Use the background sources here, as well as other sources you might encounter, to gather information about your topic and consider what you still need to know before you start researching. You can use this information in searching for primary sources.
- Dates - Places - Names of persons involved
- Names of organizations, government agencies, etc. - Names of particular laws or events
Background sources can also help you understand the larger historical context, so that you can determine what primary sources might be most useful or how a particular primary source fits into what was happening at that time.
These are just a few of the reference sources you might use to begin your search. Search Primo, ZSR's Discovery Catalog, for additional titles.
The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West by 
The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 3, Early Modern Science by 
Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution by 
Europe 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World by 
The European Renaissance and Reformation by 
Instruments of Science by 
The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by 
Science, Religion and Society: An encyclopedia of history, culture, and controversy by