Contextualizing your object
The following steps and the resources below will help you get started exploring the historical context of your object and finding contemporary perspectives. We'll be using an object found in the Iowa Digital Library as an example but the same steps apply for your chosen object.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you need additional assistance locating additional information, please contact one of your friendly librarians. We're available by chat, email, and drop-in or scheduled appointments.
STEP ONE. Find the collection guide associated with your object.
STEP TWO. Identify the relevant keywords about your object (place, time period, relevant persons, main events, etc.)
STEP THREE. Contextualize your object within its historical context by locating articles, documents, and other resources from the same time period.
STEP FOUR. Explore contemporary perspectives by locating current or recent articles, documents, and other resources that look at your object through a contemporary lens.
STEP ONE. Find the collection guide and finding aid.
A collection guide, or finding aid, is a tool used to describe archival material created so that researchers can later have more information about a specific archival collection and its contents. You can often find biographical information, information about who donated the materials and when they were donated, and more detailed descriptions of individual items contained in the collection. Collection guides are excellent places for locating background information about your topic. And, this information can then be turned into keywords for use as you search for additional resources that help you contextualize your chosen historical document.
Let's explore the Iowa Digital Library. The Iowa Digital Library contains millions of digitized (scanned) images of archival materials that can be found within UI Libraries' Special Collection & University Archives.
To search for a specific item (if you know exactly what you're looking for), type in the name of your subject or collection in the search box.
Suggested: To browse or explore what the Iowa Digital Library has, select browse collections in the right hand corner. This will allow you to visually see the collections available.
Once you've selected an object of interest, scroll down for a complete description of the object and locate the link to the collection guide. You can use both the object description and collection guide to find relevant information and identify keywords.
STEP THREE. Locate historical documents
The databases and resources below let you look up a variety of types of information including newspapers, census data, and more. Which sources are most relevant to the document you are analyzing?
- Academic Search Elite This link opens in a new windowThis multi-disciplinary database offers full text for nearly 2,000 scholarly journals, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed titles. Covering virtually every area of academic study, Academic Search Elite offers full text information dating as far back as 1985. This database is updated on a daily basis.
- Historical Newspaper CollectionsThis guide offers links to individual major newspapers and collections of papers you can search by date or keyword.
- Daily IowanRead the Daily Iowan back to its beginning in 1868.
- Chronicling AmericaAccess to historic newspapers through the Library of Congress. Browsable by state and date.
- HarpWeek: the Civil War Era through the Gilded Age (1857-1912) This link opens in a new windowBrowse America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper, Harper's Weekly.
- Vogue Archive This link opens in a new windowA complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month.
- Esquire Magazine Archive (1933-2014) This link opens in a new windowEsquire Magazine Archive, 1933-2014, delivers coverage of the award-winning American men’s magazine in the areas of politics, men’s fashion, entertainment, fiction and pop culture. It includes more than 900 issues providing a broad view of 20th-Century American thought through cultural and current events. Esquire Magazine Archive is valuable to researchers of 20th-Century current events, gender issues, politics and culture, the history of business, advertising, and more.
- US Government Information Data SourcesThis guide provides quick links to websites and databases that provide access to historical and contemporary statistics about labor, economics, population, health, education, and more.
- Statistical AbstractThe Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
- 1940 CensusThis website allows you full access to the 1940 census images, in addition to 1940 census maps and descriptions.
- Ancestry library edition This link opens in a new windowA collection of more than 4,000 databases and 1.5 billion names including U.S. federal census images and indexes from 1790 to 1930
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new windowAcademic Video Online delivers almost 80,000 titles spanning a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more.
STEP TWO. Identify keywords
Reading over your document and the archival collection guide, look for names, dates, places, organizations, and other specific words, phrases, or topics you can search for.
Below is an object from the African American Women in Iowa Digital Collection. This picture of a woman posing with a bicycle is titled Arlene Roberts Morris posed with bicycle, Iowa City, Iowa? 1946. To learn more about this image, lets gather some important information from the photograph's description and the collection guide, in which the object is found.
Keyword list:
- Arlene Morris
- Moline, Illinois
- Iowa City, IA
- University of Iowa
- Eyes Magazine
- 1940s
- Iowa
- Midwest
- African Americans
- African American Women
- African American Life and Culture
Can you think of any more words that would help you locate historical documents or find a more contemporary perspective to contexualize this document?
STEP FOUR: Explore contemporary perspectives
The documents contained in DIY History provide a glimpse into the lived experiences of individuals engaged with a variety of issues and situations, including a collection of documents related to social justice related issues and actions. Understanding the historical context is important but exploring these and other topics from a contemporary perspective can provide insight on the lasting impact of the actions and work of individuals included in DIY History. To gain a contemporary perspective, you might explore your document and related topics by searching the following tools and databases.
- Academic Search Elite This link opens in a new window This multi-disciplinary database offers full text for nearly 2,000 scholarly journals, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed titles. Covering virtually every area of academic study, Academic Search Elite offers full text information dating as far back as 1985. This database is updated on a daily basis.
- JSTOR (Journal Storage) This link opens in a new window Provides image and full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in history, economics, political science, philosophy, mathematics and other fields of the humanities and social sciences. Consult the online tables of contents for holdings, as coverage varies for each titles. Journals may be searched across multiple titles as well as by the individual titles below Note that this database comprises mostly back issues: for most titles the JSTOR database does NOT include full text of the most recent 3 to 5 years.
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- Alt-Press Watch This link opens in a new window Full-text database indexes over 250 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines. Includes selected abstracts from research journals. (Main Library Reference Area holds vol. 1- July 1969- to present in the paper edition.)
- Ethnic Newswatch Complete This link opens in a new window Ethnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives. The database now also contains Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, which provides historical coverage of Native American, African American, and Hispanic American periodicals from 1959-1989
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new window Primarily a full text database with some abstracts that contains periodicals, academic journals, newsletters, magazines, regional publications, and government reports focused on gender and women's issues. [Not compatible with Internet Explorer 9]
- LexisNexis Academic (now called Nexis Uni) This link opens in a new window TURN OFF POP-UP BLOCKER; Researchers can quickly and easily search full-text documents from over 17,000 credible sources of information and pinpoint relevant information for a wide range of academic research projects. Extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790
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- Project Muse This link opens in a new window With full text for well over 300 journal titles from university publishers, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and many others. Coverage begins in 1995.
