LibGuides: Communication Research Strategies: Find background information

Find background information

ITU Pictures. (2013, Jul. 9). ICT Discovery: UN Graduate Study Programme Visit. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/9291780154. Used under the Creative Commons License.

These Reference databases can help if you need to find some quick facts or background information on your topic.

Media History Digital Library
A free online resource, featuring millions of pages of books and magazines from the histories of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound. Led by Eric Hoyt at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gale E-Books This link opens in a new window
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Collection of ebook reference works in all disciplines including multivolume encyclopedias, biographical directories, business plan handbooks, consumer health references, dictionaries, etc.
Terms of Use
Oxford Reference Online: Premium This link opens in a new window
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Full-text to dictionaries, reference books, and encyclopedias published by Oxford University Press in a broad range of subjects: general reference, language, science and medicine, humanities and social sciences, and Business. 4 simultaneous users.

Oxford Very Short Introduction Series

Encyclopedia Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
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Full-text access to Encyclopedia Britannica and Book of the Year articles. Includes Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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Over 400 reference titles from over 70 publishers covering every major subject. Seamless searching of Credo Reference sources, the WSU Libraries Catalog, and other Libraries subscribed databases.
Terms of Use
Video tour of Credo Reference

Video tour of Credo Reference

Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window
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A collection of content for exploration into social issues from all perspectives. Providing pro/con viewpoint essays, topic overviews, biographies of social activists and reformers, court-case overviews, podcasts, primary source documents, and more.
Terms of Use
Google Account holders can login using their credentials to easily download and share articles, including highlights and notes, using Google Apps for Education tools like Drive and Docs.

Full guide to reference sources

The reference databases above are just a few of the most broad reference sources available to you. The WSU University Libraries offers many more, which you can find on the following separate guide.