Bristol Community College Library Learning Commons: ENG101: College Writing (Anderson): Reference Resources

What is a Reference Resource?

Reference resources are things like encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and manuals. You can use them to find the meaning of a word, get a quick overview of a topic, or look up details about a certain time period or historical event.

They are also a fantastic place to start when you're beginning your research and deciding on a topic.

General Reference Resources

Britannica Library: Reference Center
Access 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.
Credo Reference
Provides 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.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
Full 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)
Full 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.
MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection is a companion eBook collection to the MasterFILE Premier database and contains nonfiction and reference books from top educational publishers, including Abdo Publishing Company, Cherry Lake Publishing, Crabtree Publishing, Lerner Publishing Group, Rourke Publishing and dozens of university presses.