History
Start your research
Use this guide as a starting point to find information for your assignments. Discover the best keywords and databases to use for your topic by asking a librarian for a Subject Search.
- Key databases
- Worth a look
- Encyclopedias and dictionaries
- Subject guides
- Web sites and Internet resources
See the Classics Research Guide for Greek and Roman history.
Key databases
JSTOR Full Text
JSTOR contains the full-text journals across the disciplines from archaeology to zoology.
Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography an authoritative guide to modern works on the history of Britain and Ireland for the period from 55 BC to the present.
SAGE Premier Full Text
SAGE Premier includes 550+ journal titles in business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology and medicine with full-text back to 1999.
Gale Databases Selected Full Text
The Gale Databases cover the arts and humanities, social sciences, science and technology. They includes peer-reviewed journal articles, ebooks and online encyclopedias.
Informit
Selected Full Text
The Informit databases cover a range of topics, including architecture, education, engineering and technology, environment, history, hospitality and tourism, Indigenous peoples, law and crime, social sciences and sports. Many are in full-text.
A number of Australian databases are useul. Try the Humanities & Social Sciences Collection, Australian Public Affairs Full-Text, AHB (Australian Historical Bibliography), AHRR (Australian Historic Records Register), AUSCHRON (chronology of historic and current events) and MIHILIST (Australasian military history).
ProQuest Full Text
ProQuest includes academic and non-academic content in a wide range of fields, from arts, literature, and social science to business, science, technology, and medicine.
London Low Life
London Low Life is a digital collection of nineteenth-century materials on street culture, social reform and the Victorian underworld.
Victorian Popular Culture
Victorian Popular Culture is a digital collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century materials grouped under three headings: (1) Spirtualism, Sensation and Magic; (2) Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks; (3) Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment.
World History in Video
World History in Video includes 550 documentaries covering all eras of history, with searchable transcripts.
ACLS Humanities E-Book Full Text
The Humanities E-Book Collection consists of nearly 2,000 full-text titles covering archaeology, history, art history, literature, musicology, political science and religion.
Trove
Full Text
Trove provides a single point of access to the resources of the deep Web in relation to Australian history, social sciences and literature.
Wiley Online Library Full Text
The Wiley Online Library includes current journals in a wide range of disciplines.
Worth a look
Anthropological Index Online
Indexes periodical literature on languages, linguistics, culture, archaeology, ethnography, religion and civilisation.
Australian Key Journals 
Australian Key Journals indexes both peer-reviewed and mass media titles to provides a source for historians, social scientists and students of Australian politics.
British Library Direct
Search the last 5 years' worth of articles from the 20,000 most heavily requested titles. Buy articles online.
Duke Scholarly Collection Full Text
The Duke Journals deal with academic research into the humanities and the social sciences.
NewsBank Full Text 
NewsBank has the full-text of more than 100 newspapers from Australia and overseas.
SAGE Premier Full Text
SAGE Premier includes 550+ journal titles in business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology and medicine with full-text back to 1999.
SpringerLink Full Text
Peer-reviewed journals in astronomy, chemistry, computer science, economics, engineering, environmental sciences, geosciences, life sciences, mathematics, medicine and physics.
Taylor & Francis Full Text
Taylor & Francis journals cover the humanities, economics, management, geography, environmental sciences and the social sciences.
Web of Science
The Web of Science abstracts the scholarly literature in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries
American History Through Literature 1820-1870
American History Through Literature 1870-1920
Cold War Reference Library
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
ORB The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
Oxford Reference
Oxford Reference offers a range of dictionaries and encyclopedias listed by subject.
Useful titles include historical dictionaries, companions and encyclopedias for Australia, Britain, US and Canada. Military history, local and family history, ancient Egypt and world history are also covered.
Subject guides
Web sites and Internet resources
History - Australian
Archives of Australia Information on the Australian archives and links to other archive sites
Australian History Resources This portal site contains links to original documents, electronic texts, databases, associations, and historical societies. Hailed by the University of Sydney Library History Guide as "the premier site for Australian history"
Australian Policy & History A joint project by UNE, Deakin University, History Council of NSW and ANU, presenting the historical background to current issues
Australian War Memorial A guide to the collections, publications, and services
From Terra Australis to Australia The State Library of NSW's digitised collection of original journals, logbooks, paintings (and more) from the First Fleet, Mutiny on the Bounty, Matthew Flinders and other events up to the mid 1800s.
Heritage Office Information about the Heritage Office and access to the Office's database of heritage sites; also links to other useful sites
RAHS (Royal Australian Historical Society) useful history links
SETIS Oztexts The University of Sydney's Australian Electronic Text Collection, including Australian literary and historical texts, the Australian Federation Database, Australian legal texts, and more
Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia The Australian Bureau of Statistics has digitised this series that will eventually include eleven volumes of statistical information from 1890
History
American and British History Resources Links to scholarly resources including documents, electronic journals, archives and other web gateways
American Memory Created by the Library of Congress, this ongoing project currently offers more than seven million digital primary source items relating to American history and culture
ARCHON This database is the principal information gateway for UK archivists and users of manuscript sources for British history. Hosted and maintained by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, it is invaluable for locating specific manuscripts. Please note that this is a bibliographic and locational database only — texts are not available online
Canadian Journal of History Articles available online from 1996-1998 from this prestigious journal
Chronicon An e-journal with full text articles devoted to Irish history
Eurodocs — Primary Documents Online This site gives e-texts and facsimiles of European documents ranging from the eighth to the twentieth century
IHR The website of the Institute of Historical Research, part of the University of London's School of Advanced Study, offers the History Online database, journal articles online, and a listing of history theses completed in the UK
Historical Text Archive Offers primary source documents and photographs on a range of topics in modern history, as well as articles, suggested readings, and links
Journal of Military History Abstracts are available online from 1996 to current, while Dixson Library holds issues of the journal from 1994. A useful timesaver.
Journal of Modern History An American publication, this e-journal offers PDF formatted articles from 1997 to current
National Archives of the UK Government
New Zealand Electronic Text Centre has free online New Zealand and Pacific Island historical books, journals and manuscripts
Search Machine Searches tables of contents of thousands of journals in history (mainly English and German)
Smithsonian National Museum of American History offers online virtual exhibition tours, collection information, and links to conference papers
US National Archives for Federal Government documents
Vision of Britain Through Time with maps, statistics and historical descriptions from 1801 to 2001
WWW Virtual Library — History
History - Greek and Roman
See the Websites & Internet Resources on the Classics Research Guide
History - Medieval
Exemplaria A journal of theory in medieval and renaissance studies, with selected articles available fulltext online.
The Labyrinth Sponsored by Georgetown University, this large portal site can be search by category, sub category, and material designation, or by a simple keyword search. Contains everything on medieval studies from discussion lists to online videos.
The Medieval Review Formerly the Bryn Mawr Medieval Review, this e-journal offers reviews of current scholarly work published on medieval history. Offers a search facility.
Monastic Matrix a study of women's religious communities 400-1600 AD
NetSERF 'The internet connection for medieval resources' includes an online glossary, thousands of links, a search engine, and medieval news.
The Online Medieval and Classical Library contains e-texts of documents of the classical and medieval world, translated into English.
ORB The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies.
WWW Virtual Library Medieval Europe A large portal site devoted to the study of medieval Europe.
