Stuck for where to find that all important source?
Not sure where to look for an article or portrait? This page encompasses a number of databases and websites which are useful starting points for historical research, this list is not exhaustive, so expect additions as and when they are found - if you have a suggestion please send in a submission.
When looking for research articles or foundational historiographic literature, learning how to search the internet is a slightly tricky habit to get into. Firstly, don't just restrict yourself to your regular search engine - Google Scholar will become your best friend if you let it.
Don't search for a long question, such as 'to what extent did Anne Boleyn meddle in Tudor Politics in 1529?', try 'Anne Boleyn politics'.
If you know the name of the article you need, or the name of the author, search for the title in Google Scholar, this should bring up the title you're looking for on a number of sites and databases, and most likely several similar publications.
Now at this point, it can get a little overwhelming, look for one of these databases as your first port of call, you should have either free access or free access via your institution.
Jstor -digital library for articles, chapters, books and primary sources, you can use an institutional login to access the sources
ODNB - The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, a cumulative database for biographies of British individuals and British adjacent individuals.
ProQuest - a cumulative database for research papers and articles generally - log in via your institution
Shibboleth login will enable you to log in to a variety of University libraries in order to access their collections, this will typically pop up as an option once you have found a source online.
Archives/primary sources
(Most UK universities, libraries, museums, galleries and archives will now have fairly comprehensive databases of their collections available to view for free - some have licensing fees or processes to use images of these objects in your work so please check the details yourself. Here I have listed a few particularly useful sites.)
The National Portrait Gallery - portraits/images can be downloaded for free under different licensing agreements.
The Royal Collection Trust - items and objects (primarily art) held within the Royal Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum - items and objects held within the V&A collections
The British Museum - items and objects held within the British Museum collections
Institute of Historical Research Collections - a huge range of objects and items available through this library
The National Archives - access 1000s of documents, including newspapers and legal documents
The proceedings of the Old Bailey - legal documents and trial transcripts from the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court, 1674-1913
Step one in your personal research journey should be double checking facts for yourself.
That's all for now, this list will be updated as and when and all sources used for articles and content on this site will be cited in the article itself.
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