FYSEM 110LG: Slang: Community/Power/Language

Why background information?

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference resources help you to discover basic information—names, dates, definitions, summaries, etc. These are good places to start when beginning research on an unfamiliar subject, and when choosing or narrowing a paper topic.

General reference

Find basic information on all topics.

Encyclopedia Britannica
A good general encyclopedia covering all topics/subject areas.

Oxford Reference Online
A database of dictionaries, language reference, and subject encyclopedias published by Oxford University Press. Search tips: This is a good source if you're not sure which reference work an author or concept might show up in. Results are entries from multiple sources and tell you the title and word length for each - a good way of scanning for a definition of a term from a specific field and of substantial detail. MHC users only have access to the results/reference works that show a green open lock icon.

Other subjects

Visit the library's Research Guides site and use the By Subject link to browse all of the guides by subject area. Most guides have a Background Info tab/section that includes a list of specialized reference resources, print and electronic, that are useful for looking up terms, concepts, and finding basic information for that subject area.