Tips For Using HistoryLink.org For Students

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Student Guide to Finding Washington State History Resources on HistoryLink.org

Why should I use HistoryLink.org?

HistoryLink.org is the only online encyclopedia of Washington state history. All essays are written by professional historians and are fully sourced. The information is free, comprehensive, and accurate. HistoryLink.org is constantly evolving and new essays are added weekly.

How is HistoryLink.org different from Wikipedia?

HistoryLink.org essays are written by professional historians and are comprehensively researched, sourced, and edited. Editing is done by professionals and all essays are commissioned and bylined.

What do the terms used on HistoryLink.org mean?

It is important to understand what is available on the HistoryLink.org website and how those essays and resources are termed:

• Cyberpedias: Cyberpedias consist of overview essays and other features presented in alphabetical order. Cyberpedias are secondary sources.
• Timeline essays: Timeline essays are about an event that occurred on a specific date. They are presented in chronological order.
• People’s Histories: People’s Histories consist of speeches, oral histories, and other first-hand accounts. Some are reprints of older historical articles that are interesting but are no longer considered objective. Some of these older essays are unsourced. Most People’s Histories are primary sources.
• Interactive Cybertours and Slideshows: Cybertours are online slideshow tours of places and events of historical significance in Washington state.
• County Thumbnails: County Thumbnails are cyberpedia overview essays on the different counties in Washington state.
• Washington Milestones: Washington Milestones are chronologically driven cyberpedia essays on the ‘milestones,’ or broad historical phases of Washington state history.
• Honor Roll: The Honor Roll is a comprehensive roster of Washington state citizens who gave their lives in the service of their communities and country.
• Special Suites: Special Suites, found on the right-hand side of HistoryLink.org’s homepage, are sets of essays that are related to one another. Examples are Women’s History and Music & Musicians.
• Topics: Topics are found at the bottom of the Advanced Search page. There are 47 topics, including Art, Biographies, Buildings, Northwest Indians, Curiosities, Weather, and Women.
• History Bytes: History Bytes documents current events that are significant for Washington state history.
• Book of the Fortnight: Book of the Fortnight is a bi-weekly review of books relevant to Washington state history.

What if I can’t find what I am searching for?

• Double-check your spelling. HistoryLink.org does not feature a spell check.
• Place quotation marks around phrases.
• If your keyword can be part of a larger word, you should leave a space between the word and the end quotation mark (e.g. searching for the town of “Republic” could yield results for “republican.” To remedy this, search “Republic” with a space between Republic and the end quote).
• Rethink your keywords.
• Use the Advanced Search page. Search titles only, search regions.
• HistoryLink.org is constantly evolving. There may be information that you are searching for that has not been written yet. Approximately 400 new essays or timelines are added each year. You can always send an inquiry to HistoryLink.org staffers by emailing admin@historylink.org.

Can I use the images on HistoryLink.org? How should I credit the images?

You can use the images that are featured on HistoryLink.org for papers and small exhibits. If you need images with higher resolution, you should contact the organization credited beneath the image. If there is no organization credited, the image is from the HistoryLink.org photo archives and should be credited as such.

How do I cite HistoryLink.org essays?

With a few exceptions, HistoryLink.org essays are fully sourced, bylined, and dated to provide authoritative references for legal, journalistic, and scholastic use. Different stylebooks, mainly the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Manual, and the Associated Press Stylebook, have different citation styles. For most purposes, we recommend using the following format to cite HistoryLink.org:

HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, "Essay Title" (by Author), http://www.historylink.org/ (accessed date).