Research Guides: AAS 385W Voting Rights &amp; Voter Suppression (Main): Background Information

What are reference works?

Reference works:

Provide an overview of your topic
Are often written by scholars or experts in the field
Provide key people, places, events, and terms that you can use to refine your searches
Often offer suggestions for further reading

Handbooks & Companions

Search Library Search for your topic with companion, handbook, or bibliography.

Oxford Companions

Examples:

Blackwell Companions

Example:

The Wiley Blackwell Companion of Religion and Politics in the United States

Cambridge Companions

Example:

The Cambridge Companion of John F. Kennedy

Encyclopedias & Biographical Databases

The databases below contain overviews of topics related to voting rights and suppression that can help shape your research. See for example this 2018 CQ Researcher Report on current Election Security and Voting Rights or this Encyclopedia of African American History Essay on Voting Rights.

CQ Researcher Plus Archive This link opens in a new window
Resources related to prominent U.S. policy topics.
Credo Reference Unlimited This link opens in a new window
Contains bilingual dictionaries and reference works in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Contains online reference works -- see title list for individual works included.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Content of 300+ books published by Oxford University Press.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Access wide-ranging materials that focus on the lives and events that have shaped African American and African history and culture. Comprised of five major encyclopedias and additional reference sources from Oxford University Press.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., editor-in-chief.