Cornell Research Guides
R. H. Bainton. George Lincoln Burr in the A. D. White Library, ca. 1942 Pen and ink drawing.
Looking for other subject encyclopedias?
The Gale Reference Library brings together a huge collection of reference sources.
You can also do an advanced search in the Cornell University Library catalog using one or more of these terms:
encyclopedia | guide | handbook
in combination with a broad subject term.
Examples:
Encyclopedias about political leaders
Encyclopedias about American political leaders
Encyclopedias about African-American history
Why start here?
Why use background or tertiary resources?
- It's a quick overview of a theme, work, author, or other topic, which can save you time!
- Learn important terms for searching, identify notable scholars and/or works, and get more information about a topic.
- Bibliographies for further reading in the works cited sections can lead you to secondary sources you can use in the next phase of your research.
Oxford Art
Oxford Art Online is the access point for Grove Art Online, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Oxford Companion to Western Art, and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Includes image partnerships and a digital image search.
Oxford Bibliographies
Bibliographies on many, many topics (a few pertinent individual titles listed below). Provides introductions to each topic area, and includes guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works etc., and links to useful websites.
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. There are at least 50 specific topical bibliographies in each subject area. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
Help from Oxford: Anatomy of an Article
Looking for biographies?
Definitely consult the Biographical Research Guide! Cornell subscribes to a number of biographical databases, including:
- American National Biography Online
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (British & British Commonwealth)