Encyclopedias & Other Reference Sources
Reference resources, such as encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries, are great starting points for research and finding background on any subject. Visit our online
Reference Guide for a complete list of resources.
Recommended Resources
A collection of hundreds electronic encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, statistical sources, biographical tools, thesauri, books of quotations, image collections, and subject-specific titles covering everything from art to technology, from music to medicine. Also included is a "Research Mapper," a visual map that displays the connections between search results and topics in an interactive format.
Encyclopaedia Britannica provides encyclopedia articles and multimedia items including video and audio files, maps, illustrations, photos, primary source documents, ebooks, and recommended websites.
This weekly publication provides in-depth reports on current and
controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into
all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. A good starting point
for pro/con topics.
Find information and opinions on today's hottest social issues. Entries include topic overviews, full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites on a wide variety of current topics.
Online reference books covering a variety of disciplines including careers, history, biographies, literature, primary documents, science, and health.
Written by experts, each volume in this series offers an introduction to complex current events and
countries. Popular topics include international politics, environmental policies, world history, science, math, and religion.
A collection of specialized reference sources in a variety of academic areas including Asian studies, Religion, History, Food & Nutrition, and Biology.
A collection of 30 online encyclopedias published by Oxford University Press. Subjects range from food to Mesoamerican cultures.
The OED contains the complete contents of the 20-volume Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and three Additions volumes published from 1993-97. It also includes quarterly releases of work in progress from the complete revision of the OED which is currently underway. Each of the 616,000 entries contains the etymology, definition, part of speech, date of origination, pronunciation, cross-references, and quotations.
Other Tips
- Search your broad topic in
Search@UW. Then refine your results by limiting the resource type to "Reference Entries."
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Search your broad topic in Search@UW. Limit the scope to "Books & Media (UWSP)" and add the term encyclopedia to your search.
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