Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

A good way to begin research is to look at information sources that give you basic or a broad overview of a topic. The most common information sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographical dictionaries and almanacs.

Refer to encyclopedias for an overview of a topic and for suggestions of additional sources to check for information. Stauffer Library has various general encyclopedias in the AE13 call number area.

Apart from the many print encyclopedias in the Library, we provide numerous electronic encyclopedias. For example, you can consult the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Canadian Encyclopedia online.

Encyclopedias may be general or subject-specific encyclopedias, which provide more detailed, scholarly articles with more comprehensive bibliographies.

To locate encyclopedias for specific subjects, do a subject heading search in QCAT for your subject followed by the word "encyclopedias" or the older subject heading "dictionaries".

Another method is to try a keyword search in QCAT:

  Keyword Search: (encyclopedias or dictionaries) and medieval [your topic]
  Keyword Search: (encyclopedias or dictionaries) and women
  Keyword Search: (encyclopedias or dictionaries) and "world war II"
  [quotations for phrases]

Check dictionaries, both general and subject-specific to familiarize yourself with unfamiliar terminology. Sometimes these dictionaries will also have bibliographical references.

For an overview of someone's life and career, check biographical dictionaries, which can either present just the bare facts of someone's life or present a more detailed portrayal with bibliographical references.

See the Biographical Resources guide for more detailed resources.

Bibliographies

Note any relevant citations to books, articles and other information in the bibliographies found at the end of encyclopedia articles or dictionary entries.

You should also check to see if there is a subject bibliography on your topic by searching QCAT the library catalogue. To locate bibliographies for specific subjects, do a subject-heading search in QCAT for your subject, followed by the word "bibliography".

World War, 1914-1918 Bibliography

To see if there is a subject guide to information resources in your discipline, check Resources by Subject on the main Library web page and then click on the desired subject guide. For bibliographies listed by country check out the Bibliographies by Country guide.