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HST 102: Europe & the World in the Modern Era

Gathering Background Information

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. 

Reference Sources

TOPIC DATABASES

SUBJECT ENCYCLOPEDIAS 

STATISTICS

When looking for statistics, think about who would be have been interested in gathering that data at that time period. Governments are often a good starting point, but religious organizations or non-governmental organizations might also have been involved in gathering data.