LibGuides: Lyman Briggs Library Resources: Secondary Sources

Databases for Secondary Sources on HPS

History of Science, Technology, & Medicine This link opens in a new window
This database covers all aspects of the history of science, technology, and medicine. Includes international material selected from periodicals since 1975. It reflects the influences of these fields on society and culture from prehistory to the present. Includes records of journal articles, conference proceedings, books, dissertations, serials, maps and other materials. EBSCOhost platform.

Databases that have some HPS related sources

These databases are not specifically devoted to HPS sources; they are databases for social sciences, philosophy, and history. They do have articles about the history, philosophy and sociology of science---they just contain articles on other things too. They're still probably your best bet for finding HPS articles, as long as you include science terms in your search.

International Bibliography of the Social Sciences This link opens in a new window
Anthropology is a core discipline covered by this database. Journal and book coverage draws significantly on the collection of the Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Over 50 percent of journals indexed are published outside the US or the UK; 25 percent of references are in languages other than English. Coverage dates back to 1951.
Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
1940-
Includes indexes and abstracts for articles in books and journals in philosophy and related interdisciplinary fields.

Library Tools

These are more like encyclopedias than databases, but each entry has references/citations. They're a good way to figure out where to start with your research and get a quick overview. Sage Research Methods also has some tools (a project planner, for example) that you might find helpful.

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Each entry in this collection explains the work of either an individual researcher or a discipline/subdiscipline, and gives you lists of the most important primary texts, secondary texts, textbooks, and journals for that field. Sciences, social sciences and the humanities are all covered. It's a great place to start research--just recognize that it has some real limitations: their coverage of female researchers is really not comprehensive. (Marie Curie, for example, does not have a entry). So you can start here, but supplement with other resources on this list for a more complete sense of who the important figures in your subject are.
SAGE Research Methods: Foundations This link opens in a new window
This resource contains explanations of terms and concepts in research, but also tells you about particular researchers in history and the work they did. All the articles have reference list, which can be a good starting point for your research. If you're not sure what you want to write about, this is a good place to browse around for inspiration.
SAGE Research Methods Online This link opens in a new window
This is the complete toolset of Sage Research Methods(mostly for the social sciences). It has everything from explanatory videos on research methods and concepts, reference books explaining how the methods work and how to use them, case studies where researchers describe their own research process, and datasets where you can practice analysis skills. There's also a Project Planner which walks you through the steps of doing a research project.
Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
You may have used these before, but the MSU Libraries now owns all of them online! If you're feeling lost on a new subject, these books are short, easy to understand, and cover many topics.

Scientific Women
This is a good place to go in order to supplement Oxford Bibliographies. It gives you names and some information about female scientists throughout history. Once you have a name, you can search on the library website and find articles and sometimes books on that person.
Smithsonian: Women in Science
Also a good supplement to Oxford Bibliographies.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

MSU Libraries

Research Guides

Lyman Briggs Library Resources

Databases for Secondary Sources on HPS

Databases that have some HPS related sources

Library Tools