History of Science and Technology
Support for research in the history of science and technology.
Other Useful guides
Online Sources
- ECHO (Exploring and Collecting History Online)Having trouble finding something? Search ECHO to be directed to websites that may contain information related to your topic. Many sites are created by educational and research organizations.
Databases and Other Online Resources
Looking for more specific databases? Check out a complete list here.
Get Started
Looking for primary sources? These bibliographies provide lists of works published in the field of the history of science from 1913-1985. Start here, then use our Primary Sources Guide to find more.
- Isis Cumulative Bibliography; a Bibliography of the History of Science Formed from Isis Critical Bibliographies 1-90, 1913-65 byCall Number: MSE C Level Reference, Non-Circulating Q2.I81 1971 QUARTO c. 1ISBN: 0720101832
- A Bibliography of the History of Science: 1966-1975Call Number: MSE C Level Reference, Non-Circulating Q2.I82 1980 QUARTO
- A Bibliography of the History of Science: 1976-1985Call Number: MSE C Level Reference, Non-Circulating Q2.I83 1989 QUARTO
Online Primary Sources
- Gottinger Digitalisierungs-ZentrumExtensive digital library of historic manuscripts, with a special section on the history of the humanities and the sciences. Search for materials related to your topic.
- Compilation of Chinese Medicine Periodicals 1897-1952The Compilation of Chinese Medicine Periodicals Online, 1897-1952 is a collection of 49 different periodicals on Chinese medicine published in the Late Qing and Republican Periods in China. Considered one of the best sources for observing the changing nature of medical practice and education during the late Qing and Republican eras in China, this collection provides unique insight into not only the modern transformation of Chinese medicine, but also the larger role of medicine in Chinese society.
Find Research Articles
- JSTORSearch this archive of full-text scholarly journals spanning a number of disciplines, mostly in the humanities. Great for history!
- Project MUSEFull-text access to high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from scholarly publishers
- ScopusScopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed research literature, indexing over 19,000 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers. Scopus covers the scientific, technical, medical and social sciences fields as well as arts and humanities.
- History of Science, Technology & MedicineThe History of Science, Technology, and Medicine database is the definitive international bibliography for the these fields. It reflects their influence on society and culture from prehistory to the present. The database includes journal articles (nearly 9,500 journals), conference proceedings, books, book reviews and dissertations in all scientific disciplines and related fields.
These databases contain content mostly written by historians, for historians.
- America: History & LifeAmerica: History & Life is an index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
- Historical AbstractsHistorical Abstracts covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more.
These databases contain information mostly written by STEM researchers, for STEM researchers.
- General Science Full TextGeneral Science Full Text is the first place to look for answers to science-related questions. This database features full text, plus the graphs, charts, diagrams, photos, and illustrations that convey an abundance of scientific information.
- Applied Science and Technology Index RetrospectiveThis database is the perfect reference for tracking down important studies, exploring historic controversies, finding papers by innovators, researching the development of particular technologies, and more.
- ProQuest ComputingThis database is a premium resource for those who need access to comprehensive coverage of computer topics. The database includes numerous titles, most of them in full text, allowing users to search records dating back to the early 1990's.
- CompendexCompendex is the most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database in the world with over 9 million records referencing 5,000 engineering journals and conference materials dating from 1884.
- INSPECInspec is a bibliographic information database covering the fields of physics, electronics, computing, control engineering and information technology, with more than 7.7 million records taken from journals and conference proceedings. As of 2016, it also lists papers from arXiv, and dissertations from ProQuest’s Theses and Dissertations database.
- ACM Digital LibraryFull-text articles and bibliographic literature covering computing and information technology published by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
- IEEE XploreIEEE Xplore covers technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. JHU’s subscription includes the full text of all of IEEE’s publications, from 1988 to the present, including journals, magazines, conference proceedings, and standards, as well as journals and conference proceedings from IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology).
News Sources
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- Scientific AmericanCurrent science news, focus on science discoveries and technology innovation.
- Access World NewsDatabase to search for science and medical news.
- American Association for the Advancement of ScienceContains science and medical news, but also contains other types of sources, including research articles, that can provide additional context.
- Medline PlusDatabase to search for health related news.
- NatureTop journal in science, contains news from authoritative sources.
Start Here
- Scientific AmericanHistoric science news from 1845-1908.
Science and Medicine Research Journals with News Articles
History of Science and Medicine Databases with News Sources
- Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003With its debut in 1842 the Illustrated London News became the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper, sparking a revolution in journalism and news reporting. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events - including news of war, disasters, royalty, social affairs, the arts and science.
- History of MedicineThe NLM historical collections include books printed before 1914, pre-1871 journals, historical pamphlets, dissertations, and government reports, early medical manuscripts dating from the 11th century, modern manuscripts (1601-present), historical videos and films, and historical prints and photographs. Most of the collection is not online, but look at the site to find out about what is.
News Sources
Start Here
- Scientific AmericanCurrent science news, focus on science discoveries and technology innovation.
- Access World NewsDatabase to search for science and medical news.
- American Association for the Advancement of ScienceContains science and medical news, but also contains other types of sources, including research articles, that can provide additional context.
- Medline PlusDatabase to search for health related news.
- NatureTop journal in science, contains news from authoritative sources.
Start Here
- Scientific AmericanHistoric science news from 1845-1908.
Science and Medicine Research Journals with News Articles
History of Science and Medicine Databases with News Sources
- Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003With its debut in 1842 the Illustrated London News became the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper, sparking a revolution in journalism and news reporting. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events - including news of war, disasters, royalty, social affairs, the arts and science.
- History of MedicineThe NLM historical collections include books printed before 1914, pre-1871 journals, historical pamphlets, dissertations, and government reports, early medical manuscripts dating from the 11th century, modern manuscripts (1601-present), historical videos and films, and historical prints and photographs. Most of the collection is not online, but look at the site to find out about what is.