ENG101: College Writing (Beaulieu-Smith): Reference Resources
What is a Reference Resource?
REFERENCE RESOURCES
Reference resources provide foundational knowledge on a topic, and offer relevant names, dates, facts, figures, and data. Reference sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, manuals, almanacs, and atlases. Encyclopedias are not usually acceptable sources to site in an academic paper, but they are a great place to start for general information that helps you frame your topic.
General Reference Databases
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
A database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text online versions of hundreds of top quality reference books in all major subjects from art to medicine, psychology to history, and technology to literature. Includes bilingual and biographical dictionaries.
- Britannica Library: Reference Center This link opens in a new windowAccess to high-quality, comprehensive information. The rich combination of the insightful Encyclopædia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, magazines and periodicals, and many other research tools provides the variety of reliable sources that students need to consult when conducting thorough research—all from one database.
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia This link opens in a new windowFull text database indexing over 25,000 records, covering an array of topics. Articles range from a paragraph to several pages. Learn about related topics by clicking on the links provided throughout the article.
- Gale eBooks (Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new windowFull text database providing subject specific dictionaries, encyclopedias and general reference books as well as the online version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Subjects include science, history, medicine, psychology and mental health, literature, drama, film, popular culture, business, law, and more.