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How to Use Reference Books / Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias and reference books are great resources for:
- Gathering background information on your topic
- Defining important vocabulary words related to your topic
- Finding a basic overview and main issues related to your topic
- Finding references to additional resources
They are important for the beginning stages of your research, but don't include them as part of the final cited reference list / bibliography.
Online Encyclopedias
Below are a few sources for finding definitions and encyclopedia articles. These are also useful to browse topics for your research project. Please note: If off campus, you will have to login with your myNOVA username and password.
- U.S. History (Gale In Context)Includes U.S. History reference articles, periodical articles, images, and primary documents. (NVCC)
- Biography (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowBiographical information on over 380,000 people from throughout world history; from encyclopedias and news articles. (NVCC)
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowA collection of over 500 reference books on a variety of topics. (NVCC)
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window(Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) includes full-text encyclopedias, handbooks, and other sources for multidisciplinary research. (VIVA, NVCC)
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowMore than 100 Oxford University Press dictionaries and reference books. (VIVA)
- AtoZ: The USAA wealth of reference information about all fifty U.S. states. Includes information about demographics, crime, the economy, history, maps and more. (NVCC)
Encyclopedia Search Tips
Encyclopedia articles focus on basic, general information about a topic, so what you type in the search box should also be general:
YES: gettysburg
YES: gettysburg AND civil war
NO: what was daily life like for soldiers during the civil war?