Research Guides: History: Background Sources -Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Handbooks and More!

Scholarly encyclopedias and other reference works are invaluable to historical research. Accounts of historical events and persons can be complex, controversial, large, and even be described with variant spellings. Encyclopedias should provide overviews of events, persons, or ideas as well introductory information about competing perspectives on those subjects. Entries usually include bibliographies that can guide you to important scholarship and primary sources related to the topics. Finally, encyclopedias and dictionaries will give you keywords for efficient searching and effective writing.

Print Encyclopedias

Large sets of history encyclopedias are in the reference collection on the main floor, especially in the 900 call number range. Print and electronic encyclopedias can also be found via the library catalog. You can try broad search terms with keywords like "encyclopedias."

EXAMPLE BOOLEAN SEARCH

(pacific northwest OR washington state) AND (encyclopedia OR dictionary)

will retrieve books like, Chinook ; a History and Dictionary of the Northwest Coast Trade Jargon

Encyclopedia Databases

Unique history resources are in the following databases. Enter your student email address and password to access from off-campus.

Britannica Academic
For any research project, nothing beats an article from Britannica to serve as an overview. Britannica will also lead you to academically-vetted Web content, as well as full-text magazine articles.
Because of the breadth of content, some students use Britannica as a one-stop destination for all their needs, especially for shorter assignments. Watch out for a European bias here, because some topics unique to the U.S. get ephemeral treatment.
CQ Press Library
Includes Historic Documents Series which presents excerpts from documents on important events of each year for the United States and the world. Each volume includes approximately 70 events with over 100 documents including reports and surveys, speeches, to court cases, legislation, testimony, and more.
CQ Researcher Plus Archive
In-depth reports covering "...political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the U.S. economy." Unique in that reports date back to 1923 to present.
Credo Reference
Provides often lengthy articles from scholarly and subject encyclopedia articles, especially in the social sciences and humanities.
Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
Search dozens of encyclopedias from a variety of subject areas.
Salem Press Online
Includes a wealth of historical and biographical encyclopedias as well primary documents collections related to social issues and current events.
ScienceDirect Reference Books
Includes hundreds of scholarly encyclopedias in sciences and social sciences. Limit search results to "Encyclopedia" on the left side of results page.