Scholar OneSearch, the Northeastern library's catalog and discovery system, allows you to search books, journal articles, subscriptions, archival finding aids, and film/multimedia.
perhaps our most popular resource for scholarly articles in history and related disciplines.
Most journals include extended historic backfiles and not current issues. The Northeastern Library also purchases individual e-book titles from JSTOR. The books are available chapter-by-chapter as PDFs.
Arts and Sciences IV content is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library.
Search and link to periodical articles. Though not normally known as an index to scholarly content, there are a few scholarly sources included (eg Current, Monthly Labor Review, Science) in addition to popular and professional journals.
These e-books provide in-depth scholarly treatments of different regions of the world.
Explore American and British history, ancient history, Islamic history, economic history, the histories of philosophy, science, music, literature, religion, social histories, and much more. "My Histories" allows you to create and share a personalized library with your own bookmarks and notes.
An update and expansion of summary census data: labor, law enforcement, population, military, and much more.
Tables of statistics include information about population, slavery, the economy, and much more. Download in Excel or .csv. Sorting, graphs and plots available.
See also: https://library.northeastern.edu/research/a-to-z-databases/database-policies-and-terms/historical-statistics-of-the-united-states
Statistical data from around the world, covering a wide range of socio-economic topics.
The collection includes data on the Americas and Europe, but also hard-to-find data on Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is a truly interdisciplinary product that will prove a valuable resource to those researching and studying Business, Economics, Environmental Studies, Geography, History, Politics, Sociology and Statistical Studies.
based on topic rather than country or time period, useful for themes and approaches, e.g. "Race and Gender Intersections", "Historical Archaeology" etc.
This resource is made available to the Northeastern University community with support from alumni donors.
These video oral history interviews highlight the accomplishments of individual African Americans and African-American-led groups and movements. A resource for students and scholars exploring African American history and culture. Over 2700 individuals are profiled. Transcripts available.
Northeastern is a member of this shared library of primary source material located in Chicago. Strengths include historic newspapers and magazines and international documents, reports, rare books, and dissertations. Some is digitized, some can be sent to you in print using interlibrary loan.
The collections are so varied as to include an unpublished manuscript music collection from Oxford, the vast engineering library of Linda Hall, and rare monograph and pamphlet area collections from various regions of the world. These collections are made available in print, in microfilm, and, in many cases, online. Faculty, students, and staff are eligible to borrow resources through an extended delivery system or, when available, through electronic delivery or online. See our Subject Guide to the Center for Research Libraries
An online library of primary source materials related to the history of empires from 1607. The focus is on essays and grey literature such as travel writings, missionary reports, maps and drawings, and less on official reports. There are some secondary sources including chronologies and scholarly essays.
British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980. These formerly restricted British government documents, consisting of diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, maps, reports of court cases, biographies of leading personalities, summaries of events and diverse other materials
These formerly restricted British government documents, consisting of diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, maps, reports of court cases, biographies of leading personalities, summaries of events and diverse other materials, provide unprecedented levels of detail into one of the most turbulent centuries of Chinese history.
online archival collections on US history, mostly from the late 19th through the late 20th centuries. Notable: NAACP papers, records on the Woman Suffrage movement, oral histories from Ellis Island, US government commissions and records on the Weather Underground, the Kennedy Assassination, American Indian Movements and Wounded Knee, Watergate, and more.
Collections include: Immigration Records from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Papers, Women's Rights Collections with documents from organizations like the Women's Party and League of Women Voters. From the ProQuest University Publications of America (UPA) Collection.
Search opinion polls from all over the world, using this database from Cornell University. Poll results from news organizations, governments, private foundations, academic institutions, and more. The scope of topics spans politics, culture, workplaces, and social life. 1930s to the present.
Original historical materials from Tudor and Stuart Britain, from high level international politics and diplomacy to the charges against a steward for poisoning a dozen or more people. The correspondence, reports, memoranda, and parliamentary drafts from ambassadors, civil servants and provincial administrators. Northeastern users have access to Parts I-IV.
Confidential British Foreign Office Political Correspondence: World War I contains the working papers of the British Foreign Office used in the development of British foreign policy, much of it classified for many years subsequently.
