriptions carefully to see if these databases apply to your information need. Legal databases are at the bottom, and databases about similar topics are grouped together.
Date(s): Early 1800s - early 2000s
Primary sources by and about Black Americans.
Date(s): 1800-1922
African newspapers in both English and other languages.
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.
Date(s): ~1900-2010
Primary sources from colonial rule and decolonization movements in Southern Africa.
Date(s): 1976-present
News articles about the Black American experience.
Date(s): 1600-2000
Primary sources created by and about enslaved individuals and the practice of slavery around the world.
Date(s): 18th-20th century
Federal and state statues and court cases, as well as legal commentary, pamphlets, and historic books pertaining to the institution of slavery in the United States and its legal impacts.
Date(s): 2018-present
News articles about the Asian American experience.
Date(s): 1700s-early 1900s
English-language primary sources about relationships between China, the Pacific region and the United States.
Date(s): 1750-1929
English-language primary sources about Chinese history, religion, culture, and everyday life.
Date(s): 1793-1980
English-language primary sources about the relationship between China and the West.
Date(s): 1600s-1800s
English-language primary sources about the relationship between Britain and the British Empire in India, including the East India Company.
Databases are tools designed to help you search the scholarly (and other) articles and resources available to you through the Holy Cross Libraries and beyond. Some of the databases available to us link directly to the resource it highlights, while other's may only provide you the information on how to locate an article elsewhere. This is when you will have to request the article from Interlibrary loan. Because of this, we recommend you start your database research early on in your project - to allow time for resources to make their way to you. For help with Interlibrary loan, please see the video tutorial on the homepage of this guide.
Types of Databases
There are two main kinds of research databases that you might encounter:
- General databases, like Academic Search Premier and JSTOR, which have a little bit of everything; articles in different subject fields, primary sources like scientific research studies or historical sources, news articles, videos etc.
- Databases for specific subjects or types of sources (ex - newspapers, historical sources, videos, etc.)
In addition, you will probably use CrossSearch, the search box on the homepage of the Libraries' website. CrossSearch is a discovery tool which searches many (though not all) databases at once. CrossSearch is like a library version of Google -- it is a great place to get your search started and find many sources at once. If you feel like Cross Search is overwhelming, try one of the suggested databases for CRES and see what results you get.
When you're using databases, you want to use keywords to search for materials related to your topic. Lets say your project is about the book Sula by Toni Morrison. Here are examples of key words I might use to find results:
Sula, Toni Morrison, black women, feminism, literature, black feminism, character analysis
You can search for these terms individually or try combining them for more refined results. Try using search terms like AND, OR or NOT.
If I use the terms "Sula" and "black Feminism" and "feminism" I will get results that contain all of those search terms together.
Sula and ("black feminism" OR feminism) will bring up results that include clybourne park as well as either review or critcism or both words together.
Use NOT when you want to exclude a word or phrase.
Here are some general tips to guide you in choosing your search terms:
Bonus Tip:
When you find a good article, look at its References or Works Cited list. That will often lead you to other useful sources. You can also look at information such as the name of the journal or the author for ideas of other ways to search.
Creative Commons is an organization that has established a set of licenses creators can assign to their work to be transparent about how they will allow others to use and reuse their work. Creative Commons licenses let people know the limits of what they can do before they need to ask for additional permission. You can use their search portal to search for images that you can use within presentations.