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HS 451: Gender in the Early Modern World, 1450 to 1750: Home

Getting Started

This guide will help you find resources for your annotated bibliography assignment available through the Alverno library. For more information on formatting your annotated bibliography, review chapter 14.59 of the Chicago Manual of Style. 

For more examples of annotations consult Purdue University's OWL online guide.

Before you begin using the research tools of the library take some time to think about your topic and research question. Use the search strategy worksheet to generate a list of key concepts and synonyms to help you find information.

Different Types of Sources

Sources to include in your annotated bibliography come in many different forms:

Reference/General Works

These are print and electronic books with a broad focus. You’ll find many reference books in our general collection you could use for your annotated bibliography such as:​

  • encyclopedias
  • guidebooks
  • handbooks

Some specific examples from TOPCAT:

Gender and early modern constructions of childhood

Women's history in global perspective

Monographs

Monographs are detailed written studies of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it. For example, scholars may write monographs on medical care for women in early modern Europe.

Some specific examples from TOPCAT:

Women in Port: Gendering Communities, Economies, and Social Networks in Atlantic Port Cities, 1500-1800

Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern women in the early Modern Era

Scholarly Articles

Scholarly articles are original research on a specific topic. You can find scholarly articles in library databases and in Google Scholar. Some good databases to search for your annotated bibliography assignment include:

JSTOR

Academic Search Premier

Finding Articles in Databases

This is a general database that is a great place to start searching for articles on your topic.

TIPS

  • Start with Advanced Search, look at the predictive text that drops down when you start typing for ideas on building up your word bank
  • Look at the SUBJECT terms included in the results list, add relevant ones to your word bank
  • Use the limits on the left, including PEER REVIEWED, and FULL TEXT
  • Some EBSCO databases have a Thesaurus Tool - check your terms there if you're not sure where to start
  • From within an article record you can open the full text, email the article to yourself, print, copy the permalink, and add it to your folder (NOTE: folders require you to create a free EBSCO account).

JSTOR contains a wide-range of information related to the humanities. It is an excellent resource for finding articles to cite in your annotated bibliography.

TIPS

  • Use Advanced Search
  • Keep your searches broad at first, use the filter options to narrow your results

Google is great for casual research, but Google Scholar is a better resource to find information for your annotated bibliography. Use the link to Google Scholar that's on the library homepage. This is synced to our databases, so if we have full text, it should give you a link.

This is also a great way to check for full text if you find a citation elsewhere. If Google Scholar doesn't lead you to the full text, contact the library for help getting a free copy of the resource you want.

Basic Search Tools

TOPCAT

Ebooks

Using NoodleTools

Save yourself time and skip the frustration. NoodleTools makes creating Chicago Style citations easy! Here's how to sign up:

  1. Use the link on the library website or the links in this LibGuide. Don't just Google "NoodleTools". It won't know you're an Alverno student and might not let you sign up! Always use these links to access NoodleTools.
  2. On the left hand side of the screen, look for the "REGISTER" button.
  3. Complete the form to create your free account. Click REGISTER. Write down your login information or make sure it's easy to remember.
  4. Voila! You're in!

IMPORTANT: If you get a notice that you need to revalidate your account, try again and make sure you're using the links on the library homepage or on this LibGuide. Once a year it updates all our accounts and needs to make sure you're still affiliated with the school.

Books and E-Books

TOPCAT  (our library catalog) is best for finding books and reference books. You'll also find items held by other SWITCH libraries, which you can request online.

TIPS

  • Use the Advanced Search option
  • Start with broad search terms, as you become more familiar with the topic, get more specific.
  • Use the listed subject headings. Find a result that's similar to what you want, look at the subject terms it uses, try those in your search instead.

HELP

Ebook Central is our main ebook provider. You can access Ebook Central from off campus by logging into your TOPCAT account.

TIPS

  • Create a free login on Ebook Central to download books or save them to your virtual bookshelf
  • If you download books, you'll need Adobe Digital Editions to read them on your computer
  • If you make notes/highlight as you read, we HIGHLY recommend you chose the read online option and save the book to your bookshelf
    • This saves your notes/highlighting forever. If you annotate in a downloaded ebook, everything is deleted when your checkout term is over.

HELP