ISF 189 & 190: Thesis: Encyclopedias

Using specialized encyclopedias to become familiar with your topic is the most efficient way to get started on your research. These encyclopedias, written by knowledgeable scholars, will summarize your topic, provide you with social and historical context, familiarize you with specialized terminology, and often provide lists of additional resources on your topic. They are providing you in condensed form information from multiple books and articles. Think of them as CliffsNotes ... that you are allowed to use.

Try a combination like this in UC Library Search:

1. Use the keyword search so that it looks for the words everywhere in the record.
2. The asterisk is a truncation symbol, which will retrieve variations of the word: ethic, ethics, ethical, etc.
3. Use AND in caps to combine your search terms.
4. To find print encyclopedias, limit your search to UC Berkeley catalog. Otherwise, use the default "Articles, books and more."

Try different terminology and be persistent. If you are not finding a relevant resource, be sure to ask for help.

An excellent place to start is the Oxford Research Encyclopedia platform, which hosts encyclopedias on 25 topics, including Business and Management, Communication, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, Education, Environmental Science, Global Public Health, International Studies, Politics, Psychology, Religion, and Social Work. Thse encyclopedias include in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries.

Look under Browse by Subject to select an encyclopedia or use the search box to search across all of the titles.