Garden Party on the Terrace of a Country Home, Mexico, circa 1725. Denver Art Museum (Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
The following sources provide overviews of ideas, people, and branches of study in the history of colonial Latin America. They are a quick way to find out the basic facts and current points of debate.
When using an article in an encyclopedia or handbook, always check the bibliography for further reading at the end of the article. It will provide a selective list of the books, articles, and, frequently, Web resources considered to be the most up-to-date and reliable.
Literature reviews are a particularly useful resource when doing research. They address the issues involved in a particular question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles for greater understanding.
Doctoral students go through an exhaustive literature search when writing their dissertations. They also tend to work on new questions, sometimes ones that have received very little attention from scholars before. You can sometimes obtain these dissertations and benefit from all the bibliographic treasues and new ideas. Check ProQuest Dissertations & Theses to identify dissertations on your topic.