SELECTED REFERENCE AND RESEARCH TOOLS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE
General bibliography
Two excellent on-line databases are:
IsisCB, published by the History of Science Society.
The History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HSTM) database, accessible through PSU Millar Library's the Library's electronic databases list. (PSU/Odin username and password is required.)
The PSU Library's history research guide, though not specifically directed towards history of science, includes many sources that may be useful for research in this field.The Cambridge History of Science series contains essays by
leading
authorities surveying a wide variety of fields. The PSU Library subscribes to this series of encyclopedias through the Cambridge Histories Online database; some volumes are also available on the shelf [Q125 .C32]. Six out of eight
planned volumes have
appeared so far.
II, Medieval Science, ed. D. C. Lindberg & M. H. Shank
III, Early Modern Science, ed.
K. Park & L. Daston
IV, Eighteenth-Century Science, ed.
R. Porter
V, The Modern Physical and
Mathematical
Sciences, ed. M. J. Nye
VI, The Modern Life and Earth Sciences, ed. P. J. Bowler and J. V. Pickstone
VII, The Modern Social Sciences,
ed. T. M. Porter & D. Ross.
Dictionary of Scientific Biography (DSB) is the standard
biographical
reference work, in multiple volumes, with entries written by leading
scholars
in the field. Entries on some major figures approach monograph
length.
[Q141.D5] An set of update volumes is entitled The New Dictionary of Scientific Biography
(NDSB) (PSU does not have a print copy.) A combined version is available as an e-book, The Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, ed. R. Porter. One volume; shorter entries than the DSB. [Q141.B526]
Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science, ed. J. L.
Heilbron et al. Essays surveying various subdivisions
of the history of science. More compact than the Cambridge History of
Science
volumes. [Q125.O86] An electronic version is also available
through Oxford
Reference Online.
Companion to the History of Modern Science, ed. R. C. Olby et al. Similar in concept and scope to the above. [Q125.C565]
The History of Modern Science: A Guide to the Second Scientific Revolution, 1800-1950, ed. S. G. Brush. Shorter essays but longer bibliographies than the two entries above. [Q125.B88]
Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Scientists. Article-length obituaries
of members of the (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences, usually with an
extensive bibliography. [Q141.N2; before 1989 in off-site storage]
In the Cambridge Companions series:
Cambridge Companion to Darwin, ed. J. Hodge & G. Radick [QH31.D2C185]
Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy, ed. A. A. Long [B188.C35]
Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Philosophy, ed. D. Rutherford [B801.C345]
Cambridge Companion to Freud, ed. J. Neu [BF109.F74C36]
Cambridge Companion to Galen, ed. R. J. Harkinson [B577.G24C36]
Cambridge Companion to Logical Empiricism, ed. A. Richardson & T. Uebel [B824.6.C36]
Cambridge Companion to "The Origin of Species," ed. M. Ruse & R. J. Richards [QH365.O8R865]
Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Biology, ed. D. L. Hull & M. Ruse [QH331.C285]
Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Many entries on topics
relevant
to the history of science. [CB5.D52]
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ditto. [B41.E5]
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ditto. [off-site storage, H40.A2I5]
Websites for history of science and STS (science and technology studies)
Center for History of Physics
(American Institute of Physics)
ECHO (Exploring and Collecting History
Online): Science, Technology, and Industry (George Mason
Univ.)
H-Net (Humanities On-Line) discussion network: H-Sci-Tech-Med
Max Planck
Institute
for History of Science, Berlin
Voice of the
Shuttle: Science, Technology, and Culture Page (Univ. of
California-Santa
Barbara)
More and more archives of unpublished historical material are cultivating an on-line presence. Excellent examples include:
Darwin Correspondence Project (Univ. of Cambridge) -- letters
Darwin Online (Univ. of Cambridge) -- unpublished manuscripts, notebooks, etc., as well as electronic versions of complete published works
Einstein Archives Online (Hebrew Univ.)
Professional organizations for
history of science and STS
History of Science
Society (HSS)
International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS)
Philosophy of Science Association (PSA)
Society for
History of Technology (SHOT)
Society for Social Studies of
Science (4S)
Key journals
The official journal of the History of Science Society (HSS) is Isis. The PSU Library has electronic access to issues from 1913 up till three years previous through J-Stor, and to volumes from 2006 to present through University of Chicago Press Journals. Hard-copy volumes are available for 1953-2009 [Q1.I7].
HSS also publishes annually a companion volume on a selected topic, Osiris. The PSU Library has electronic access to volumes from 1936 up till three years ago through J-Stor, and to volumes from 2006 to the present through University of Chicago Press Journals. Hard-copy volumes are available for 2002-09 [Q1 .O7].
Comparable to Isis for the history of technology, and published by the Society of the History of Technology (SHOT) is Technology and Culture; electronic subscription access via Project Muse (1998-present) or J-Stor (1959 till six years ago).
Analogous for history of medicine: Bulletin of the History of Medicine (electronic subscription via Project Muse, 1996-present).
Among other academic journals relevant to the history of science, some key titles include: