Getting Started:
Find secondary sources to help you understand your topic
Before you can develop a historically-informed STEM lesson, you will first need some more general, background knowledge about the history of your topic—answers to the basic questions “who, what, when, and where?” You will also want to begin to understand how historians have interpreted its meaning—the “why?” question. This means locating secondary sources.
But how do you track down scholarly secondary sources? Start with reference works—these will provide background information and act as a “gateway” to other high-quality scholarly secondary sources. Next, explore your library’s catalogue and scholarly databases to find scholarly books and journal articles about the history of science and math that can help you get a deeper understanding. Finally, judiciously use an internet search engine to find online collections, exhibits, and journalism that can also enrich your lesson. Explore the links below to learn more.
Not all secondary sources are created equal
You need scholarly secondary sources. Generally, a scholarly source is an article in a peer-reviewed journal or book published by an academic press, rather than in a popular magazine or trade publication.
For more, check out:
Reference works include encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries. These are a special kind of secondary source that consolidates and distills general information from many other secondary sources. (For this reason, they are sometimes also called “tertiary” sources.)
You can think of the articles that you find within reference works as “gateway sources” for 3 reasons:
1.) They offer an initial broad overview of the topic you are interested in––the background information you need before you can delve deeper.
2.) They orient you toward the major people, events, and concepts involved in your historical topic. These are terms you should add to your list of keywords as you continue your research (see the sidebar “Using the Best Keywords” on this page and try the Keyword Brainstorming Tool).
3.) Finally, when you find an article in an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary, read it not only for its content, but also for its citations. Look for “References,” “Works Cited,” “Bibliography,” or “Further Reading” at the bottom of the article. Because reference works synthesize the work of other scholars, this section can lead you to some of the best and most reputable secondary sources.
Keep in mind that reference works may be scholarly or non-scholarly:
Use Databases to Find Scholarly Reference Works
The best scholarly reference works for research in the history of science and math include The Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography and the encyclopedia Science and its Times and these are available through databases that libraries hold subscriptions to.
Students at UT Austin should start with Gale Ebooks (AKA Gale Virtual Reference Library), which contains many reference works relevant to the history of science and math.
Another helpful database containing scholarly reference works in this field is Cambridge Histories Online.
Try it!: Identify at least 2 relevant encyclopedia articles using one of the recommended databases. Read the articles and write down any additional keywords useful for your topic. Most articles will have a bibliography or works cited at the end. Use this to identify some additional secondary sources that look promising for your project. Write down their citation information (see the sidebar “Keeping Track of Your Sources“) so you can find these sources in your library.
When keeping track of the citations for articles from reference works, make sure you record both the title of the article (e.g. “King, Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace”) and the title of the reference work (i.e. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography). Be careful! The title of the reference work is not the same as the name of the database where you found it (i.e. Gale Virtual Reference Library).
A Non-Scholarly Reference
A non-scholarly reference work that you are probably familiar with is Wikipedia. Feel free to use Wikipedia! Its articles can give you background information and help you identify relevant people, events, and concepts. Checking Wikipedia can be a useful early step, but don’t let it be your last or only step! Wikipedia is not scholarly. Anyone can write or change an article. Crowdsourcing means that articles vary in quality. Some are of quite accurate and informative, but some are very poor, misleading, or incomplete. Bias also pervades which topics get covered in depth (for example many women scientists are not included or covered in depth, though historians and scientists are working hard to correct those biases). You can only evaluate Wikipedia’s coverage by doing more—and more scholarly— research.
Following up on the sources it cites in the “References” section at the bottom of a Wikipedia page can be a great place to continue your research. Sometimes the “References,” “Further reading,” or “External links” sections of a Wikipedia article can lead to high-quality and scholarly secondary sources. (When you write an essay or lesson plan, you should use and cite only those sources you cross-checked in this way, never just the Wikipedia article.)
Why do you need books for your project? While articles from reference works can give you some basic background history, books provide deeper context and analysis necessary to understand complex historical topics. (For this reason, history is largely a “book discipline”: books are the most significant type of publication for historians. This contrasts with science, where journal articles tend to be most highly valued.) History books are usually driven by narrative—stories—that help make sense of cause, effect, and human motivations. When studying history, books help you get beyond a superficial understanding of your topic. They can also give you stories to enrich your lesson plan and make it more engaging.
Track Down Books using your Library Catalogue
Your library catalogue can help you track down copies (physical or ebook) of the sources you have already identified (such as those cited by an article in a reference work, as explained above). The library catalogue can also help you identify additional secondary source books.
Try it!: Use the UT library main page to search the library catalogue and locate the books you have already identified (through a citation in a reference work or bibliography). If some are ebooks, you can access them right away. If not, click the “pick it up” link and a librarian will retrieve your book for you (or you can write down the call numbers and find them in the library stacks yourself).
You have probably used the library catalogue previously during your university career, so let’s focus on some tips and tricks for locating and accessing books that you might not be familiar with:
Tip: Did you know that you can order a book UT does not own, or is currently unavailable, from another library? Go to the “Find, Borrow, Request” tab on the main library website and select “InterLibrary Loan.” Follow the instructions to place a request for a book, or ask a librarian for help
Tip: Does someone else have your book checked out? You can have a book recalled or delivered to the UT library of your choice (for pick up at the front desk) by clicking the “pick it up” link.
