1b. Find Background Information
Get an Overview
Background research in reference works, especially encyclopedias, will give you an overview of your topic so you can select the direction of your research and choose specific research questions.
Virtual Reference
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language.
Use this widget to search seven collections of reference books.
Reference works can:
Provides a good overview of the subject matter.
Help you identify facts related to your topic—terminology, dates, events, and names or organizations.
Alert you to key issues and controversies.
Give you a sense of how your topic relates to other topics.
Help you refine your topic.
Introduce you to the specialized vocabulary of your topic.
Direct you to other sources on your topic.
Specialized Resources
Some reference works are dedicated to a specific topic.
Specialized
Dictionaries
Dictionaries dedicated to a particular field of study can:
Define specialized or technical vocabulary.
Provide definitional essays associated with the vocabulary, similar to an encyclopedia article.
Specialized
Encyclopedias
These encyclopedias feature articles:
On specific topics within a particular area.
Written by experts in the field.
That provide bibliographies of other sources.
That contain cross-references to related topics.
That introduce and explain specialized vocabulary.
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 Do not cite it in a paper.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
- Why search here? This encyclopedia features brief topical overviews useful for beginning almost any research project.
- What’s included? This is a general encyclopedia containing over 25,000 full-text entries.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
- Why search here? The Oxford English Dictionary is the most authoritative and exhaustive dictionary of the English language, past and present. With the OED, a student can track how the meaning of a word has changed over time. This is especially valuable for students of English.
- What’s included? The OED includes not only current definitions but historical definitions and usages accompanied by examples from a wide range of literature.
Legal & Business Information
- Legal Information Source
- Why search here? Legal Information Source contains legal forms and legal information aimed at the layman rather than the specialist. Topics include family law, property law, and business law, among others.
- What’s included? The collection includes legal reference books from Nolo and thousands of legal forms.
- Small Business Source
- Why search here? Small Business Source contains multiple resources on starting or managing a business. This may be useful for Business majors.
- What’s included? Contents include almost 400 full-text magazines and journals and 400 full-text reference books, as well as market and industry research reports. Additional resources include instructional videos and state-specific demographic information.
English & Literature
- Gale Literature Resource Center
- Why search here? This is the most important database for the English program, and it is also useful for other fields in the humanities.
- What’s included? This database contains full-text author biographies, literary analyses, and reviews for a wide range of literature, conveniently sorted by resource type.
- Poetry & Short Story Reference Source
- Why search here? This database features full-text poems, short stories, and dramatic works, as well as biographies, critical essays, and eBooks.
- What’s included? The database contains 400,000 poems, over 50,000 short stories, over 4,000 dramatic works, and over 1,100 eBooks.
Health & Psychology
- Consumer Health Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This collection of reference texts supplements Consumer Health Complete.
- What’s included? The collection includes almost 370 full-text, health-related reference works aimed at the general reader.
- Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print
- Why search here? The Mental Measurements Yearbook contains descriptions and reviews of commercially available psychometric tests used in education, business, and psychology. Although potentially useful to all students whose field of research involves mental tests, this database is particularly important for graduate students planning their own research projects.
- What’s included? The Mental Measurements Yearbook annually produces extensive descriptions of new testing instruments with reviews by subject experts. Tests in Print maintains a bibliography of all testing instruments currently available in English.
Home & Craft
- Hobbies & Crafts Source
- Why search here? Hobbies & Crafts Source contains an array of popular publications on crafts, hobbies, and recreation.
- What’s included? The database contains over 740 magazines and books as well as over 700 instructional videos.
- Home Improvement Source
- Why search here? Home Improvement Source contains magazines, reference materials, and instructions on all aspects of do-it-yourself home improvement and repair.
- What’s included? The database contains thousands of repair instructions and a wide range of home-improvement magazines and reference books.
Schools & Public Libraries
- MAS Complete
- Why search here? This database contains popular magazines and books on a wide range of nonfiction subjects. Although intended for high schools, it may be useful for subjects such as sports science, fine arts, social science, social work, and others.
- What’s included? Contents include over 540 full-text magazines, 440 reference books, thousands of biographies and primary-source documents, and an image collection.
- MAS Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference book collection supplements MAS Complete. Although intended for high school students, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Over 370 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
- MasterFILE Complete
- Why search here? This collection contains a wide selection of popular magazines, reference books, and primary-source documents on many subjects. It is especially useful for researching business and current events.
- What’s included? The collection includes over 2,300 magazines, 1,100 eBooks, 55,000 primary-source documents, and 75,000 Associated Press videos, as well as an image collection.
- MasterFILE Complete Reference eBook Subscription
- Why search here? This reference collection supplements MasterFILE Complete. Although intended for public libraries, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Almost 780 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
- Middle Search Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference book collection supplements Middle Search Plus. Although intended for middle schools, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Over 300 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
- Primary Search Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference book collection supplements Primary Search. Although intended for elementary school students, its contents may be useful to the Division of Education or anyone looking for a cursory overview of a topic.
- What’s included? A large collection of children’s reference books on a wide variety of subjects is included.
