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Getting Started with Research
Research is a process.
Fundamental to that process is a careful engagement with primary and secondary sources. However, if you are new to a topic, it is best to start with reference sources (sometimes called tertiary sources). These sources, such as dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias, provide overviews of topics by condensing and summarizing primary and secondary sources. On this page you will find reference sources which are useful for gaining an understanding of the background and context of your topic. Such an understanding will help you frame your research project.
If you don't find what you are looking for or need help navigating this guide or any of the resources it contains, don't hesitate to contact the author of this guide or Ask a Librarian.
Reference Sources for Background and Context
General Reference Sources
- Credo ReferenceOnline reference resources from numerous publishers. This reference resource can be searched by individual title, broad subject headings, cross-references, audio and images. Use its research mapper to search for terms and topics that are interconnected and displayed in (a) visual form. Examples of titles are: Bloomsbury Guide to Art, Bridgeman Art Library Archive, Columbia Encyclopedia, Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, Harvard Dictionary of Music, and the Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. The complete list of titles is available on the CREDO Reference site.
- Oxford BibliographiesHigh-level overviews of scholarship written by top names in the field get researchers and faculty up to speed quickly on topics beyond an area of expertise.
- Oxford ReferenceProvides web access to more than 100 major Oxford University Press dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works in the humanities, social sciences, foreign languages, science, technology and medicine, the performing arts, and religion. Works can be searched separately or across the entire databases. Includes over 1.5 million entries.
- SAGE KnowledgeThe SAGE Knowledge platform provides cross-searching of SAGE resources including reference works, ebooks, and CQ Press. Included titles represent many disciplines within the social sciences such as juvenile justice, terrorism, social theory, crime, African American society, social welfare, education and many more themes.
Topic Specific Reference Sources
Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450 by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780028658438Publication Date: 2006
