Throughout Trinity term, the library is offering a range of classes and talks (History Faculty Canvas – restricted access) designed to support Oxford second-year UG historians who are working towards their thesis.
It’s a very exciting time for all budding historians, as it offers you the opportunity to engage in primary research on a subject of your own devising, and to work out arguments which are entirely your own (not a synthesis of the conclusions of others). You will work as a historical scholar in your own right and will taste the kind of academic work undertaken professionally by your tutors.
To understand more about the requirements and support for your thesis, check out the History Faculty guidance on the compulsory thesis (History Faculty Canvas – restricted access).
Doing research on your thesis also means that you will need to learn new skills, deepening your knowledge of resources and sources and how to go about locating and using them.
To help you on this exciting journey, the library has organised a series of talks, classes, workshops and a Thesis Fair which are designed to
- Upskill your information searching and research skills;
- Learn about the rich sources available to them in Oxford (and beyond) and know how to access them;
- Learn how to handle the material, incl. archives, correct citation practices, ethical research practice, etc.;
- Get to know relevant experts in Oxford libraries and archives.
THE TRAINING SCHEDULE
Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay
Most sessions require SSO for bookings.
Some are open to other members of the University. Others are exclusively aimed at undergraduates of the History Faculty, University of Oxford.
If you have any queries regarding these or have problems with registration, please email library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
[Hist Fac UGs] History Thesis Fair – Thurs 25 April 2024 @ 2-4pm (week 1) – In person, North Writing School, Exam Schools
This highly popular Fair has Librarians, Academics, Information Skills advisors, Subject Specialists and lots more covering many different subjects and aspects of your Thesis prep. Come and talk to dedicated specialists and find out what there is on offer in Oxford and further afield! If you are in a college beginning letters B-N, please come at 2pm; all other colleges should try to come at 3pm – but if you can’t make it during your time slot, just come when you can.
[Hist Fac UGs] Researching Bibliography – Wed 1 May 2024 @ 2-3pm (week 2) – via Teams
This online session aims to give you a head start on the skills you will need to track down secondary literature and primary source material for your thesis. A range of library catalogues, databases, web portals and more will be explored to help you make the best use of your time.
Online Resources for Historians (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 8 May 2024 @ 2-4pm (week 3) – via Teams
A general online introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods of British and Western European history. Learning outcomes are to: Gain an overview of some of the key online resources for Medieval, Early Modern and Modern British and Western European History. Know how to access subscription resources. Gain awareness of key examples of useful resources: bibliographic databases; reference sources; primary sources; maps; audio-visual resources, and data sources.
Confidential Print & Foreign Office files: Sources for C19th & 20th studies (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 16 May 2024 @ 2-3pm (week 4) – via Teams
The British Foreign Office was the government department responsible for the conduct of British relations with nearly all foreign states. Confidential Print and Foreign Office files were intended for circulation internally within the Foreign Office and to the monarch, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, other government departments and diplomatic missions abroad. It’s a crucial resource for the study of politics, international relations, peace and conflict studies, economics and trade, British history and global history. This session will introduce you to The National Archives and their Foreign Office and Confidential Print files, and show you how to search across them to discover sources for your studies and research.
Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th-20th centuries (Bodleian iSkills) – Mon 20 May 2024 11am-12.30pm (week 5) – via Teams
Newspapers are a valuable resource for researching not only news but also many other aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. In this online session we will introduce key online sources of news and how to make best use of them. The focus will be on historical and contemporary newspapers from the 17th century across most countries of the world.
Working with sensitive research data (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 22 May 2024 @ 10am-12pm (week 5) – via Teams
A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third-party source such as a data archive. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome.
[Hist Fac UGs] Research Skills for your Thesis: a workshop – Wed 22 May 2024 @ 2-3:30pm (week 5) – via Teams
This classroom-based session is designed to equip you with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of finding aids and databases will be explored, as well as advanced search techniques which can be used in SOLO and other online search tools. There will be practical exercises which are designed to start work on your research.
Sources for Modern Global History (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 29 May 2024 @ 2-3.45pm (Week 6) – in person, Lecture Theatre, Weston
This in-person session introduces key archival, printed and electronic resources, such as finding aids, bibliographic resources and primary sources for post-1800 global history. The focus will be on non-European history but will draw predominantly on English and European language resources.
[Hist Fac UGs] Sources for Medieval History – Mon 3 June 2024 @ 2-3.30pm (week 7) – via Teams
This online session provides a general overview of a wide range of e-resources relevant for British and Western European medieval history: bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, web portals and collections of online primary source materials of Anglo-Saxon sources, chronicles, charters and more.
Discovering archives and modern manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 5 June 2024 9.30-11am (week 7) – Weston Library Lecture Theatre
This class will introduce participants to the key catalogues and finding aids for post-1800 archives and manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries. In particular the session will focus on Bodleian Archives and Manuscripts, the online catalogue for post-1800 archives and manuscripts. The session will also briefly introduce some of the major UK online gateways for discovering archives.
Sources for US History (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 4 June 2024 @ 2-3.30pm (week 7) – via Teams
An online introduction to primary sources for the study of American history, from the colonial period to the 20th Century. The session will provide an overview of the different kinds of information sources (early printed books, newspapers, databases and official records), and guidance on locating material for research. Collections highlighted include physical materials available in Oxford, Bodleian databases and other online resources.
[Hist Fac UGs] Sources for Early Modern History – Tues 11 June 2024 @ 2-3:30pm (week 8) via Teams
Training using software to cite sources
Referencing: Choosing and using software for referencing (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 1 May 2024 @ 1.30-4.30pm (week 2)
Formatting your in text citations, footnotes and bibliography correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easier and saves you time. This introductory session gives an overview of how reference management works, explores the advantages and disadvantages of a range of software packages and gives you the opportunity to try out three different packages (RefWorks, EndNote and Zotero) so that you can work out which one is best for you.
Referencing: Zotero (Bodleian iSkills)
In person: Mon 13 May 2024 @ 1.30-4.30pm (week 4)
via Teams: Wed 22 May 2024 @ 11.30am-12.30pm (week 4)
Zotero is a reference management tool that helps you build libraries of references and add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents using your chosen citation style. This classroom-based introduction covers the main features of Zotero with the opportunity for practical exercises.
Referencing: RefWorks (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 21 May 2024 10am-11.30am (week 5) – via Teams
RefWorks is web-based and helps you to collect and manage references and insert them into your word processed document as in-text citations or footnotes, and you can generate bibliographies. Being web-based, RefWorks can be used with any operating system and, to cite your references in a document, provides a plugin for Microsoft Word on Windows or Mac computers.
Guides to resources, 1-1 sessions & more training
Image by Tammy Duggan-Herd from Pixabay
A wide-range of guides on history resources can help you find key print and online resources for your subject.
If you need more specialist and tailored support, check out the list of Bodleian Libraries’ subject librarians and experts. In one-to-one sessions, subject librarians can discuss in detail which resources are best for your topic.
For information about other training opportunities, such as palaeography or languages, check out Research Training for Historians.
There are more Bodleian iSkills workshops and IT Services run many sessions designed to improve your digital skills.
Consisting of approximately twenty-five million pages, the UNESCO Memory of the World-listed archives of the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) offer a unique view on interactions between European and non-European actors in Asia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 5 million scans of the ‘Overgekomen Brieven en Papieren’ (1610-1796) of the VOC are now fully searchable. From early October 2023, a prototype of the GLOBALISE transcriptions viewer is online at: 
