Online Reference
Online Reference Books
The following databases include the full text of hundreds of reference books:
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowThis is a great place to begin for research in humanities, social sciences, health, education, religion, business, biography, art, or law. GVRL has the multi-volume Dictionary of American History, Business Plans Handbook, and complete encyclopedias of Education, Sociology, Mental Health, Philosophy, Religion, Judaism and Catholicism.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowCredo contains 410 reference dictionaries and handbooks in all subject areas. You’ll find entries for words, concepts, phenomena, quotes, figures, formulae, or historical or cultural events. Subjects range broadly over the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and foreign languages.
Latin American and Latina/o Studies
Early Civilizations in the Americas by Publication Date: 2005-03-01his reference library provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the regions of the American continents in which two of the world's first civilizations developed: Mesoamerica (the name for the lands in which ancient civilizations arose in Central America and Mexico) and the Andes Mountains region of South America (in present-day Peru and parts of Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Ecuador).
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and CultureISBN: 9780684312705Publication Date: 2008-05-09Provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary view of Latin American history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. Covers cultural issues and includes numerous biographical profiles of important figures in politics, letters and the arts.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures by Publication Date: 2001-06-07The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures is the first comprehensive reference source to chronicle Pre-Hispanic, colonial, and modern Mesoamerica, defined as the lands stretching from Mexico to the southern tip of Central America.
U. S. Latino Issues by A revision of the popular previous edition published more than a decade earlier, this work examines today's U.S. Latino population--now arguably the most important "minority group" in the country, with numbers well over 50 million strong in an increasingly diverse and integrated America.
Reference Books
Why Begin with Reference Books?
Reference books provide factual and background information about a topic.
Many reference books are available online.
Use reference books to explore your topic before you begin searching for journal articles. You’ll have a better feel for appropriate search terms, recent developments, and key thinkers.