Why Use Encyclopedias?
Background sources like encyclopedias can provide context for your topic, or even help you choose one. They are great places to start because:
- they explain topics in simpler language than scholarly articles
- they are much shorter (often just a just a page or two, instead of the 20 pages or more found in a scholarly article or the hundreds of pages found in a book)
- they highlight important issues, figures, dates, and/or events that you may want to focus on in your paper or project
- they give you suggested sources for further research in the form of bibliographies or works cited
Reference Books
What is a reference work?
A book (such as a dictionary, encyclopedia, handbook, etc.) intended primarily for consultation rather than for consecutive reading. Usually, these contain short, fact-driven entries.
How do you find reference works?
Perform a simple BANC search using your keywords and then limit to "Reference Collection"
- OR -
Use a database of reference books, such as Gale Virtual Reference, linked to below
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowGale Virtual Reference Library offers a wide variety of full-text interdisciplinary content on virtually any subject area to support assignments, papers, projects, and presentations. Includes the Scribner Writers Series.
