Here is a good, basic formula for getting started with your research in Modern African History.
- Begin by using the keyword brainstorming worksheet
to help you tweak your research question, identify keywords and related terms, and keep track of what you find.
- Search in a library catalog (Summon, OBIS, OhioLINK and/or WorldCat) to find books and reference sources. They provide BACKGROUND and CONTEXT, review and SUMMARIZE earlier work, help you FOCUS your topic and provide CITATIONS to important books, journal articles, conference papers, interviews, etc.
- Next, search research databases to find articles. The Library has hundreds of databases available, but the ones listed below are good places to begin.
- You may also wish to use Google or Google Scholar to search the Internet. Take advantage of Google's advanced search features!
- Finally, use the CRAAP test worksheet
to evaluate the sources you find!
OBIS: Catalog of the Oberlin College Library 
OhioLINK Library Catalog
WorldCat
OhioLINK Library Catalog
WorldCat
Summon -- searches across a wide range of library content, and not just books! It includes journal and newspaper articles, data, digital audio, video and images, and so much more. Try it and see what you can discover.
Aluka 
An online digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa.
Academic Search Complete
Multidisciplinary - good for nearly all subjects. Scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, newspapers, conference proceedings, book reviews, and more.
Black Studies Center 
BSC is international in scope and multidisciplinary, spanning cultural, economic, historical, religious, social, and political issues of vital importance to the Black Studies discipline.
Oxford Reference
Hundreds of dictionaries, general reference, language reference, and subject reference works from Oxford University Press.
Web of Science
Scholarly literature in the sciences, health and medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities and proceedings of international conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions. Includes cited reference searching across many databases. Search all databases in Web of Science (includes Medline and BIOSIS, direct link for on-campus users). Dates of coverage: 1965 to present.
An online digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa.
Academic Search Complete
Multidisciplinary - good for nearly all subjects. Scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, newspapers, conference proceedings, book reviews, and more.
Black Studies Center
BSC is international in scope and multidisciplinary, spanning cultural, economic, historical, religious, social, and political issues of vital importance to the Black Studies discipline.
Oxford Reference
Hundreds of dictionaries, general reference, language reference, and subject reference works from Oxford University Press.
Web of Science
Scholarly literature in the sciences, health and medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities and proceedings of international conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions. Includes cited reference searching across many databases. Search all databases in Web of Science (includes Medline and BIOSIS, direct link for on-campus users). Dates of coverage: 1965 to present.
Provides an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.
Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
Country Studies
Presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. From the Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
Presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. From the Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
- Become a better researcher!
- Drop in at the Research Help Desk or call 440-775-5031 during research desk hours
- Email us at reference@oberlin.edu
- Chat / IM with a librarian
- Sign up for a Research Appointment
- Contact Eboni directly -- ejohnson@oberlin.edu or 440-775-5026
Factiva 
Includes 20,000+ full text global news and business sources, including newspapers, newswires, television and radio transcripts, numerous regional and industry publications. Content comes from ~160 countries in 22 languages.
Newspaper Source
Provides full text for 185 national (U.S.) and international newspapers.
World News Connection (1995 - 2013)
Provides translations and transcripts of news stories from thousands of non-U.S. media sources including newspaper articles, conference proceedings, television and radio broadcasts, periodicals, and non-classified technical reports.
Includes 20,000+ full text global news and business sources, including newspapers, newswires, television and radio transcripts, numerous regional and industry publications. Content comes from ~160 countries in 22 languages.
Newspaper Source
Provides full text for 185 national (U.S.) and international newspapers.
World News Connection (1995 - 2013)
Provides translations and transcripts of news stories from thousands of non-U.S. media sources including newspaper articles, conference proceedings, television and radio broadcasts, periodicals, and non-classified technical reports.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports (1941-1996)
Transcripts of foreign broadcasts and news translated into English; features stories selected by U.S. intelligence agencies for the use of policymakers.
International Political Science Abstracts
Provides abstracts of virtually all the relevant articles published in journals (and yearbooks) around the world.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Provides references to articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and conference proceedings in all fields of political science, including international relations, international law, and public administration and policy.
Transcripts of foreign broadcasts and news translated into English; features stories selected by U.S. intelligence agencies for the use of policymakers.
International Political Science Abstracts
Provides abstracts of virtually all the relevant articles published in journals (and yearbooks) around the world.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Provides references to articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and conference proceedings in all fields of political science, including international relations, international law, and public administration and policy.
- Oberlin College Writing Center -- Located in the Academic Commons of Mudd (first floor)
- Citation Help -- Print sources at Oberlin
- Citation Help -- Online sources
- Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR SOURCES
ProQuest RefWorks is a citation management tool that helps researchers gather, manage, store and share information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies in a wide variety of styles.
- Search - OBIS, OhioLink, PubMed & Scopus
- Share - Folders via URL
- Store - PDFs online and take notes
- Read - Search your references fulltext and save searches
- Write - Create a simple reference list and use Write-N-Cite to format paper in Microsoft Word
- Check out our video tutorial!
