Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
For Your Reference
Reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias provide background information. These resources are useful when you:
- Want to quickly learn about a topic.
- Are having trouble selecting a topic for an assignment.
- Don’t know what search terms to use.
- Need to find facts and figures.
Virtual Reference
Digital Reference Texts
Full-text resources in Gale eBooks include:
- American Law Yearbook
An annual supplement to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year’s edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases. Includes a glossary of legal terms.
- American Men & Women of Science
Profiles living persons in the physical and biological fields, as well as public health scientists, engineers, mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists.
- British Writers Series
Covers writers who have made significant contributions to British, Irish, and Commonwealth literature from the fourteenth century to the present day. Includes in-depth critical and biographical analysis. Multiple volumes.
- World History Encyclopedia
Focuses on specific themes of human development across cultures era by era, providing the most in-depth, expansive presentation available of the development of humanity from a global perspective.
- Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life
Covers cultural groups in Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Each volume is organized by continent, covering history, politics, customs, religion, education, human rights issues, teen life, and more.
Dictionaries
Available in the reference section of the J. W. Martin Library, these books will help you employ language precisely.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd College Edition, by
Call Number: Ref. 423 Am35ac2ISBN: 9780395329443Publication Date:The revised edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, by
Call Number: Ref. 423 W399 2003ISBN: 0877798095Publication Date:America’s best-selling dictionary defines the current, active vocabulary of American English and is updated on an ongoing basis.
The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, by
Call Number: Ref. 423 Ox25e2ISBN: 0198611862Publication Date:The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It traces the usage of words through 2.4 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
About Wikipedia
Wikipedia can deliver general information and will sometimes cite high-quality sources.
However, because it is crowdsourced, Wikipedia is not itself reliable. Do not cite it in a paper. Consider the following:
An oft-cited article in the journal Nature (Giles, ) claims that Wikipedia is as accurate as Encyclopædia Britannica.
But while this claim has been widely touted in popular media, there is more to the story: As Kolbe () explains, the Nature piece, which is not a peer-reviewed study, only compares articles on obscure scientific subjects. On Wikipedia, such technical articles are more likely to be written and edited only by specialists. By contrast, all articles in Encyclopædia Britannica are written by specialists.
Furthermore, Nature’s interpretation of its own study is debatable: As Orlowski () notes, the Nature study actually indicates that Wikipedia has 31% more errors than Britannica. Carr () examined the Nature study more closely and found that it ignored the most egregious errors in Wikipedia. The Encyclopædia Britannica itself () has even weighed in on this debate, calling the Nature article fatally flawed.
As a rule of thumb, the more contentious a subject is, especially if it is related to current events, the more likely a Wikipedia article is to be biased, erroneous, or deliberately omissive. Information from Wikipedia should be used cautiously if at all.
See these sources:
- “Wikipedia Is Badly Biased”
An article by Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, who argues that Wikipedia has abandoned its neutrality policy and become heavily slanted.
- Wikipediocracy
We exist to shine the light of scrutiny into the dark crevices of Wikipedia and its related projects; to examine the corruption there, along with its structural flaws; and to inoculate the unsuspecting public against the torrent of misinformation, defamation, and general nonsense that issues forth from one of the world’s most frequently visited websites, the
encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
Reference Databases
These research databases contain full-text reference works.
Their content includes encyclopedias and specialized dictionaries but may also include journal articles and other sources.
General Reference
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
For students and adults alike, the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia database indexes over 25,000 records, covering an array of topics.
- Gale eBooks
Gale eBooks is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words—past and present—from across the English-speaking world.
Legal & Business Information
- Legal Information Reference Center
In addition to 225 full-text journals, this database features full-text legal reference books from the organization Nolo.
- Small Business Reference Center
This databases contains over 450 reference books related to business.
English & Literature
- Gale Literature Resource Center
In addition to full-text short stories, plays, poems, and articles on literature, the Gale Literature Resource Center offers access to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature.
- Poetry & Short Story Reference Center
In addition to full-text stories and poems as well as critical essays, this database contains articles from reference works on poetry and literature.
Health & Psychology
- Consumer Health Reference eBook Collection
This ebook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general health topics including cancer and diabetes; weight management and exercise; allergies; senior care; social–emotional health; developmental disorders; and natural health.
- Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print
Produced by the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska, the Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY) provides users with a comprehensive guide to thousands of contemporary testing instruments.
Home & Craft
- Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center
Intended for public libraries, this database dedicated to home improvement and repair includes full-text reference works.
- Home Improvement Reference Center
Intended for public libraries, this database dedicated to home improvement and repair includes full-text reference works.
Schools & Public Libraries
- MAS Complete
Although designed for high schools, MAS Complete includes the contents of 440 full-text reference books that may be useful for beginning research or quick overviews of subjects.
- MAS Reference eBook Collection
This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for high-school students.
- MasterFILE Premier
Designed for public libraries, MasterFILE Premier includes the full text of 500 reference books that may be useful for general information or beginning research.
- MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects.
- Middle Search Reference eBook Collection
This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for middle-school students. Topics include social studies, math, history, language arts, technology, geography, culture, and science.
- Primary Search Reference eBook Collection
This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for primary-school students. Topics include social studies, history, language arts, geography, culture, math, and science.