Research Guides Databases Dictionaries And Encyclopedias

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 23, 2025, 7:25 AM

research guides databases dictionaries and encyclopedias

While thousands of our encyclopedias are available online, some reference works are only available in print. All titles are included in Muscat Plus. You may also browse by subject using their call numbers. If you're looking for an encyclopedia or dictionary on a specific topic, stop at the Research Help Desk on the main floor for assistance. Online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and specialized reference sources, primarily in the social sciences and humanities. Spans 25 different subject areas, bringing together digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias.

UC subscription allows limited simultaneous users, so if you can't connect try again later. Please note: UCLA Library has access to a selected number of Oxford reference titles, and not the entire set. A good place to start, but note that it is an index to over 15 million articles in 11,000 subject encyclopedias and handbooks, both print and online and does not provide full-text articles. Instead, it will connect you to our catalog so you know where to find the appropriate encyclopedia, dictionary or other reference work. You will be linked to UCLA's holdings for any entries you find. Includes the complete text of the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.

plus quarterly updates of new and revised entries. Trace the origin and history of words and their meanings in this etymological dictionary. For patrons encountering issues accessing this resource from off-campus: try logging out of the VPN, clearing cookies/cache on your browser, and then logging back into the VPN before accessing the database. Call the Wilson Library front desk to get help by phone during open hours, or leave a voicemail for next-day follow-up. Use the web form to email us. We respond within 1 to 2 business days.

Real people, no bots. All day and night, with help from librarians everywhere. Subject encyclopedias contain concise essays on specific topics that may be hard to find elsewhere or that screen massive quantities of publications (i.e., Shakespeare) and summarize the current thinking, and present the most useful... Historical and topical survey articles set a clear and understandable context for further research work. Useful for undergraduates or for specialists looking for authoritative information outside their own discipline. Reference encyclopedias are an excellent source of research paper topics on a given subject.

Scholarly encyclopedia article authors select and cite books and articles useful for further reading and research on a topic. Article titles, article essays, and index entries are a good source of synonyms for subject searching and of alternative forms of proper names (wars, persons, geography) that may produce more relevant search results than... Use this guide. Choose a broad subject area to begin. Below are Specialized Databases, Online Encyclopedia's etc... A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

it is an excellent resource for general overviews. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world. As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from dictionaries of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You’ll still find present-day meanings in the OED, but you’ll also find the history of individual words, sometimes from as far back as the 11th century, and of the language—traced through 3.5 million quotations,... The OED started life more than 150 years ago.

Today, the dictionary is in the process of its first full revision. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals, each time subtly adjusting our image of the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary is the most comprehensive work on the English language. It includes word etymologies and quotes covering the history of each definition. You can access it through our databases below: Once you have identified the main topic and keywords for your research, find one or more sources of background information to read.

These sources will help you understand the broader context of your research and tell you in general terms what is known about your topic. The most common background sources are encyclopedias and dictionaries from the print and online reference collection. Class textbooks also provide background information. Subject encyclopedias offer a very quick way to get yourself started on research topics. They are compiled by experts in the field. To find a subject encyclopedia in ONESearch, just add encyclopedia to your subject heading: i.e.: "Shakespeare encyclopedia."

All images used in McDermott Library Research Guides are sourced from CC0, no attribution licenses unless otherwise cited.

Research Guides Databases Dictionaries And Encyclopedias

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While Thousands Of Our Encyclopedias Are Available Online, Some Reference

UC Subscription Allows Limited Simultaneous Users, So If You Can't

Plus Quarterly Updates Of New And Revised Entries. Trace The

Real People, No Bots. All Day And Night, With Help

Scholarly Encyclopedia Article Authors Select And Cite Books And Articles