Tip: When reading an encyclopedia article, make sure you look at the sources the author used to write the article. You can use these sources too! Just look them up in the library catalog!
Tip: Give yourself time! We can get you almost any source listed in the article here through Inter-Library Loan [ILL]. There is no limit on the number of items you can ILL. Also, ILL is easy. Just find the item in the library catalog and click on the "Request Item" link.
Selected "Beginning" articles -- Suggested resources to start your research
Professionally developed subject encyclopedia collection. Similar to Wikipedia yet with articles written by known subject experts.
Credo Reference is a multidisciplinary collection of subject encyclopedias and dictionaries. Developed with beginning researchers in mind, it includes resources to help develop search terms, as well as bibliographies that directly link to the library catalog. A strength is the robust quality of the articles written, while a weakness is that it is missing obscure topics. Subscription.
Broad selection of books for reliable, brief entries on many subjects.
Oxford Reference is a collection of electronic encyclopedias and dictionaries published by Oxford University Press. Its strength comes from Oxford University Press reputation, but many of the results are very short entries. Subscription.