FYS 102-06: The Titanic

Fall 2009

Megan Threlkeld

Humanities Liaison Librarian - Joshua Finnell

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

Primary sources are original records created at the time a historical event occurred or created after the event in the form of memoirs and oral histories.

Examples of primary  sources include:

• Letters, manuscripts, diaries,  memoirs and journals
• Newspapers, speeches and interviews
• Government documents
• Photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings.
  

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources  are resources that discuss the primary sources. They often include analysis, commentary, interpretations and discussions of the historical event.

Examples of secondary sources include:

• Encyclopedia entries
  
• Articles in scholarly journals
• Magazine articles 
  
• Books written about historical event
  

Example:

Primary Source: New York Times article from April 15th, 1912 

Secondary Source: Book published in 1987 titled Titanic :Destination Disaster: The Legends and the Reality by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas.

Searching the Catalog:

Use Consort or Ohiolink or WorldCat in one of the following ways. Check the  record to see where materials are available:

• SUBJECT Search
  --A concept or term (Titanic)
  

• KEYWORD Search
  Use this type of search to combine several terms into one search,
  Examples:
  titanic and gender
  "titanic disaster"
  titanic
  

Databases

Historical Databases:

• U.S. Congressional Serial Set
  Use this database to find government documents on the titanic. Includes the transcripts of the original government inquiry.
  
  
• Historic New York Times
  Covers The New York Times from 1851-2004
  
  
• The Times (London) Digital Archive
  Covers The Times (London) from 1785 to 1985.
  
  
• America's Historical Newspapers
  Contains archives of historical newspapers from all 50 states. Covers dates from 1690 to 1922.
  

Other Databases:

• Academic Search Complete
  Database that covers many different subjects areas. Contains citations and full text.
  
  
• America: History and Life
  Comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present
  
  
• Biography Reference Center
  Contains the full text of biographies and obituaries of more than 500,000 people.
  
  
• Historical Abstracts
  Indexes key historical journals from virtually every major country, plus a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities that are of special interest to researchers and students of history.

Other Useful Online Resources

• Researching the Wreck of the RMS Titanic
  An online research guide from the Library of Congress
  
  
• Titanic Inquiry Project
  Contains transcripts of the U.S. and British government inquiries into the disaster. Also contains transcripts of some of the Limitation of Liability Hearings.
  
  
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Ocean Exploration of the Titanic
  These pages offer a comprehensive look at NOAA's 200-year history of ocean exploration through a series of chronological essays. Also included is a rich selection of historical quotations, arranged thematically, that capture the many advances, challenges, and misunderstandings through the years as both early and modern explorers struggled to study the mysterious ocean realm.