This collection consists of records relating to the diplomatic business of the Foreign Office, which includes not only the formal relations between two countries but also the information needed by the British government in order to conduct diplomatic relations. This includes the domestic political, economic, social, and cultural relations of another country plus that country's relations with other nations, as well as British internal political concerns.
Historical Newspapers
If you have a specific newspaper in mind, search the title in Scholar OneSearch to find if Northeastern has access. Here are some highlights from our collections:
The 700 or so bound volumes of newspapers and news pamphlets were published mostly in London, however there are also some English provincial, Irish and Scottish papers, and a few examples from the American colonies, Europe and India.
Covers about 1800-1922. This collection of historical African newspapers provides coverage of the people, cultures, issues and events that shaped the continent. Themes include the first world war, Zulu Wars, settler colonialism and the rejection of Western imperialism. Newspaper text is in English, Sotho, German, Portuguese, Xhosa, and more.
One of two major daily newspapers currently published in Boston, Massachusetts.
Northeastern does not currently offer access to the Boston Globe website, but you can read or search the newspaper with these options:
PressReader: (Today, plus 3-month backfile, page images) a mobile-friendly version of the Boston Globe, offering today's newspaper with page images in full color, plus a three month backfile.
Mobile app: Register a personal account on Northeastern's PressReader site using your Northeastern email, then download the app and sign in.
Proquest Central (1997-present, text only, no page images). Keywords (indexing) and abstracts. Text mining permitted.
Back issues of the alternative newspaper The Boston Phoenix, plus sister newspapers from Worcester, Portland, Providence, and Miami, digitized through the Northeastern University Libraries. See the Internet Archive for the digitized version, 1973-2013. The print collection in the Northeastern Archives and Special collections in Snell Library may be viewed by appointment.
This new collection includes national and regional newspapers, as well as those from both established country or university towns and the new industrial powerhouses of the manufacturing Midlands, as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Special attention was paid to include newspapers that helped lead particular political or social movements such as Reform, Chartism, and Home Rule. The penny papers aimed at the working and clerical classes are also present in the collection. Formerly called 19th Century British Newspapers.
A rich collection important to a full understanding of Unites States history. Includes the Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Chicago Defender (1910-1975),Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), and the Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002).
This historical newspaper provides news coverage of the politics, society and events of China and Hong Kong. In addition to article content, the full-image newspapers offer searchable access to advertisements, editorials, cartoons, and classified ads.
Also known as the London Times. Access not including the Sunday edition from 1785. An invaluable source for primary historical research on Great Britain and its interests.
A summary of a research article that appears at the beginning of the document. Reading the abstract may help you decide if you want to read the full article.
A geographic information system (GIS) software developed by Esri. ArcGIS enables you to analyze, visualize, and interpret spatial data for better decision-making.
Written content on a narrow subject and published in a periodical or website. In some contexts, academics may use article as a shortened form of journal article.
A group of libraries in New England that work together to share resources with students, faculty, and staff of member libraries. Northeastern University is a member of this group. Requesting a consortium library card is free to Northeastern students.
A free library available to people who work, live or attend school in Massachusetts. Boston Public Library's collection includes physical and digital access to books, journals, and films.
A label of letters and/or numbers that tell you where the resource can be found in the library. Call numbers are displayed on print books and physical resources and correspond with a topic or subject area.
Catalog
A list of all the items in a library's physical collection. Modern catalogs are searchable databases. Catalogs include information about the item's:
title
creator
publication
subject
availability
location in the library
Also called a catalogue, OPAC. Historically a card catalog.
Software that can help you collect, organize, and cite sources. The library provides training on five specific citation managers: BibTeX, EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero. Also called citation management software, citation management tool or reference manager.
Physical materials assigned by an instructor and held at the library. These materials are generally restricted to in-building use for a limited period. At faculty discretion, some materials may be checked out overnight or for a few days.
A searchable collection of similar items. Library databases include resources for research. Examples include: a newspaper database, such as Access World News, or a humanities scholarly journal database, such as JSTOR.
A searchable online storage space for video files, images, and documents. Specialized digital repositories collect materials related to a theme or institution.
Northeastern University Library manages the Digital Repository Service (DRS). The DRS collects digital material related to Northeastern University's history and academic work.
A unique number assigned to some digital content. DOIs do not change even if the online location or ownership of the resource changes.
