In addition to your textbook and general websites, use sources like these to find background information on your topic and for ideas on ways to focus from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. General or subject encyclopedias can be a great source of background information. Researchers use encyclopedic and reference sources to establish a fuller picture of the players, conditions, perspectives and events related to their area of research. You will find that it is much easier to filter out redundant or non-pertinent information when you have armed yourself with the "big picture." Depending on your topic, consulting an appropriate encyclopedia before you begin searching in the databases and online catalog will save you time and make your searches more effective.
Critical Terminology Assignment Search Tips
| Specialized U.S. History and American Studies Encyclopedias and Dictionaries - print and online |
Read about how to access "UW Restricted" materials from home or click on the Off-campus access link at the top of this page and enter your UW NetID
| General
& by Time Period
Gale Virtual Reference Library Online UW Restricted Oxford Reference Online, including timelines UW Restricted American Decades (1900-1999) American National Biography UW Restricted Annals of America.
A collection of reprinted historically The citizen action
encyclopedia: groups and movements Cold War America,
1946 to 1990 Colonial America to
1763 Companion to the American
Revolution. Dictionary
of American history - UW Restricted Encyclopedia of American
Cultural & Encyclopedia of American
social history. Encyclopedia of American
social movements Encyclopedia of American
studies. Encyclopedia of the
American Civil War. Encyclopedia of Contemporary
American Culture Encyclopedia of recreation
and leisure in America Encyclopedia of social
welfare history in North America Encyclopedia of the
American Religious Experience. Encyclopedia of the
United States in the nineteenth century. Encyclopedia of the
United States in the twentieth century Encyclopedia of Urban
America. Great events from
history. American Series Greenwood encyclopedia
of American regional cultures Oxford Companion to United States History UW Restricted Philanthropy in America Poverty in the United
States Revolutionary America,
1763 to 1800 The sixties in America Twentieth century
America: a primary source collection from the Associated Press
African American History African American Studies Center NEW UW Restricted Blackpast.org NEW African Americans
at war Africana : the encyclopedia
of the African and The African-American
atlas : Encyclopedia of African
American Culture Encyclopedia of African
American society Greenwood encyclopedia
of African American civil rights:
Asian American History Atlas of Asian-American
history Encyclopedia of Japanese
American history :
Gender Studies & Women's History American masculinities:
a historical encyclopedia Gale
Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Handbook of American
Women’s History. Historical and multicultural
encyclopedia of women's Men and masculinities:
a social, cultural, and Women during the Civil
War
Hispanic American History Atlas of Hispanic-American
history The Hispanic presence
in North America from 1492 to today Handbook of Hispanic
Cultures in the United States, vol. 2 History. The Latino encyclopedia |
Immigration & Multicultural History American Immigrant
Culture. Civil rights in America
: 1500 to the present Encyclopedia of American
immigration Encyclopedia of civil
liberties in America Encyclopedia of Ellis
Island Encyclopedia of minorities
in American politics Encyclopedia
of multiculturalism Encyclopedia of racism
in the United States Harvard encyclopedia
of American ethnic groups. Gale
encyclopedia of multicultural America, UW
Restricted and Primary Documents Racial and Ethnic
Relations in America
Labor & Economic History The American economy:
a historical encyclopedia Encyclopedia of American
economic history. Encyclopedia of the
industrial revolution in America Encyclopedia
of U.S. economic history - UW Restricted Historical encyclopedia
of American labor Work in America: an
encyclopedia of history, policy, and society Working Americans,
1880-1999.
Native American History American Indian History Encyclopedia of American
Indian civil rights Handbook of North
American Indians, vol. 4 History of Indian White Relations. Indian
Affairs: Laws and Treaties The Native American
Rights movement
Pacific Northwest History Chronology of the
American West: from 23,000 B.C.E. Historical atlas of
the Pacific Northwest The Oxford history
of the American West
Politics, Foreign Policy & War The American presidents Americans at War - UW Restricted East Asia and the
United States: an encyclopedia of relations since 1784 Encyclopedia
of American foreign policy - UW Restricted Encyclopedia of American
political history. Encyclopedia of Cuban-United
States relations Encyclopedia of the
American Constitution. Encyclopedia of the
Korean War Encyclopedia of the
Mexican American War Encyclopedia of World
War II Guide to the U.S.
Supreme Court Historic U.S. Court
Cases. Major Acts of Congress Oxford
Companion to American Military History Presidential documents The United States
and Mexico at War West's
Encyclopedia of American law World War II in the
Pacific : an encyclopedia
Statistics Datapedia of the United
States, 1790-2005 Historical statistics
of the United States, colonial times to 1970 Selected U.S. Decennial Census reports U.S. Statistical Abstracts, from 1878+ U.S. Decennial Census Reports Contains historical census reports in PDF for 1790-1860, 1990, and 2000 |
| Specialized Multidisciplinary Subject Encyclopedias |
|
A
Concise Glossary of Cultural Theory Blackwell Dictionary
of Modern Social Thought CQ
Researcher - UW restricted Dictionary of Twentieth
Century Culture Encyclopedia of Cultural
Anthropology A Dictionary of Cultural
and Critical Theory Encyclopedia of Community
Encyclopedia of Crime
and Punishment Encyclopedia of ethics
Encyclopedia of Homosexuality
Encyclopedia of Human
Rights Issues Encyclopedia of Sex
and Gender HM425.E5 2000 |
Encyclopedia of Women
and Gender HQ1115 .E43 2001 Facts.com
- (Facts on File World News Digest) UWB/CCC Campus
Access Only Gale
Virtual Reference Library - UW
restricted International
encyclopedia of human rights : freedoms, abuses, and remedies International
Encyclopedia of Marriage and the family International Encyclopedia
of the Social & Behavioral Sciences Keywords in Multicultural
Interventions: A Dictionary The New Dictionary
of the History of Ideas The Oxford companion
to politics of the world Oxford Reference Books
online UW Restricted Oxford Online: Politics and Social Sciences UW Restricted Reader's Guide to
the Social Sciences |
| Getting Help from a Librarian |
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me
|
Sarah Leadley |
If I'm not available, we have many ways you can get help. You can contact librarians individually for appointments in-person or via email. You are welcome to contact any of my colleagues at the reference desk: 425-352-3146. We also have an e-mail reference service that can answer your questions within one or two working days. You can also try Q&A Live, a collaborative digital reference service that allows you to "chat" with a librarian in real time using your computer. This service is staffed by librarians at the UW and beyond..