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Research Guides

Why Use Background Sources

Sample encyclopedia covers

Encyclopedias help you figure out the who, what & where of a topic. Knowing the who, what & where of a topic is the first step in researching a topic and discovering the "how" and "why".They can provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. Many also provide a jumpstart on your research by listing important books in the bibliography at the end of the entry.

Two online encyclopedia collections: Gale Ebooks & Oxford Reference Online

Encyclopedias: Histories of Ethnic Groups