Tips & Tricks for the AMSPSG Resources Database

All of the resources are keyword searchable.

We ask contributors to the resource page to include descriptions (from the source itself when possible) and additional keywords (both content- and use-related) for robust search capabilities. If you’re not finding what you’re looking for while browsing–or if you come across something really good and want to find similar items–try the search bar.

Strengths of the Resource Database:

  • Browse by collection, resource type, audience, geography, and century.
    We created nine “Collections” for inspiration–start with “Grab & Go Lesson Plans” (readymade activities, materials, and guiding questions submitted by AMSPSG members), “Beyond the Canon” (materials that challenge Eurocentricity and/or typical narratives of college survey courses), or “Tools for Teaching” (from software and apps for designing assignments, to handouts and style guides ready for student use).
    To find specific names, places, genres, instruments, etc., we suggest using the search bar.
  • Entries include descriptions, keywords, hyperlinks, and videos. 
    All resources are keyword searchable.
  • The database is crowdsourced and constantly growing.
    Check back frequently, and consider submitting a resource from your own teaching.

Limitations of the Resource Database:

  • Our platform only allows us to label an item with one tag within a given category. 
    In other words, we’ve categorized “Musical Passage: A Voyage to 1688 Jamaica” as “Collection→Primary Sources,” but it could also have been included in “Collection→Beyond the Canon” or “Collection→Subject Area Materials.” We chose to list it under “Resource type→website,” but it also contains videos, scores, and a bibliography (all of which have their own “Resource type” tag). When possible, we list alternate categories as keywords.
  • The platform does not hyperlink categories or keywords.
    We’re looking into fixes for the future, but for now: we suggest using the search bar to follow up on interesting keywords.
  • The database is crowdsourced.
    We don’t have a team available to check each new entry for perfect metadata consistency. We’ve created a set of guidelines for resource contributors, but we expect variation across entries.

To offset these limitations, we ask contributors to the resource page to include extensive descriptions of the material, a set of additional keywords, and alternate category designations (which we list as keywords). Again: all of the resources are searchable.  


If you have a comment, please let us know via our contact page. Happy browsing/searching!