Reference Sources

Information Competence

Introduction

Access Points

Reference Sources

Contents

Encyclopedias (1)

Encyclopedias (2)

Dictionaries

Handbooks

Directories

Guides

Other

Using

Finding

Indexes & Abstracts

Reference Sources

Reference Sources serve a variety of purposes. They can provide:

background or introductory information on a topic
ways of finding materials on a topic
statistical or tabular data as well as technical instruction.

They are good starting points for any research project or problem.

Be aware that the information in these reference sources may overlap, or the titles may be misleading e.g. dictionaries may be called encyclopedias and vice versa. Click next for further explanation of the confusion of terms.