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Use background sources, such as encyclopedias, textbooks, and Wikipedia, to:
- get an overview of the topic - what people are currently researching or thinking about in an area
- find new keywords to help you search more effectively
- identify citations used in the background source to find primary, scholarly literature on the topic
Note that background resources are (theoretically) neutral and do not present an argument. They are intended to inform, rather than persuade, the reader. They are important when you need to explain the historical details of an event, topic, person, but not when you want to make an argument.
- Credo Reference Unlimited This link opens in a new windowContains bilingual dictionaries and reference works in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new windowContains guides written by specialists in their fields on influlential writers, artists, topics, periods and more.
- Oxford Bibliographies Online. Sociology This link opens in a new windowGuide to scholarly literature in the field of sociology. Subdivided into articles by established scholars covering major categories of research with corresponding bibliographies of recommended resources.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new windowLong-form overview articles written, peer-reviewed, and edited by leading scholars in a number of social science, humanities, and science areas. Use this link to limit to Emory’s subscribed content.