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)
A digital version of a thesis or dissertation produced by a master's or Ph.D. student. Most theses and dissertations written by Northeastern University students are ETDs. Interested researchers can find Northeastern ETDs in the Digital Repository Service. Theses and dissertations written before 2007 are only available in print format in the Northeastern University Archives.
A broad category of research in which existing research is reviewed to clarify what is known. Evidence synthesis uses explicit and reproducible methods. Common types of evidence synthesis include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, integrative reviews, and umbrella reviews.
The entirety of an article or book, as opposed to a summary or description. Libraries often provide access to the full text as an attached file or in a web reader.
A computer-based means of storing, analyzing, and displaying geographic data. Researchers use Geographic Information Systems to create maps and charts.
A way of examining and interpreting data about geographic locations, or spatial data. Geospatial analysis examines spatial data to gain insights and identify patterns or trends. Also called geospacial analysis.
A library service that allows you to request resources your library does not have. At Northeastern University, this service is free. Materials are delivered electronically when possible.
A meaningful word or phrase in a source’s database or catalog record. Keywords are often used as search terms to retrieve records that contain the word or phrase.
A search setting that removes search results based on source attributes. Limiters vary by database but often include publication date, material type, and language. Also called: filter or facet.
Marginalia
Notes, comments, annotations, sketches, added to the margins of a text. These can be typed or hand-written. Marginalia can include headers, footnotes, and sidenotes. In some cases, marginalia are written by the author of a text, but is often notes made by a reader.
Metadata
Information associated with a resource, usually organized in a specific way. The word metadata means "data about data".
Metadata varies but often includes title, creator, and format. Descriptive metadata makes it possible to find and identify resources in a collection. When the metadata in a collection is standardized, the predefined structure is called a metadata schema.
Research or data available for free. Open access resources are sometimes labeled with an unlocked padlock symbol. These resources often have permissive licenses that support re-use and sharing.
Words used to connect multiple search terms to bring back targeted results. Operators can be used to reduce or expand the number of search results. Operators include:
Well-regarded review process used by some academic journals. Relevant experts review articles for quality and originality before publication. Articles reviewed using this process are called peer reviewed articles. Less often, these articles are called refereed articles.
A free and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) application. This tool set enables you to capture, analyze, visualize, and share geographic data. QGIS is a Mac-friendly alternative to ArcGIS.
To transfer information from one format to another. Example: Scanning a paper newspaper to create an online or PDF version. Reformatting includes digitization.
A webpage or pages created by librarians to guide your research in a field or course. Research guides include links to resources, tutorials, and other information.
The removal of a published article from a journal. A journal’s editors or editorial board can decide to retract an article when it has serious errors. Errors that can result in retraction include:
A book or article written by academic researchers and published by an academic press or journal. Scholarly sources contain original research and commentary.
Scholarly articles are published in journals focused on a field of study. also called academic articles.
Scholarly books are in-depth investigations of a topic. They are often written by a single author or group. Alternatively in anthologies, chapters are contributed by different authors.
Common filetype (.shp) for points, lines, or polygons. This filetype is widely used in Geographic Information Systems, specifically ArcGIS. Various free shapefiles are available online.
A library database that searches a broad range of resources. Material in Scholar OneSearch includes:
Scholarly, newspaper and other articles
books & eBooks
streaming music and video
board games
archival material
Scholar OneSearch also includes information about material held at Northeastern’s libraries. Researchers can use ScholarOne Search to organize their research and manage borrowed items. To best serve Northeastern University's widespread community, ScholarOne Search has different views:
The Online / Global network view shows all online material.
The Boston view shows all online material and items held at Snell Library.
The Oakland view shows all online material and items held at the F. W. Olin Library.
Appropriate views for each global campus are included on their Global Campus Portal.
A source focused on sharing news and information of interest to an industry. Trade publications are often published by industry associations. Periodicals related to an industry are called trade journals.
An unrepeated string of numbers and letters used to recognize and differentiate material. Also called an identification number. Examples include American citizen's’ social security numbers or published books' ISBNs. A persistent identifier (PID) is a long-lasting type of unique identifier. Persistent identifiers allow you to locate a resource with a URL. Examples include electronic articles' Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and digital materials' handles.