Research Guides: WRI 167/168: Picture This: Starting your Research

Encyclopedias & Bibliographies

Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
Annotated bibliographies for sub-topics within c. 20 many subject areas. Take a look at INFOGRAPHICS and VISUAL COMMUNICATION (both within Communication).

Search the Databases page for "encyclopedia" to see what online encyclopedias we have access to. Alternatively, do a Subject (browse) in the library catalog to find encyclopedias related to a specific topic: e.g. psychology encyclopedias; civil rights encyclopedias; technology encyclopedias.

Reference Books

Encyclopedias, handbooks and companions are great ways to get background information to situate oneself within a broad topic, understand the terms used to describe some topics, and identify sources related to a particular topic. In addition to the online resources listed below, one can also do a Subject (browse) search in the library catalog: e.g. RENAISSANCE ENCYCLOPEDIAS, identifying any topic you can think of. ONLINE options can be filtered out, keeping in mind that titles available in the HathiTrust ETAS won't be designated as ONLINE.

Cambridge Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Searchable full text access to the complete Cambridge Companions to literature, philosophy, religion, and classics.
Historical Dictionaries Online This link opens in a new window
Dictionaries with timelines covering nations of the world, ancient civilizations, intelligence & security, literature, peoples & cultures, philosophy, pop culture (art, music, cinema), religion, sports, United States politics, and wars & conflicts,
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Full-text of hundreds of dictionaries and other reference works in the humanities and social sciences, published by Oxford University Press.
Routledge Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
Provides overview of classic and current research and future trends in the social sciences and humanities, while at the same time providing an authoritative guide to theory and method, the key sub-disciplines, and the primary debates of today.
Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
Full-text, searchable versions of several hundred paperbacks published by Oxford University Press. Each volume treats a large subject, is written by a well-known scholar (several are Princeton faculty), and includes further readings. These works provide more context on a topic than does an encyclopedia article.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window

Online Encyclopedias available at Princeton
We have many specialized encyclopedias covering just about every field. This links to one list (multiple pages), but is not exhaustive.
Routledge: The Basics (series)
Another useful series: Princeton may have in print or online, or do ask if a particular title is of interest.
Wikipedia
While it is not advisable to use this as a source in an academic paper, it can sometimes LEAD you to other great sources, especially on contemporary topics.

Books, Articles, Other Content

For Books, to see if we subscribe to a particular Magazine, Journal or Newspaper title in print or online, for Video content, and for Online content we have access to in general, use the LIBRARY CATALOG.

In order to locate magazine, journal, newspaper and other content/citations related to a specific topic, you may use Articles+ as a start to locate full-text journal and newspaper articles, and other online content (see search box on this page). However, in many or most cases (or instead), you will want to use a subject database, of which we subscribe to hundreds. One can browse by subject or keyword in the Databases listing.