Reference materials, such as encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries, are useful for finding background information, statistics, theories, and more. Check out some of the resources highlighted on this page.
Use these reference databases to search for topics, people, laws, theories, and more. Start with these best bets!
Content: A reference database useful for accessing scholarly definitions, background and contextual information. Subjects covered include art, biography, business, economics, education, history, literature, music, psychology, religion, and science and technology.
Purpose: An excellent starting point for brainstorming a research topic and building out your initial search terms list.
Special Features: Mindmap; related articles; image search
Content: Reference e-book collection
Purpose: Users may read the full text of e-books from a range of academic disciplines
Special Features: Includes a visualization tool and browse-by-topic feature that aids in brainstorming topics, a Lexile feature that filters texts by difficulty, the ability to highlight and add notes to text, and a read-aloud feature.
Content: A collection of reference e-books published by Oxford University Press
Purpose: A collection of reference e-books
Content: Reference sources, primarily books but also videos and business cases.
Purpose: Use for finding reference sources like encyclopedias and handbooks that provide contextual or explanatory material.
Special Features: Includes Sage Navigator
Here are a few more reference databases with specialized information. Depending on your topic, these may be worth checking out!
Content: EBSCO database of test instruments found within articles.
Purpose: Provides users with instruments and measurements used in health and behavioral sciences and education
Special Features: Can be used along with APA PsycTests, ETS, and Mental Measurements to learn about instruments in the education and behavioral and health sciences.
Content: Database supporting business and legal research.
Purpose: News, journals, and company profiles and directories for both public and private companies.
Special Features: U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to the 1790s, New York Times articles, Cases, Law Reviews, Company & Country Information, and much more.
Content: Ebook database from the American Psychological Association that includes the most current scholarly and professional titles published by APA, as well as historical and classic works from the behavioral and social sciences.
Purpose: A fundamental resource for any psychology student.
TOXNET has moved as part of the NLM reorganization. Most of the NLM's toxicology information services have been integrated into other NLM products and services. See https://www.nlm.nih.gov/toxnet/index.html for more information.
Content: Comprehensive male and female 3D gross anatomy models, select microanatomy of tissues and organs, cadaver slices and diagnostic images that are paired with 3D cross-sections, and interactive animations of muscles and bones.
Purpose: Allows students to view structures and interact with gross anatomy within a virtual environment.
Special Features: Choose from multiple views, animations, and quizzes.
Note: If you have problems opening the 2018 atlas, it works better if you use Chrome (https://www.google.com/chrome/) or Microsoft Edge as your internet browser.
Use subject-related handbooks and encyclopedias to find background information on your research topics. They are an excellent place to get a feel for the research trends within the discipline. Explore some of the topics below:
Provides directory information and data for over 6,000 hospitals
Use versatile search tools to explore our database of hospital information. Create a list or a map of hospitals that match your interests. View free hospital profiles that include key characteristics, services provided, utilization statistics, accreditation status, financial information, and more. No registration is required.
View key statistics summarized by hospital, state, and the nation. Statistics include bed size, discharges, patient days, and gross patient revenue.
Find resources to answer your research methods / statistics questions
While statistics can sometimes be found in articles, they are often gathered and reported in different formats. The following resources may help.