HIST 491C: History and the Diplomat (Spring 2025)

The databases provided below are just a small number of those available at W&M Libraries. Use these databases to locate scholarly literature and book reviews on research topics in history, international affairs and government. If you do not find what you need, reach out to our helpful librarians for more assistance!

sample search: films in diplomacy 

Tips:

• Start by only using 2 or 3 search terms. Revise or add terms based on initial results
• If one database isn't giving results, that's OK, try another database.
• As you're finding articles, pay attention to subjects assigned by the databases ; pay attention to keywords being used by other authors.
• Pay attention to citations in articles, as these may also be good sources.
• Search the title of interesting articles in Google scholar to see who has cited these same articles (EX)

• Start with basic searches and don't use too many terms.
• Keywords that work well in article databases also work well looking for books.
• Pay attention to subject terms. These are official terms that will help you find many sources on the topic. For example:
  • United States -- Foreign relations -- Historiography
  • Poland -- Foreign relations -- 1918-1945
  • Europe -- Politics and government -- 1918-1945. 
• Remember to limit results to books, ebooks, and chapters
• At this level of research, be sure to use WorldCat to find & order books we don't own.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Use "1918-1945" as a subject to narrow searches in the catalog (Example)
 

Dissertations are scholarly, but unpublished, works created by graduate students to complete their PhD training.  
Though written by an expert and approved by a board of other experts, they are not considered peer reviewed in the usual sense, and typically you're better off using a published work instead of a dissertation.

However: dissertations can be excellent for their bibliographies, and a very recent dissertation on your topic may also be a useful tool.