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This guide contains writing resources and information for students.

Using Reference

What's a reference source?

Reference materials are short amounts of information designed to be accessed quickly, not in volumes to be read cover-to-cover. Examples include encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, almanacs, atlases. They can provide great background information to get started with a paper or project.

Wikipedia is an example of an online reference source. However, its entries can be edited at any time so its material is currently not considered as authoritative as material from, for example, Gale Virtual Reference Library or Oxford Reference (Rector, 2008).

Start your research by looking up your topic in one of the reference sources below:

Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Oxford Reference is the home of Oxford's quality reference publishing, bringing together over 2 million entries, many of which are illustrated, into a single cross-searchable resource. This resource provides quality, up-to-date reference content. Made up of two main collections (Oxford Quick Reference and Oxford Reference Library) which are both fully integrated and cross-searchable.
- Includes fulltext of the reference sources.
Gale ebooks This link opens in a new window
Gale ebooks is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but are now accessible online from the library or remotely 24/7. Because each library creates its own eBook collection, the content you see may vary if the database is accessed from different libraries (your school, your public library, or your office). Encyclopedias and specialized reference resources in: Arts, Biography, History, Information and Publishing, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Nation and World, Religion, Science, Social Science.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new window
A complete text of the 2nd. ed. of the Oxford English dictionary with quarterly updates, including revisions not available in any other form. Also includes the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, a taxonomic classification of the majority of senses and lemmas in OED Online.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference (formerly XreferPlus) is an online reference library comprised of reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and other reference books. Subjects covered include art, biography, history, literature, music, religion, and science and technology.

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For more, visit our Reference Tools guide.

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Using Reference

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Examples