Finding General Resources
How to find and use encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, and other sources of general information for historical research
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Back Links:
Back Links:
These links will bring you back to the "Research Process" page or the "Finding Information" home page. You can also navigate by using the left sidebar.
The History Libguide:
The History Libguide:
The middle section of the History libguide, titled "Key Resources" contains links to encyclopedias as well as to the databases that link to scholarly journals.
In this section, you can find links to Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks, some of which (like The Canadian Encycloedia) are freely accessible on the Web and will open as you click on them, while others (such as Credo Reference) are reserved for your use as a student at RDC and will require you to log in using your ID card (see the bottom section of the libguide to find out how).
It also contains links to some published handbooks to researching and writing in history that you may find useful.
About encyclopedias linked in the History libguide:
About encyclopedias linked in the History libguide:
The list of resources on the libguide is not exhaustive, but it contains the most frequently used resources accessible online. Note that visiting the reference section of the library itself will be rewarding, as there are several print encyclopedias available there.
Use encyclopedias to find out basic facts, dates, people involved and the consensual interpretation of the significance of historical events. By nature, encyclopedia articles are written to be as neutral as possible, and they generally avoid controversial aspects of a topic. These can be found out by digging deeper, especially using scholarly articles and monographs.
Credo Reference is an aggregator, meaning that, like Google, it is not the source of the information, but rather a way of browsing through thousands of encyclopedias to which it gives access. It is a great tool for research on any subject. In addition to the usual research using key words, Credo Reference has a nifty "mind map" feature (check the "Browse Credo" tab at the top) which allows you to visually explore a topic for issues and connections you may not even be aware were there.
When you find information in Credo Reference, remember that Credo is not the tile of the encyclopedia for reference purposes. It will be any of the thousands of encyclopedias and dictionaries and will be provided in the source information that comes with each article.
You need to sign in with your library barcode information to access Credo Reference. See how at the bottom of this page.
The Canadian Encyclopedia is a bilingual web-accessible resource that was originally published on paper in 1984 and constantly updated since. If you are doing research for a course in Canadian history, start here. Chances are you will find most of the basic information you need here. There are also links to outside reources.
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, like The Canadian Encyclopedia, is a bilingual web-accesible scholarly resource that started out as a set of volumes that started publishing in the 1960s. It contains detailed biographical information on thousands of people connected to Canadian history. Not all of the people in question are well known, and so it is a good place to find information on pretty much any person connected to your research if you are working in a Canadian history course.
Note that there are also other encyclopedias available on the Web for specific information. Use the ones that are most pertinent to your area of research. Also, don't forget to visit the reference section of the Library for print encyclopedias.
But what about Wikipedia?
But what about Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a wonderful resource on many levels. It is, however, hampered by a persistent reputation as lacking credibility because anyone can make changes to any article in it at any time. Actually, if you are a student in some of my classes, you may even have the option of contributing to Wikipedia as part of your research assignment.
So... is it reliable? Well, according to several studies, it is, on the whole, as reliable as other encyclopedias with as solid a reputation as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. There does appear to be wisdom to the foundational belief that led to the creation of Wikipedia that the shared collective wisdom of readers would lead to its increasing accuracy over time. However, it is still fragile and, when reading articles that deal with controversial topics, for example, there can be "editing wars" between various factions. To the uninitiated, it would be difficult to ferret out the "good" from the "bad" information.
So here are some general recommendations on how to use Wikipedia for academic research:
Use it as a starting point, not a final reference. There should never be a reference to a Wikipedia article in your bibliographies: basic information found there should be corroborated in more authoritative sources.
Generally, Wikipedia articles can be trusted for basic information such as overall description of events, people involved, and dates. However, once again, the information should be corroborated by research into other sources.
Use the references provided in Wikipedia articles: they can lead you to very interesting sources that you then can use for your own research.
Off-campus access:
Off-campus access:
When you do research at the library, you can access any of the resources linked in these libguides. However, when you do research from home, you may hit a "paywall" asking you for your iCard barcode. This is due to the fact that accessing some resources is reserved to subscribers. It includes Credo Reference and most scholarly journals and databases. The college does have a subscription and you can access these resources free of charge, even from home.
When you try to access a restricted resource, a pop-up page will appear prompting you to enter your iCard barcode number and PIN. You can easily obtain the 4-digit PIN you need by contacting the LIbrary.
Follow these links to find other types of sources:
Follow these links to find other types of sources:
This website is the copyrighted work of Stéphane-D. Perreault and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Materials from external sources are acknowledged as such and used with permission. Use or adaptation of the material on this website without author's permission and attribution constitutes a violation of this license. Commercial use prohibited.
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