Choosing a Topic
You can use "tertiary" reference sources (e.g., encyclopedias, biographies, almanacs, etc.) to learn about possible topics, and to gather helpful background information on these topics. These sources provide broad overviews, but also often contain bibliographies that point to more relevant sources. The following reference websites allow for keyword searching and subject browsing.
- Oxford Digital Reference Shelf
Two million digitized entries from Oxford dictionaries, companions, and encyclopedias in 25 different subject areas.
- Credo Reference
Links to various reference books including dictionaries and encyclopedias from every major subject including art, science, history, music, foreign language, politics and literature.
- Britannica Online
Online version of a broad, general-knowledge encyclopedia.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library
A large, easily searchable collection of reference books.
Specialized reference sources particular to a discipline or area of study can be especially good starting points. You can consult our Online Reference Collection to find reference works that are available online and are keyword searchable and browsable by topic. Here are a few that you might find helpful:
Medieval Europe, 814-1350 by ISBN: 9780787617097Publication Date: 2001-11-20Part of a series aiming to help students and researchers understand key periods in world history, this volume is divided into nine chapters that focus on Medieval Europe
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium by
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three-volume, comprehensive dictionary of Byzantine civilization. The first resource of its kind in the field, it features over 5,000 entries written by an international group of eminent Byzantinists covering all aspects of life in the Byzantine world. According to Alexander Kazhdan, editor-in-chief of the Dictionary: "Entries on patriarchy and emperors will coexist with entries on surgery and musical instruments. An entry on the cultivation of grain will not only be connected to entries on agriculture and its economics but on diet, the baking of bread, and the role of bread in this changing society." Major entries treat such topics as agriculture, art, literature, and politics, while shorter entries examine topics that relate to Byzantium such as the history of Kiev and personalities of ancient and biblical history. Each article is followed by a bibliography, and numerous maps, tables, architectural designs, and genealogies reinforce and clarify the text. The new Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium will be the standard research tool and reference work for Byzantinists from graduate students to advanced scholars, and an essential resource for college and school libraries. It will also be an invaluable guide for classicists, Western medievalists, Islamicists, Slavicists, art historians, religious historians, and scholars of archaeology.
ISBN: 9780195046526Publication Date: 1991-05-02
Encyclopedia of Africa by
The Encyclopedia of Africa presents the most up-to-date and thorough reference on this region of ever-growing importance in world history, politics, and culture. Its core is comprised of the entries focusing on African history and culture from 2005's acclaimed five-volume Africana - nearlytwo-thirds of these 1,300 entries have been updated, revised, and expanded to reflect the most recent scholarship.Organized in an A-Z format, the articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa. There are articles on contemporary nations of sub-Saharan Africa, ethnic groupsfrom various regions of Africa, and European colonial powers. Other examples include Congo River, Ivory trade, Mau Mau rebellion, and Pastoralism. The Encyclopedia of Africa is sure to become the essential resource in the field.
ISBN: 9780195337709Publication Date: 2010-02-17
Imperial China, 617-1644 by
World Eras is patterned after the award-winning American Decades series. Covering areas often overlooked by other publications, World Eras provides a multicultural approach that directly reflects changing curriculum standards, with a cross-disciplinary overview of world history and a strong emphasis of daily life and social history. Each volume in this set contains in-depth coverage of one era and is organized into ten chapters: World events -- A Chronology Geography The Arts -- Sculpture, Architecture, Painting and Music Communications, Transportation and Exploration Social class Systems and the Economy -- focusing on social-economic hierarchy Politics, Law and the Military Leisure, Recreation and Daily life -- housing, clothing, food, education, etc. Family and Social Trends -- customs, beliefs, roles and responsibilities Religion and Philosophy Science, Technology and Health Each volume includes an introductory essay that provides context and overview of the era written by a scholar in the field and will contain 150 photographs, line drawings, diagrams, illustrations and sidebars. Each chapter within a volume includes an introductory essay, a timeline, entries on specific topics, events or movements, biographies of prominent individuals, and important publications of the era. A glossary of subject-specific terms appears at the end
ISBN: 9780787617080Publication Date: 2002-10-02
