Research Guides: Reference Sources: Reference Databases

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, & Reference

Britannica Academic Edition
Britannica Academic Edition is an online encyclopedia that includes Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus. Britannica Academic also includes additional relevant content, including websites, a world atlas, photos, articles, and news feeds. (The M-W Dictionary will expire 10/31/2020).
Credo Reference
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Credo's Mind Map visually shows relationships between topics
Included Topic Pages offer an easy starting point and pathways for further research
700+ highly-regarded titles alongside thousands of easily searchable images, audio files, and videos
Access to hundreds of in-depth subject encyclopedias and handbooks covering every major subject from Accounting to Art History and Shakespeare to Einstein
Funk & Wagnall's New Encyclopedia (EBSCO)
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This database provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.
Gale eBooks
Gale eBooks, formerly known as Gale Virtual Reference Library, provides online full text of reputable subject specific reference sources published by Gale. Entire books may be browsed or individual entries discovered using the search interface.
Merriam Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Merriam Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is ideal for everyday classroom use. This subscription will expire 10/31/2020.
Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press)
The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. The OED Online provides searching and browsing access to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Reference Shelf (Salem Press)
A collection of Ebooks covering topics in Literature, History, Science and Health.

What is a Reference Source?

Reference Sources include sources of quick factual information and basic and specialized encyclopedias. While you would not cite these sources in a college level paper (unless a subject/specialized encyclopedia is requested by the instructor), you can use these sources to generate topic ideas, become more informed or obtain background information on your topic.

Tutorials

Britannica Academic/Britannica Digital Learning [tutorial]