Information seeking in History

Table of contents

Databases

Finnish databases

JYKDOK is the University of Jyväskylä's portal to various types of data. In JYKDOK you can find the most relevant basic information on publications, i.e. availability information (location and availability/reservation information), all books, journals, JY theses. JYKDOK also gives you access to materials stored in JYX. For history students the JYKDOK is not complete, some older material is missing from the JYKDOK. Ask for help at the library's helpdesk.

  • Remember to also use the services and collections of the Jyväskylä City Library.
  • FINNA is a search service of Finnish libraries, archives and museums. Check availability at the JYKDOK for example by copying the title of the book.
  • Finnish articles (former ARTO) : use the JYKDOK Finnish articles tab.

International databases 

Multidisciplinary databases

  • Scopus: multidisciplinary reference and abstract database.
  • Web of Science (WOS): a multidisciplinary reference and abstract database; includes, among others, the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (a sub-database, but does not necessarily have to be selected separately).
  • JSTOR: is an archive database of journals, with full-text articles available from the first issues of journals (up to the end of the 19th century). The latest available number is at least one year (often 3 - 5 years) old.

The library's special and legal deposit collections

JYU Library is one of the legal deposit libraries, and thus it receives its own copy of works published in Finland from publishers. The library also has its own special collection, including the personal collections of Tahko Pihkala and Niilo Mäki. 
 

Newspapers

The University of Jyväskylä Library offers access to the historical archives of newspapers in several ways:

  • Microfilm (original newspapers will not be made available for patron use if microfilm is available). The use of microfilm for research purposes makes sense because you can store the material directly on the U drive. Finnish newspapers on microfilm.
  • Historical Newspaper Archive (digitised newspapers from 1771 onwards; note the difference between material freely available online and newspapers accessible via the library's digital archive). Read more about Finnish newspapers on microfilm.

Electronic databases of newspapers:

  • International newspaper archives: from the JYKDOK main page, select Search and under Search, browse databases and in the search window type in newspapers: e.g. ProQuest Historical Newspapers series. The collection descriptions indicate the type of material available and the time period for which it is available. 

Special features in historical information seeking

When searching for information in history, it is worth considering whether you are looking for original sources or studies in general about a particular time, because these factors affect how you will search for information in databases. In some databases, such as Ebsco’s Historical Abstracts, you can find a search limitation field where you can enter the period of time you want to search, when all the references from that period in the database come to the search. If the database does not have a time limit option, you can, for example, enter the time period to be studied in the search field. 

Primary sources can be found, for example, in JYKDOK by writing a year of manufacture the period is studied e.g. 1800-1899. In the Historical Abstracts database, primary sources can be found by entering the period of time to be studied in the publication date.

Contact and more information

Seminaarin naisluokan opetustunti Historica-rakennuksessa