HIST 1111: Survey of World History to 1500 | Allen: Home

Books in libraries, and, often, articles in databases, are assigned one or more subject headings. These are standardized terms that make sure that books and articles on the same topic can be found even if the keywords are different, as with The US Civil War and The War Between the States.

You can search for books in GIL-Find or GIL Classic. Both include the same information about books in our library.

When you find a good book, look at its subject headings in the catalog record. Follow these to list other items on that topic. Or, use the subject heading terms in a new keyword search.

These are subject headings that will get you started. For best results, use GIL Classic's Exact Search, type in the subject term, and click "Subject Heading."

Tang Dynasty

• China--History--Tang dynasty, 618-907

Olmec Civilization

• Olmecs
• Olmecs --History

African Slaves in Muslim Armies

• Slavery and Islam --History
• Slavery --Islamic countries --History
• Armies --Islamic Empire

You can also use these terms to search in databases.

Condense information into a general overview.
May be written by scholars in the field.
Contain suggestions for further reading.

Find more by adding one of the following strategies to your keyword search:

• the term(s) bibliography, encyclopedias AND/OR dictionaries in the subject
• the term(s) guide, directory or bibliography in the title

Things to keep in mind when searching in
Academic Search Complete:

Pros:

• Interdisciplinary -- lets you search across a lot of disciplines
• Can search by subject/topic
• Can limit searches to scholarly/peer-reviewed articles (using Advanced Search)
• **Will include current articles (unlike JSTOR)

Cons:

• No full-text article searching
• Not all scholarly; remember to click Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed button
• Does not search all scholarly journals available (neither JSTOR nor Academic Search Complete do this)

Things to keep in mind when searching in JSTOR:

Pros:

• Interdisciplinary -- lets you search across a lot of disciplines
• Full-text article searching (when it’s good...)
• All journals included are scholarly
• Easy to tell which journals/subjects are included
• Coverage begins with first issue of every journal included

Cons:

• Can't search by subject
• Full-text article searching (when it‘s bad...)
• Does not search every possible scholarly journal
• **Does not include most recent 3-5 years of journals included

Many databases give you only a citation telling you where to find the article, not the article itself.

This button is often a shortcut to the full article text in another database:

Click the Find It @GSU button to open a window with links to the article you need.

If the GSU Library does not have access to an electronic copy of the article, we may have a copy in print.

If that fails, try searching for the journal title in GIL-Find, or use the "Journals" tab.

If the GSU Library does not have a print or electronic version of the article, use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request it from another library.

Lost? Stuck? Too many options? Ask a Librarian for help, or contact your History Librarian!