HISTORY LAB 1 How do I know if a website is a reliable source?

The full show transcript is available on our website: https://history.wisc.edu/ask-a-historian/

As middle and high school students across Wisconsin work on their National History Day submissions, we’re answering their questions about how to do history in our History Lab mini-series. This episode, Professor Sarah Thal talks about her criteria for a reliable website, whether Wikipedia is good source for historical research, and her favorite online history resources.

Episode Links:

Sarah Thal is Associate Chair, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the David Kuenzi and Mary Wyman Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/thal-sarah/

Libraries and archives

• New York Public Library Digital Collections https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/
• British Library blogs http://www.bl.uk/blogs
• National Archives blogs https://www.archives.gov/social-media/blogs
• Smithsonian Institution https://www.si.edu/explore
• Wisconsin Historical Society https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/

Digital exhibitions and projects

• Slave Voyages https://www.slavevoyages.org/
• Remembering Jim Crow http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/remembering/

Commentary or articles written by historians

• History News Network https://historynewsnetwork.org/
• Process blog of the Organization of American Historians http://www.processhistory.org/
• American Historical Association https://www.historians.org/

Videos

• TED-Ed https://ed.ted.com/

National History Day in Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15524

UW–Madison’s History Lab: https://history.wisc.edu/undergraduate-program/the-history-lab/

Do you have a question about how to do history? Record a voice memo we’ll answer your question in an upcoming episode. Our email address is outreach@history.wisc.edu

Our music is “Wholesome” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/