Research Guides @ Fordham: Biographical Research: Getting Started

New Titles

Ain't but a Few of Us : Black Music Writers tell their Story by Willard Jenkins (Editor)
Call Number: (RH) Stacks ML385 .A38 2022
Durham : Duke University Press, 2022.
Benjamin Banneker and Us : Eleven Generations of an American Family by Rachel Jamison Webster
Call Number: (LC, RH) Stacks CS71 .B22694 2023
New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2023.
Fearless Women : Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé by Elizabeth Cobbs
Call Number: (RH) Stacks HQ1236.5.U6 C635 2023
Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2023
Shirley Chisholm : Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics by Anastasia C. Curwood
Call Number: (RH) Stacks E840.8.C48 C87 2022
Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2023]
True West : Sam Shepard's Life, Work, and Times by Robert Greenfield
Call Number: (LC, RH) Stacks PS3569.H394 Z69 2023
New York : Crown, [2023]
What My Bones Know : A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
Call Number: (LC, RH) Stacks RC552 .P67 F66 2022
New York : Ballantine Group, [2022]
When I Am Italian by Joanna Clapps Herman
Call Number: (RH) Stacks E184.I8 H47 2020
Albany, NY : Excelsior editions, an imprint of State University of New York Press, [2020]

Introduction

Before you start your research, check the correct spelling of the person’s name.

While you research, keep in mind that all sources can contain bias; the best biographical information will be signed by an author and will provide bibliographic citations for source material.

Research Questions:

What do you already know about the person?
How much information do you want to find about the person?
What is the person's profession or notoriety?
How well known is the person?
Is the person’s nationality, ethnic background, gender, or affiliation significant?
Is the person living or deceased?
What dates are significant for this person?
Do you want autobiography, memoir, or interviews in addition to biographical sources?