Introduction
This subject guide highlights some key discipline resources to get you started with study and research.
- Refer to the New Students Library Guide for everything you need to know about Library services and resources.
- Build your researching, reading and writing skills with the Research Essentials Library Guide.
- Streamline your access to online resources with the Library's quick access tools.
Primary sources
Click on the button below to browse all online primary source databases the Library subscribes to (it will open in a new tab).
You can sort the list by era by choosing a specific time period from the drop down menu labeled 'All Database Types'.
Encyclopedias
- Oxford ReferenceOxford Reference is the home of Oxford’s quality reference publishing. The collection provides quality, up-to-date reference content at the click of a button. The University of Melbourne subscribes to selected titles from this large collection of materials.
- Cambridge Histories OnlineThis unique historical reference compendium allows instant access to the renowned texts of the Cambridge Histories series. With access to the most up to date and authoritative scholarly content, Cambridge Histories Online is an invaluable resource, for undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and researchers alike. All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research. From September 2016 titles are available via the Cambridge Core platform alongside Cambridge Books, Companions and Journals.
- World History in VideoThis database contains a global survey of human history from 8000 BCE to the late 1980s—online in streaming video.
Ancient History:
- Encyclopedia of Ancient HistoryThe Encyclopedia of Ancient History is one of the most comprehensive collection of twenty-first century scholarship available on the entire ancient Mediterranean world, with over 5,700 original entries published since November 2012.
- Brill's New Pauly OnlineAn extensive encyclopedia that includes material on the ancient world including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.
- Historical Atlas of the Ancient WorldA sub-collection of Brill's New Pauly Online, the Historical Atlas is a valuable source of maps of the ancient world- Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Egypt and other civilizations.
- Chronologies of the Ancient World- Names, Dates, and DynastiesAnother subset of Brill's New Pauly Online. "From the Mesopotamian kings in around 3000 BC to the Bishops and Patriarchs of Late Antiquity, Chronologies of the Ancient World lists all rulers and dynasties that made their mark on ancient history."
Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern:
- The new Cambridge medieval history7 volumes. Available in print and online. Search for the title in the catalogue to find additional online volumes,
- The Oxford dictionary of the Middle AgesThe Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages is an essential reference work covering all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 A.D., as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. It is designed both for medievalists, who need a detailed and reliable reference tool, and for students and general readers seeking an accessible guide to the period.
Modern / Twentieth Century:
- Oxford Bibliographies OnlineContains short reference articles with links to key sources, both in print and online, on a wide range of topics in history.
- World History in VideoThis database contains a global survey of human history from 8000 BCE to the late 1980s—online in streaming video.
American History:
- American National BiographyAmerican National Biography discovers biographies of more than 19,000 people — from all eras and walks of life — whose lives have shaped American history and culture.
- Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history : the Black experience in the AmericasA five-volume set and supplement covering all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces, many written by foremost scholars, it addresses a wide array of subjects in over 2,300 articles to define in one source the cultural roots, participation in American life, and current condition of the African-American community.
- Encyclopedia of women in American historyExamines the unique influence and contributions of women in every era of American history, from the colonial period to the present.
Asian History:
- Oxford Reference Encyclopedia of Asian HistoryPeer-reviewed and regularly updated.
- Encyclopedia of modern AsiaA six-volume survey of modern Asia, defined as extending from Japan in the east to Turkey in the west, and from Kazakhstan in the north to Indonesia in the south. Presents entries covering such subjects as countries, cities, regions, natural features, religions, social issues, languages, people, events, customs, politics, and economics.
- Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor This link opens in a new windowEdited by Ooi Keat Gin
- Gu jin tu shu ji chengThis database is the electronic version of the famous Chinese encyclopedia "Gu jin tu shu ji cheng," edited by Chen Mong Lei, a renowned scholar of the Qing Dynasty. The present digital edition of The Complete Classics includes the most seminal classics of Chinese literature and culture, from ancient China through the Qing Dynasty. The collection includes works on astronomy, geography, history, philosophy, literature, politics, economics, art, education, agriculture, medicine, and more.
Australian History:
- AIATSIS - Indigenous Studies Bibliography (Informit)Indigenous Studies Bibliography covers published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous studies and is produced by Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Library. It covers the period 1990 to present.
- eMelbourne: The Encyclopedia of Melbourne OnlineOnline version of the Encyclopedia of Melbourne edited by Andrew Brown-May and Shurlee Swain with extra text and images.
- Encyclopedia of women & leadershipAustralian Women's Archives Project
Middle Eastern History:
- Oxford Islamic Studies OnlineOxford Islamic Studies Online features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture, and is regularly updated as new content is commissioned. Encompassing over 5,000 A-Z reference entries, chapters from scholarly and introductory works, Qur'anic materials, primary sources, images, maps, and timelines, Oxford Islamic Studies Online offers a multi-layered reference experience designed to provide a first stop for anyone needing information and context on Islam.
