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History / World History

Websites

History of East Asia

  • Japan Policy Research Institute -  The publications subject index gives access to scholarly working papers on a variety of topics, primarily to do with Japan - but other Asian countries as well.
  • The Song Dynasty - a comprehensive examination of the period 960-1279. Subjects covered are at the top of the page.

 

History of India

  • 1914 - 1918 Online  International Encyclopedia of the First World War” is an English-language virtual reference work on the First World War.
  • Internet Medieval Sourcebook  -a huge site offering access to a large number of primary sources organized by topic. Some secondary sources are included but are identified as "2nd".

 

Don't believe everything you read. Ask some critical questions about every website:

Who

  • Is the author easily identified?  - check for an "About us" link
  • Why should I trust what they say?  - check author's reputation in Google
  • Are they credible?  - look for relevant educational qualifications and professional experience

What

  • What type of information is provided?   - personal opinions? research findings?
  • Does the author cite sources so that you can verify the info?   - confirm in other sources
  • Are the sources scholarly?   - see features of scholarly journals

Why

  • Is the author trying to sell something?   - watch especially with .com websites
  • Does the author or organization have a political or ideological bias, and only present one point of view?   - look them up on Google

When

  • How current is the information?   - look for sites that are updated regularly;  some areas can change rapidly, e.g. medicine, law

How

  • Is the site logically arranged?   - avoid sites with many dead links
  • Does the site look professional?   - not full of misspellings

Evaluate Your Sources