Global African History: Research Guides & Websites

Memorial of the Martyrs, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, August 3, 2009
Photo by Jeff Attaway (CC BY 2.0)

Regarding Websites:

Web research can be very useful and lead to much useful and important information. While every effort has been made to list only “reliable” sites, researchers should be aware that control of sites change (often without notice) from time to time and, thus, the reliability and point of view of the website may change (for better or worse). One of the best uses of web information is to locate good primary and secondary sources that should be directly examined. Websites also go out of existence, so, for scholarly work, they are not reliable sources, like a published work which, presumably, will always be available in some library (Library of Congress) for examination. Beware especially of quoting or otherwise relying upon unidentified opinions found on websites.

Basic guide to web research:

  1. Use your library BEFORE you start your web research. You will learn many terms that will be useful in your web research. You should read at least one good, broad secondary source on the subject before starting your research.

  2. Learn how to do web research. Google has a very good set of instructions. USE THEM!

  3. Know the site you are using. Find out who is responsible for it. An example of a very good site is the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School (use Google to find it.)

  4. Find the original printed source of the information given on the site. You may have to use your library sources or a research librarian to help you. Cite both the internet source and the printed source.


Major Research Guides and Resources–Global African History 

Africa:

Asia:


Canada:


Europe:


Latin America:


West Indies:


Global: