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Math 232

Subject Specific Encyclopedias/Databases

Credo Reference: Credo Reference is an online collection of many reference books covering a wide variety of subjects, with entries covering such subjects as medicine, art, technology, law and more, all aggregated and integrated in a robust search engine

Gale Virtual Reference Library: The Gale Virtual Reference Library is an online full-text collection of valuable reference books in multiple subject areas. This collection includes many multidisciplinary reference e-books, including some with primary source documents.

Sage eReference General Search: Sage eReference provides access to many encyclopedias in a variety of academic disciplines, including Criminology & Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Social Issues, and Sociology

Lexis-Nexis Academic: General Search: Provides searchable access to a comprehensive spectrum of full-text information from over 5,600 sources, selected to meet academic needs covering news, business, legal, medical, reference resources. (Includes: National and regional newspapers, U.S. Federal and state case law; Shepard’s® Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases; and business news journals, company financial information, SEC filings & reports.)

Use of Wikipedia

Main site: Wikipedia

How it should be used:

  • Gather background information
  • Generate search terms
  • Find other resources in the bibliography/reference section

Cannot be cited because:

  • Currency (No guarantee when specific information has been updated)
  • Authority (Authors cannot be identified; not necessarily experts)
  • Point of View (Do not know if the author has bias)

Popular Magazines

Global Issues in Context: A database that explores broad current events and controversial topics from a global perspective. Information is arranged in topical “portals.” These portals provide a wide range of materials, including a brief overview of the topic, reference sources for background information, global news articles, images and videos, podcasts, primary source documents, scholarly journal articles, and more.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context: Resource that covers current topics and presents each side of the issue.

Evaluating Websites

1. Websites must be evaluated