Tip: While you are in the stacks, browse the books nearby on the shelf––you will find closely related books! Catalogue entries also include a “Virtual Browse” at the bottom of the page, which shows other books on the shelf.
A Subject Search
The library catalogue can also help you find additional books on your topic. You can use a “keyword or phrase” search (the default option), but students often overlook the “subject” search. A subject search can help you find sources specifically about the history of your topic, not just the science or math topic itself.
Go to the Library Catalog Advanced Search. Select “Subject” on the left of the first search line and enter a relevant science or math subject term (e.g. Chemistry). Start with a broad keyword, not necessarily the more specific historical topic you are interested in, because a more comprehensive book is likely to have specific chapters or sections highly relevant to your project, even if the whole book does not focus on your topic.
Select “Subject” on the left of the second search line and enter the word “history.” This will return a list of results broadly relevant to your topic (e.g. “Chemistry” and “History”). Scroll down and browse to identify books that look promising.
You can also refine your search by clicking on “Subject” under “Refine Results” on the left. There you will see a list of related and more specific subjects (e.g. “Chemists biography, “Chemistry History 20th Century,” etc.)––you can narrow your results by clicking on these headings.
You can also try adding narrower or related keywords as a “Subject” search (e.g. “Chemistry” and “History” and “Mendeleev”).
Try it!: Use a subject search to identify at least one scholarly book by a historian relevant to your project and access it as an ebook or click pick it up.
Other catalogues
To find books that may or may not be at your library, you may also want to use:
WorldCat
Google Books
…or your local public library!
Choose Books by Historians of Science and Math
Because you are researching the history of your topic, books written by historians—experts in the discipline of history—are usually the highest quality. Many kinds of authors write about the history of science and math, including journalists, and scientists and mathematicians themselves. Sometimes such authors write very good history, but it is best to rely mainly on secondary sources by historians to be sure that you have the most accurate and insightful history content for your project. How can you tell if the author is a historian? You can check the book jacket, publisher’s website, or do a Google search. (When in doubt, consult your instructor.)
While books are the major scholarly works in the discipline of history, there may be times when you want to explore scholarly journal articles on the history of science and math. You have probably used scholarly databases for research in the fields of science, math, or education. You may not have used the ones most relevant for research on the history of science and math.
Find Journal Articles with Scholarly Databases
To find articles on topics in the history of science and math, use:
IsisCB Explore (also includes books)
Tip: This database is not linked to UT’s resources, so when you find a citation, you will need to use the UT library catalogue to locate and access the article itself.
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
JSTOR
Tip: In JSTOR’s Advanced Search, find “Narrow by Discipline” and select “History of Science & Technology.”
For a very broad scholarly source search, you can use Google Scholar, but be careful. You will really have to know which journals to look for and what search terms to use to narrow the results down. Google scholar produces results across a huge array of disciplines, and it may be difficult to find useful sources if you are a beginner. Such a broad search may not be useful until you know much more about your topic and what the most relevant and high-quality journals are in the field of the history of science and math.
Also remember, history is largely a “book discipline”: books are the most significant type of publication for historians and they are also usually more accessible for non-historians. Journal articles in history may have a very narrow focus, or be aimed primarily at other historians in a specialized historical subfield. However, some history of science journals, such as Endeavor, aim to be accessible to a broader audience.
For recommended journals and journal articles that connect the the history of science and math to STEM education, see the page: Pedagogy: HPS in STEM education
Google it!
You are unlikely to find high-quality scholarly secondary sources through a general internet search, but this is still a useful step. Universities, museums, archives, libraries, and professional organizations have many websites and pages devoted to topics in the history of math and science. Through sites like these, you may find citations or bibliographies of secondary sources, as well as collections of images and primary sources. You may also find lower-quality secondary sources, like non-scholarly books or articles from newspapers, magazines, or blogs. You may find useful or interesting ideas in sources like these, but you should never rely on them without further research.
Be careful! You will often find outright false information through a general internet search—always ask yourself who the creator of the content is, what their interests or agenda may be, and where they obtained their facts. You may also find misleading, oversimplified, or mischaracterized historical information websites maintained by amateurs or scholars whose primary area of expertise isn’t the history of science or math. For tips on how to assess the reliability of online sources, see this guide: Evaluating Sources. The only way to be sure is to check their sources yourself and to compare their information with what you know from the scholarly secondary sources you found above.
Using the Best Keywords
To research your topic, you will need keywords in order to search online databases and search engines. Keywords are the most important terms found in your research topic or question–– synonyms and broader, narrower, and related words. Although you use keywords all the time to search the internet, being systematic about the keywords you choose will be more efficient in your research and get better results. Be sure to keep a running list of the keywords you use in your research!
Your Next Step…
Begin to read the secondary sources you find more closely. For tips on reading historical secondary sources, see the guide How to Read a Secondary Source. Narrow down your research questions and identify gaps in your knowledge. To identify additional secondary sources, check the bibliographies of books and articles (just as you did for the “gateway” reference works).