Research Guides: Introduction to Library Resources and Research (HC): Background Information

Lutnick Library

Lutnick Library Reading Room (Photo by Todd Shaffer, Architect, Perry Dean Rogers Partners)

Handbooks and Encyclopedias

Subject encyclopedias provide overviews of ideas, people, and events. They are a quick way to find out the basic facts and some current points of debate on a scholarly issue.

When using an article in an encyclopedia, check the bibliography at the end for further reading. It will provide a selective list of books, articles, and, often, Web sites that are most authoritative and up-to-date.

The titles below reflect a few of the comprehensive encyclopedias available online through Tripod. More specialized encyclopedias, such as the Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History or the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, may also prove to be useful.

Tip: To find more titles, search encyclopedias as a subject in Tripod along with topic keywords.

in Results = 18 records

AccessScience @ McGraw-Hill
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Provides full-text access to articles, dictionary terms, biographies, research updates and links to related websites in all areas of science and technology. Covers 2000-present.

Literature Resource Center
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Very useful collection of biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Covers more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.

Oxford African American Studies Center
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Comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities. Features articles by top scholars in the field, images, primary sources with specially written commentaries, maps, charts and tables, and biographies.

Oxford Art Online
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Includes a major encyclopedia of art as well as other reference works. The entries are enhanced by numerous illustrations and links to artworks.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History
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This is a growing collection of articles providing analysis and discussion of recent scholarship. Note the bibliographies and references to related articles at the ends of entries. Use the Browse by Subject link to see listings by topic area.

Companions, Handbooks, and Guides

These kinds of reference books provide overviews that address major issues and topics within a field of study. The authors not only discuss key content but they also provide a more sophisticated level of analysis and contextualization than you might find in a textbook or introductory study. The authors are chosen for their research in specific areas and deliver authoritative essays. The material they choose to include in their bibliographies are good points of departure for further research and reading.

Results = 23 books

APA Handbooks in Psychology series
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Series of handbooks from the American Psychological Association. One title, the two-volume APA Handbook of Multicultural Psychology includes studies on stereotypes.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
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Key reference work for tabulated physical and chemical data.
Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health
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Sage Handbook of Resistance
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Includes essays on community organizing and protest. Also available in print.

Collections of Handbooks from Notable Publishers:

Cambridge Companions Online
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Offers subject or theme based collections of companion e-books within a richly functional, fully cross-searchable online environment. Areas covered include literature, classics, philosophy, religion, culture and music.

Oxford Handbooks
This is a title list (newest copies first) of the books available in the tri-colleges. Add keywords to narrow the search to identify useful titles in the series. See also specific subject areas like Oxford Handbooks in Psychology. This is one group of Oxford handbooks that we own in digital copies rather than print.
Routledge Handbooks
This title list from Tripod reflects the social science emphasis in this series.
Wiley Blackwell Companions and Handbooks
A list of the titles available in the tri-colleges. Add keywords to narrow the search results. Emphasis is on the humanities and social sciences.