This comprehensive guide is written for historians and other scholars with no prior expertise in the use of computers who need to know what kind of problems computers can solve. Dr Greenstein offers advice on how to exploit the computer and avoid potential pitfalls in day-to-day tasks, from bibliographic management to the use of electronic mail, and on-line library catalogues. The three central chapters on research methods examine databases and information management; numbers and measurement (including statistics, and graphical and tabular display); and document preparation and textual analysis. The final chapter offers an eight-point guide to project management which will help the user to harness the computer in a cost-effective, efficient, and productive manner for projects of any size and complexity. Throughout the book methodological and technical discussion is presented in straightforward and precise language, augmented by comprehensible diagrams, with reference to real historical problems and data sets. The book is not tied to specific software or solutions, but offers numerous signposts for the reader in search of more detailed or more narrowly defined information.

This guide is intended to introduce historians to some of the ways in which the computer revolution can be of benefit in dealing with their sources and presenting their findings.

From the first digital computer to the dot-com crash—a story of individuals, institutions, and the forces that led to a series of dramatic transformations. This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux. Within the chronological narrative, the book traces several overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence, and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities.

This comprehensive guide is written for historians and other scholars with no prior expertise in the use of computers who need to know what kind of problems computers can solve. Dr Greenstein offers advice on how to exploit the computer and avoid potential pitfalls in day-to-day tasks, from bibliographic management to the use of electronic mail, and on-line library catalogues. The three central chapters on research methods examine databases and information management; numbers and measurement (including statistics, and graphical and tabular display); and document preparation and textual analysis. The final chapter offers an eight-point guide to project management which will help the user to harness the computer in a cost-effective, efficient, and productive manner for projects of any size and complexity. Throughout the book methodological and technical discussion is presented in straightforward and precise language, augmented by comprehensible diagrams, with reference to real historical problems and data sets. The book is not tied to specific software or solutions, but offers numerous signposts for the reader in search of more detailed or more narrowly defined information.

This book is designed to introduce students to historical computing through practical workshop exercises. It aims to explain and illustrate the possible uses of the computer for the historian.

Using Computers in History is designed to introduce students to historical computing through practical workshop exercises. With topics such as the pattern of nineteenth century emigration from the UK, the performance of the American and German economies in the 1930s and the Lancashire cotton industry, Lloyd-Jones and Lewis explain and illustrate the possible uses of the computer for the historian. Using Computers in History: * raises awareness of the use of computers as an important tool for the historian * provides a practical introduction to basic computer terminology * includes high quality diagrams of the screen displays which should appear at each stage * examines the use of spreadsheets and how to design and work with them * discusses the different software packages available, concentrating on Microsoft Excel 4 * includes spreadsheet exercises based around a range of historical data sets * explores the use of databases * shows how to construct them * gives guidelines for further study * prompts students to apply the skills they have learnt to a number of examples