Section Two B: Research Topics - Selecting a Topic - Reference Sources

Reference Sources

Finding background information on your topic is usually a good way to start your research project. Background sources help you to learn more about the topic and discover particular subjects that you can research. Background sources, such as encyclopedias, can also help you with the terminology of the field, discovering interesting subcategories of your topic, learning about key arguments and issues, finding authorities, and locating bibliographies and lists of references for further exploration.

Reference Books

A good place to find background information is the Reference Collection area of the library, located on the first floor. These books are located near the Reference Desk, another place you can ask for help with your research. The books in the Reference Collection are shelved using the Library of Congress classification system, the same system used in most areas of the library. Since other students and faculty may need immediate access to these books, they cannot be checked out of the library.

In the Reference Collection, you'll find English and foreign language dictionaries, encyclopedias like World Book and Encyclopedia Britannica, and specialized encyclopedias such as the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). 

Note that for college level writing, most instructors DO NOT accept encyclopedia articles as research sources for scholarly papers. Encyclopedias are best used to find topics or look for background information.

Search the Library Catalog for Reference Sources

You can find reference sources such as encyclopedias and dictionaries by searching the library catalog. From the library homepage, select either the Quick Catalog Search or, at the bottom of the page, Catalog, located under Using the Library:

1. In Quick Search, enter the keyword encyclopedia followed by your topic keyword, e.g., encyclopedia psychology
2. Click Search only Electronic Books if you want to limit your results to only e-books
3. Click the Search Everything button.

4. This search found a list of e-books which you can browse or search for possible research topics.

The following Find Reference Sources video (1:33 min) demonstrates searching the catalog for reference sources. Quick Search, Advanced Search, and e-book searching are illustrated. Click the CC button on the controller below the video to view text: