There are a lot of great websites out there that you should be looking through. Databases are fine, Google is fine, but these are websites that you won't easily find even though they are rich with potential sources. Check through those links that seem the most promising to your topic. There are many of them so don't quit until you've checked them all!
Minnesota Historical Society (Great Research Site)
BLMS Media Center Databases (Databases & eBooks)
NHD Student Resources (Great Sources Options)
Primary Source Websites (All things students need to know about NHD)
Popular Culture Websites (Secondary and Primary)
MNOpedia (Minnesota Encyclopedia)
Websites for Libraries and Special Collections (Some really amazing sources)
Google Scholar (Secondary and Primary)
Social Studies for Kids (Research Website)
REMEMBER...conduct multiple keyword searches before giving up on a link. If you thought it should have good stuff, and you didn't find anything, ask your social studies teacher for assistance.
Something you obtained from a college library like you’d find at the University of Minnesota or St. Cloud State or any number of colleges around the country. Click to learn more about college library and U of M library field trips. You can visit the Minnesota History Center Library as well for a ton of great information!
A source written or produced in the time period that is directly related to a topic by time or participation. Can include letters, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles from the time, oral history interviews, documents, photographs, artifacts or anything else that provides first-hand accounts about a person or event. Great Primary Source links on this page
A item from or directly related to your topic. Can be a photo of an artifact (or a genuine photograph) as well. Artifact
Most every newspaper and magazine is a periodical and has online archives of past publications. These are great primary sources.
What’s a living expert?
Somebody who has either firsthand experience or has conducted extensive research (like a professor or as a career) related to your topic. Your Mom who read a book or your Dad who saw a television show about it are NOT experts. Talk with your teacher before you contact somebody but try to find one first.
What’s a neighborhood library source?
Ready? It’s a source………from…..…a library…….within 50 miles of your home (or closer). Yes, you actually have to go a library. Book/Magazine Title is the name of the book you read and took notes from.
What’s a Reliable Internet Source?
On the Big Lake History Day page there are a ton of links to a wide variety of sources. If you don’t check them all out you are missing out! Link title means the name of the website you read and Date Accessed means when you used it to take notes.
What is Online Database Source?
Go to the Big Lake Media Center webpage https://elibrarymn.org/ OR Big Lake History Day website (https://sites.google.com/biglakeschools.org/blmshistoryday/home?authuser=0) and click on the links to online databases. Database used means the title of the database you accessed and Article Title means the name of the source you used for taking notes.
What’s a secondary source?
A published book or article by an author who was not an eyewitness or participant but is basing their interpretation of history on primary sources, research and study. Things like textbooks, biographies, newspapers, history books are secondary sources. NOT ALL websites are even good enough to be secondary sources. Source Title means the name of the secondary source you used to take notes from and Where Accessed means where did you find it (be specific…don’t write google or internet).
What’s ProQuest, JSTOR or EBSCO and how do I find articles on it?
Go to the BIG LAKE Media Center webpage elibrarymn.org/ OR the Big Lake HD website and follow the link to periodical databases FULL of good information. Remember to search “by relevance” and not by date for the best results. (If you have access to a Hennepin County Library (go to the Big Lake Public Library with your Great River and you can get access to Hennepin County for free). Database used means the actual database you used to find the article and Article title means the headline of the article you used and took notes from.
What’s a video source?
Go to iTunes and watch a free iTunesU lecture….OR go to YouTube and watch a video on your project. OR watch a television show, or a video or a documentary about your project from a network webpage like the History Channel. Not all videos are created equal so be sure you can trust the publisher of the video. Video Creator means who owns the copyright for that video and Video Title means the name of the video you watched and took notes from.
What’s a periodical source?
A periodical is a newspaper, magazine or newsletter that is published “periodically” (get it?). You can find these in a LOT of different places listed above. Article title means the headline of the article you read and took notes from and Publication name means the name of the magazine/newspaper.