LibGuides: COMM 111: Public Speaking: Finding background info & facts

Finding background info & facts: encyclopedias & reference sources

Reference books like encyclopedias and dictionaries are a great place to find information about your topic, especially facts and statistics. Many reference books are accessible using the databases you see above (unfolding in tabs to the right of this page).

BiblioArchives. (2012, Mar. 1). Young Girl Reading a Book. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/15155101189/. Used under the Creative Commons License.

Girl reading a book

Search for topics in all areas, including history, science, technology, and more. You can also look at specific electronic reference books. Click on the link below to access Gale Virtual Reference Library.

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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

You can search for topics, browse different types of references books (Encyclopedias, Biographies, Dictionaries, Quotations, etc) or look at topic guides. Click on the link below to access Credo Reference.

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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

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 Reference Online

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.

More reference books, divided up by subject area, are available from this hyperlink.