Research Guides: HIST488 Professions in American History: 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

Encyclopedias & Biographical Databases

The databases below contain overviews of topics related to your research.

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.

Handbooks & Companions

To find companions, handbooks, or bibliographies related to American history, you can search the library catalog; however, individual articles can be hard to find. Also try searching the portals to these resources below.

Oxford Bibliographies, annotated bibliographies that provide a gateway to research in particular subfields of Native American Studies.

Cambridge Companions, guides to various African American studies literature topics.

Rutledge Handbooks, book-length companions to various topics.

Oxford Handbooks, reviews of scholarly literature.

Annual Reviews Online, reviews of scholarly literature in the sciences and social sciences.