In addition to bibliographies, reference sources are an excellent first stop in your research pathway and are useful for the following:
Reference sources that may help get you started include dictionaries and encyclopedias, however, you may also see terms like handbooks, introductions, and companions.
Encyclopedias and handbooks will provide:
Dictionaries will offer a definition of your term and related terms that will be important as you develop your search strategy.
Search the library catalogue for dictionaries using this strategy: Subject contains "dictionaries" and Any field contains your field or topic of interest. For this example we will use "sociology":
If you want to see the most recently published dictionaries first, sort by Date - Newest in the Tweak my Results section. Choose Held by Library if you only want print dictionaries, or Full Text Online if you want to view electronic dictionaries online. Most print dictionaries are available for library use only (located in the Reference collection).
Search the library catalogue for biblical encyclopedias using this strategy: Subject contains "encyclopedias" and Any field contains your topic of interest. For this example we'll use "sociology":
If you want to see the most recently published encyclopedias first, sort by Date - Newest in the Tweak my Results section. Choose Held by Library if you only want print dictionaries, or Full Text Online if you want to view electronic encyclopedias online. Most print encyclopedias are available for library use only (located in the Reference collection).
Bibliographies/Reference Lists/Works Cited sections are required components of research papers, but they are also useful research sources in their own right. Often you can find your first few good sources by looking in the bibliographies of your required course readings (individual chapters may have bibliographies/reference lists, or there may be a bibliography/reference list at the end of the book).
Review articles are another great source when starting to research a topic. They provide many of the same benefits as the reference sources discussed above, but will likely be more specific and provide a more thorough introduction to a research topic. Review articles can:
To find review articles in the Library Catalogue select Review Articles on the left-hand side of the screen under Resource type. You may need to click "Show More" before "Review articles" will be listed. Some databases may also allow you to restrict your results to review articles.
