Research Guides: History Guide: Reference Sources

Why Use Reference Sources?

Reference sources are designed to provide users with an overview of, or introduction to, a topic.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and chronologies are examples of reference sources. Some reference sources have brief entries on a topic, while other reference sources offer lengthy essays.

Reference sources can help you:

get an overview of a topic
identify key people, places, and themes
see a timeline or chronology of important events
develop a list of search terms
identify primary sources
pinpoint significant authors
develop a bibliography of useful books and articles

Find Reference Sources

Reference Book Databases

Two collections of reference ebooks that include history titles and topics:

Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Search and display the full-text of reference books.
Subjects: Many subjects, including History, Education, Film, Health, Science, Social Science
Info type: encyclopedia and reference book entries.
List of sources.
SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
Ebooks and reference sources from SAGE.
Subjects: Many subjects, including African American Studies, Anthropology, Business Ethics, Communication, Criminology, Economics, Education, Gender Studies, History, Politics, Psychology, Social Issues, Social Work, Sociology.
Info type: encyclopedia articles, ebooks

Other Reference Databases

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