Need Help? Ask the Library
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
Online Encyclopedias
The following are recommended encyclopedias in your field. You can read them online 24/7.
Encyclopedia of Scientific Principles, Laws, and TheoriesCall Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2008Provides descriptions of the most famous scientific concepts, principles, laws, and theories that are known in the areas of astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, and physics.
Gale Encyclopedia of ScienceCall Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2008Covers all major areas of science, engineering, technology, as well as mathematics and the medical and health sciences, while providing a comprehensive overview of current scientific knowledge and technology. Entries typically describe scientific concepts, provide overviews of scientific areas and, in some cases, define terms.
Print Encyclopedias
Hutchins Library also has a large collection of print enyclopedias that you can access in person in the Reference area on the main floor.
The Handy Physics Answer Book by Call Number: 530 Z822h 2011 (Location: Reference)Publication Date: 2011This approachable reference explains complicated scientific concepts in plain English that everyone can understand. This handbook supplies answers on the physics of everyday life and examines the developments in the exploration of subatomic particles.
Encyclopedia of Physics by Call Number: 530.03 R813e 2004 (Location: Reference)Publication Date: 2004Focused on pure physics - which deals with the most fundamental aspects of nature such as light, sound, movement, and force with entries on concepts, terms, effects, laws, principles, theories, experiments, observations, people, institutions, organizations, issues, laboratories, and other subjects. discuss interdisciplinary subjects, such as applied physics, astrophysics, biophysics, chemical physics, geophysics, and medical physics.
