When you begin a research project, it is helpful to do some background reading to get some basic information on your topic, e.g., keywords, important names, dates, etc.
Subject-specific reference materials can provide beginning researchers with the following:
- an overview of a topic and how it fits into the broader picture,
- the various aspects of a topic to help broaden or narrow the area of research,
- the vocabulary (a.k.a. keywords) associated with the topic to use at the computer,
- the names of important people or organizations associated with the topic,
- a bibliography to lead to other relevant items on the topic, including major studies, books, articles and researchers.
Collection of fulltext online reference materials. Content includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and subject-specific titles from art to accountancy, science to Shakespeare, and law to literature. Coverage varies by title.
Hint: Look for the word count at the bottom of each entry to find longer articles.