- Medieval Islamic Civilization : An EncyclopediaMedieval Islamic Civilization examines the socio-cultural history of the regions where Islam took hold between the 7th and 16th centuries. This important two-volume work contains over 700 alphabetically arranged entries, contributed and signed by international scholars and experts in fields such as Arabic languages, Arabic literature, architecture, history of science, Islamic arts, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, Near Eastern studies, politics, religion, Semitic studies, theology, and more. Entries also explore the importance of interfaith relations and the permeation of persons, ideas, and objects across geographical and intellectual boundaries between Europe and the Islamic world.
- Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East and North AfricaThe set covers the modern history of the Middle East and North Africa, with major sections on Colonialism and Imperialism, the World Wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United Nations involvement in the region. Each country in the region is reviewed, detailing its population, economy and government.
Books
To find books on a particular subject, do a keyword search in the Library Catalogue. Alternatively you can search by title, author, etc.
You can also find books on similar topics through the subject headings in item records. Click on these headings to find related subjects and titles.
Looking for a book we don't have or is not on our shelves?
Inter-Library Loans
University of Melbourne staff and students can request resources through the Library’s Inter-Library Loans service. For more information visit the ILL web page, or you can access the request forms.
A CAVAL card allows you to borrow from other universities and TAFEs. Visit the CAVAL website to find out how to sign up for a CAVAL card.
You can then use the Trove website to see which library has the book you want.
Databases and journals
Use databases to search across many academic resources (including peer-reviewed journals) at the same time.
Refer to the A-Z Ejournals and Databases page for a comprehensive list of available resources.
Core Arts and Humanities databases (try these first):
The selection of multidisciplinary databases below will retrieve results from different subject areas.
- Discovery (EBSCO)Use Discovery to look for books, ebooks, journal articles and more. It's a great place to start your search but does not give you everything the Library has. We highly recommend searching in at least one other database on this list as well as Discovery.
- Google ScholarGoogle Scholar is one of the most popular ways to find academic sources for study and research. Did you know you can use it to search for journal articles that the University of Melbourne has access to? You can do this through the link above or set up your Google Scholar preferences to include Library content.
- JSTORJSTOR is one of the largest databases the Library has access to. It is a multidisciplinary database so it looks in thousands of journals in over a hundred subjects - many of them related to arts and humanities. Highly recommended as your first or second place to search.
- Scopus (Elsevier)Scopus is another large, multidisciplinary database. It looks through journals, books, and conference papers. It has some advanced tools that can help you discover new research quickly - the 'times cited' and 'related articles' links are great time-savers. While it doesn't always have full-text PDFs it is still an excellent place to look for your research.
- Web of ScienceWeb of Science is a massive, multidisciplinary database which includes a large amount of humanities and social sciences material from as far back as 1900. Like Scopus it has some advanced features that allows you to quickly link to related research.
- ProQuest CentralCovering more than 160 subjects areas, ProQuest Central is the largest aggregated database of periodical content. This award-winning online reference resource features a highly-respected, diversified mix of content including scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, books, newspapers, reports and videos.
History-specific databases:
For more focused results try searching in one of these subject-specific databases.
- Année PhilologiqueL'Année Philologique is the definitive bibliographic source of scholarly works relating to all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. This database includes more than 810,000 records, with over 15,000 new records added every year, and indexes more than 1,000 journals. Records include abstracts for articles, reviews for monographs, and lists of content for edited volumes.
- Humanities Index (ProQuest)This database is an international abstracting and indexing tool for research in the humanities. BHI indexes almost 400 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines published in the UK and other English speaking countries, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK.
- Cambridge Core JournalsCambridge Journals Online provides full-text to over 300 humanities journals published by Cambridge.
- China Academic Journals full-text databaseContains more than 9000 Chinese journals.
- Historical Abstracts (EBSCO)Historical Abstracts covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada), focusing on the 15th century forward. This database provides indexing of historical articles from more than 2,500 journals, in over 40 languages, back to 1953.
- Index IslamicusIndex Islamicus indexes literature relating to Islam and the Muslim world. It covers the Middle East, Africa and Asia as well as minority groups in other regions. Subjects include archaeology, economics, history, geography, law, sociology and more. Index Islamicus surveys around 2000 journals, books, conference proceedings and book reviews. Some records date from as early as 1906.
- Index to Jewish PeriodicalsEnglish-language articles, book reviews, and feature stories in more than 160 journals devoted to Jewish affairs. Titles include Contemporary Jewry, Holy Land Studies, Jewish Culture & History, Journal of Palestine Studies, Studies in American Jewish Literature, and many more.
- Indigenous AustraliaIndigenous Australia covers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies including the stolen generation, arts, copyright issues, racism, discrimination, and communities and represents the collections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Library. It covers the period from 1968 to Dec. 2002.
- Latin American resourcesKey resources for Latin American history.
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