Research Guides: ENGL 4303 Introduction to Shakespeare: Historical Research

Guides for Historical Research

Historical Methods Resource Guide
This guide assists with identifying and researching topics for historical study including how to find and use primary and secondary resources.
Women's Studies at the University of Arkansas Libraries
This guide helps researchers locate and access archival and published materials related to Women's Studies held in the Special Collections and other collections held at the University of Arkansas Libraries.

ProQuest One Literature This link opens in a new window
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Covers: 700 BCE-. Offers searchable texts of more than 355,000 works of literature, including works of poetry, drama, and prose stretching back to the 8th century through to the present day. Literary criticism and reference works are also included, featuring the Modern Humanities Research Association's Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL).

Primary Source databases

Here's a great definition of primary sources from the American Library Association

"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, . . . memoirs, [etc]. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research."

--Using Primary Sources on the Web, rev. 2008.

Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
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Covers: 1470 - 1700. Offers page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere from the beginning of printing through the 17th century. Fully searchable texts are available for more than 60,000 titles.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO): Parts 1 and 2 This link opens in a new window
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Covers: 1680-1800. Based on the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC), Eighteenth Century Collection Online (ECCO) captures most significant books (monographs) published in the United Kingdom during the 18th century regardless of language, plus thousands of English-language works from elsewhere. Search by keywords in the text or by fields such as work author, title, publisher, or place of publication. Texts are divided into 8 broad subject areas, such as history and geography, law, literature, or medicine and science.