Reference Sources Encyclopedias Dictionaries Atlases

The library's reference sources offer a wealth of college-appropriate, authoritative information whether they are eBooks or in print format. Encyclopedias - Use encyclopedias to jump start your research with overview articles from credible sources that are packed with information and are wonderful sources for background information. Dictionaries - Use dictionaries to discover the meaning of words and find information quickly because it's arranged alphabetically. Atlases - Visual sources like maps, charts, plates, etc. give you another way to understand and communicate your topic. If your instructor has told you that you can't use encyclopedias be sure to question that limitation, because scholarly subject encyclopedias are very credible academic resources.

Think of them as books filled with scholarly articles that are like well-written research papers. This page contains definitions of and examples of different types of reference sources including almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, biographies, chronologies, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes. Almanacs are not usually used for extensive research , but are good for looking up specific facts, statistics, tables and lists about people, places, events, countries, organizations, zip codes, and popular culture such as... Generally, almanacs cover a broad period of time, while Yearbooks, which contain similar information, only cover a given year. Atlases contain an organized group of pictorial or illustrated political, cultural, physical, road, and/or thematic maps. Atlases may be organized around a specific subject, theme, or geographic area.

Bibliographies compile comprehensive lists of resources that share one or more common attributes about a particular subject, person, geographical area, etc. Some bibliographies also briefly describe the resources that are listed. One should consult a bibliography when they want citations that will guide them to specific resources. Biographies contain information about people, both living and deceased - they can contain brief summaries of data about individuals, contain lists of citations of resources about a person, or be full length books detailing... Biographies may cover general important figures, or may be organized thematically/geographically, etc. One would use a biography to look up facts or detailed information about a person or group of people.

Reference Sources are designed to help you find information to include in your research paper. They can help you in many ways- Notice the tabs at the top of this page. These will lead you to information on: These are some maps and atlases we have available in the library. Atlases are "bound collections of maps often including illustrations, informative tables, or textual matter."[a] They cover a wide variety of subjects and topics.

Fun fact: There are atlases of the human body. Maps are representations of celestial spheres, usually on a flat surface, "of the whole or part of an area". They are also "[diagrams] or other visual [representations] that [show] the relative position of the parts of something."[b] [a] Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com dictionary.

Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atlas. Reference sources are books and online information that provide summaries, definitions of terms, quick facts, data, and bibliographies. They are a perfect place to start when you need an overview of a topic or are required to cite a definition of a term. Many reference materials have moved from print format to digitized databases since the information in them can rapidly change. In a nutshell, start with a reference source when you need a quick easy look-up of factual information. --> A note on Wikipedia: While Wikipedia can be a fountain of excellent information, it remains an open-source encyclopedia that is not necessarily vetted for accuracy in every article.

Use Wikipedia to get some good background information, collect terminology and important names, and seek out the works cited at the end of the entry. Access all Oxford's dictionaries, companions, and encyclopedias in one place. Oxford Reference is a multi-disciplinary database that features a range of short entries, timelines, quotations, and lengthy in-depth reference articles on all topics. Browse by subject or enter a keyword in the search box. Encyclopedias are often called tertiary sources, but sometimes they can be secondary sources or primary sources. They compile information from trusted experts and produce short entries on each item.

Tertiary sources provide you with basic information that you might need to proceed with your project, and they can help you narrow your research question. They often point you towards the secondary and primary sources you need for research projects. When you begin a research project, it is helpful to have a good overview of your topic--especially if it is one that is new to you. Encyclopedias are sources that include basic overviews of topics or subjects; definitions of terms specific to a field of study; provide visual images such as maps, charts and graphs, or they provide primary documents... In Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog, William Badke explains that you have acquired a "working knowledge" of a subject "when you can talk about it for one minute without repeating... When reading an encyclopedic entry, try to discover:

There are two types of encyclopedias: General and Subject. General encyclopedias provide brief overviews on many different topics. Subject encyclopedias provide more details on important dates, people, and events on a topic. Entries are written (signed) by an expert or scholar in the field; provide references or bibliographies for further research; cross-reference other topics of similar interest; published in single or multi volume sets. From the library's home page, type in your topic keyword (or keyword phrase) and include the keyword encyclopedia in the search box 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. 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. Why do you need reference sources, when so much is available on the Internet?Almost everyone will start with an Internet search, usually using Yahoo, Google, or Ask Jeeves. The problem with that strategy is that there is a lot of wrong information on the Internet, and it is not a good starting point. It is a good resource, but only after you have some background. "You can't go wrong with a good dictionary, even if you think you know the meaning of a word; and a serious encyclopedia will give you important background information. There are also specialized reference books, like chronologies (which list events year by year), biographical dictionaries (which provide short lives of important people), and bibliographies (which point you to other books)." (source: Lynch, getting...

Reference books are books you can't checkout of the library. Why can't they be checked out? Traditional print reference sources are a mainstay item for your professor. When your professor tells you that you need to use reference sources, he or she is almost always refering to the print version, not the online version. The reference section of most libraries will contain encylcopedias, dictionaries, factbooks, indexes, almanacs, and key "starting points" for your research. When you are not sure where to begin, some of these sources listed here can probably help you.

Types of Reference MaterialsIn general, reference materials are consulted for specific pieces of information and are not usually read from cover to cover. The most familiar types of reference are: Check out our FAQ page for additional information Reference books are located on level 3. The Art Library and the Music Library have their own reference sections. Reference books are useful for quick fact checking and for background information.

As such, they remain in the building. Examples of reference books include: almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias and indexes. Reference sources are most useful when you are beginning to work on a topic and need to acquire some background knowledge about it. You may not end up citing them in your bibliography or Works Cited page, but they can help you to get started. Selecting the type of sources for your research can begin with something as simple as tertiary sources (for example, encyclopedias) which provide background information on a particular subject or topic. If you are interested in learning about vaccines, an encyclopedia can provide details about the vaccine’s history (who developed it, where, how long ago, etc).

Perhaps the developers of the vaccine, the associated sickness, and the time-period will direct you to books published by those researchers or news reports from publications of that time. Also, the names of the researchers, the companies, and any medical terms mentioned will be valuable pieces of information to collect and use later as “key terms” or keywords.

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