Submitted by Mary Hitchcock
Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Writing a history research paper can be daunting if you are unfamiliar with the process and/or resources of a specific subject field. The task is more difficult in the electronic world with numerous databases and the belief that "everything is online." Helping students research the history of the health sciences through traditional workshops coupled with a stagnant, dense, and unruly handout perpetuated the confusing and frustrating work of historical research. The only avenue available for assisting "lost" students were lengthy one-on-one research sessions; however, these did not instill the concept of how to identify a viable topic or how to use the wealth of resources available to thoroughly investigate it.
We decided a new approach was necessary to help students navigate the world of historical research and resources in a format that was online and easy to understand. By dissecting our original dense and bulky student handout, we identified the basic steps one would follow to conduct historical research. By creating this step by step outline, students and the public can begin "to think like a historian," and hopefully making research less of a unsatisfying and traumatic task. Collaborating with one of the Information Architecture Librarians, we developed an easy online research guide for anyone who needs help with historical research. The new "Resources for Students" guide has been extremely successful tool for students conducting historical research, along with identifying, largely, history focused databases which may assist in their research. Although, the databases are University of Wisconsin-centric and access to them may not be available to the public, the Student Resources Guide is open to the world via the Historical Services website within the Ebling Library homepage.