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Research Basics:  Reference Resources


Reference Resources –Print Options

In our high-tech society, patrons often rush to the internet for their reference needs.   Sometimes a print resource satisfy patron information needs better than a web based product because they more subject specific and authoritative. Browse through the library’s reference collection to discover the variety of resources that your librarians have selected.  Print reference resources are always available because they have been designated as basic information sources which are frequently consulted. Here is a basic list of the different types of resources available.


Encyclopedias – general reference source.  A good place to start.

Examples:

Encyclopedia Americana (Encyclopedia Carrel)

Encyclopedia Britannica (Encyclopedia Carrel)


Subject Encyclopedias – more in-depth in a specified subject area:

Examples:

New Catholic Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Carrel)

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (Encyclopedia Carrel)

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of environmental Science & Engineering (628.03 M147)


Dictionaries – word meaning, deviation, spelling, pronunciation, and usage of words and phrases:

Examples:

Random House Dictionary of the English language (R423 R159)

Black's Medical Dictionary  (R610.3 B561)


Yearbooks - concise annual record of events:

Example:

Statesman's Yearbook (R310.58 St29)


Handbooks miscellaneous items of information:

Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts (428.007 H262)


Almanacs statistics & facts, current & retrospective :

The World almanac and book of facts (R317.3 W893)

The Muslim almanac: a reference work on the history, faith, culture, and peoples of Islam

(297 M966, 1996)



Biographical dictionaries -  information about people :

Who's Who in America (R920 W621a)


Directories names & addresses of people or organizations:

Pittsburgh area international resources directory (R917.4886 P48)


Atlases maps & geographic information :

Hammond world atlas (R912 H26, 2000)

HarperCollins atlas of world history (911 H276, 2001)


Gazetteers - geographical information & data on places :

The Columbia gazetteer of the world (R910.3 C659, 1998)

Pennsylvania atlas & gazetteer (Atlas Stand)


Reference Resources - Web Options:

Full text web-based encyclopedias are frequently available free  to users associated with  educational institutions and libraries.  A growing number of titles are available for a fee to the general public. 


General Encyclopedias

General Reference Sources

Looking for more detailed information? Gateway sites are flourishing at libraries across the world as information professionals try to organize high quality web-based resources. Find an interest  category and select a resource related to your topic in one of these super sites:


Subject Encyclopedias

Provide more subject specific information. A limited number of subject encyclopedias are web based, but the number of sites is increasing. You may need to visit the NVCC campus of your choice to locate an appropriate subject encyclopedia. If you select an in-library  source, search the index using keywords related to your topic.




Popular Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals  

 

Popular Magazines

Scholarly 
Journals

Purpose

To provide general information or to entertain

To report on original research/in-depth studies on specialized subjects

Language

Appropriate for a broad, general audience

Technical language, jargon of the discipline, appropriate for scholars

Appearance

Include advertising

Include photographs

Contain little advertising

May contain charts and graphs, but usually no photographs

Documentation

Sources may be mentioned, but rarely fully cited or included in bibliographies

Sources are cited in footnotes or bibliographies

Authors

Magazine staff, free-lance writers, reporters

Scholars or researchers in the field

Peer-Reviewed

No

Yes – often reviewed by the author’s peers before publication

Publishing Schedule

Usually weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly

Quarterly, twice a year, or less

Indexing

Usually indexed in such sources as Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature

Usually indexed in such sources as ERIC, Psychological Abstracts, Medline

Examples

Sports Illustrated, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Psychology Today

Political Quarterly, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Applied Social Psychology

  Source: http://www.nvcc.edu/alexandria/library/instruction/magjrnl.htm