A Guide to Reference Sources

Sources that include authoritative facts and background material, to include: biographies, book reviews, dictionaries, encyclopedias, facts and figures, issue reports, pro/con, and more.

• Start here.
• Biography
• Book Reviews
• Country Profiles
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
  • Where Do I Start?
  • Major Digital Reference Sources
  • Using Wikipedia

  Ask Us!

  Where Do I Start?

  Encyclopedias are highly recommended as a starting point for your research on a particular topic. Encyclopedias will give you introductory information to help you broaden or narrow your topic, while also providing keywords and terms needed to conduct further research.

  Encyclopædia Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
  • 
  Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
  • 

  Major Digital Reference Sources

  Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
  • 

  Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) is a searchable, full-text database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

  Literati (by Credo) This link opens in a new window
  • 

  When you need answers fast. Literati is a solid starting point for research and learning that offers unlimited access to hundreds of full text reference books on every subject.

  Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
  • 

  Explore a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, background information, and translations found in dictionaries and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.

  Oxford Scholarship Online This link opens in a new window
  • 

  Oxford Scholarship Online is now part of Oxford Academic with access to full text of select titles published via Oxford University Publishing and affiliated publishers.

  SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
  • 

  A social sciences digital library that includes a range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, videos, and more.

  Using Wikipedia

  Many students use Wikipedia at the beginning of the research process. While information and data found on Wikipedia is easily accesible and often accurate, it should not be cited as source material .

  Because Wikipedia is an open-source virtual library, almost anyone is allowed to edit and insert information in an article. Therefore, caution should be used when choosing to use Wikipedia for background information. Whenever possible authorative resources should be consulted to verify the accuracy of any data found on Wikipedia.

  The following article from Cornell University provides an overview of how to use Wikipedia effectively.