Research Guides: Humanities Capstone: Background & Reference Sources

Using reference sources to contextualize your research

Reference materials, sometime called tertiary sources or background sources are often a useful place to start your research project. This category includes sources such as:

encyclopedias
dictionaries/grammars
introductions
handbooks
chronologies
gazetteers
biographies

These sources can be a good starting place for your research, and a good place to return to throughout your research. They help you frame & contextualize your topic; introduce you to key terms, people, and timelines related to your topic; and often include very good bibliographies that you can use to start your research.

Finding reference sources in our collection

I recommend using the advanced search option our library website, where you can use a combination of keywords relevant to your subject area of interest, as well as keywords that focus on appropriate reference source types, such as:

Finding reference sources online

Wikipedia is probably the reference source that most people know about - and it's true that many Wikipedia entries can be very good, and include useful bibliographies. But Wikipedia doesn't hold up to the level of rigor expected of your capstone, so I also suggest the following alternatives, which you can find in our library's databases. There is a full list of all our reference databases here - below is a selected list:

American National Biography (ANB) This link opens in a new window
American National Biography (ANB) contains biographical essays and topical articles on the lives of noteworthy deceased Americans to the present.
There are specially selected collections covering American Indian Heritage, Asian Pacific American Heritage, Black History, Hispanic Heritage, Women's History.
Brill Online Reference Works This link opens in a new window
Brill Online is a searchable suite of databases. NYU's subscription includes the following: Brill's New Pauly, Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Encyclopaedia of the Quran, Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, Brockelmann Online, Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics and Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World.
Columbia Gazetteer of the World This link opens in a new window
The Columbia Gazetteer of the World is an encyclopedia of geographical places and features. Most entries have details on where the place is located, its dimensions and borders, and information on economic activities, demographics, history, and former or alternate names and different spellings and pronunciations.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism This link opens in a new window
The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism [DDB] (電子佛教辭典) is a compilation of Chinese ideograph-based terms, texts, temple, schools, persons, etc. found in Buddhist canonical sources.
Encyclopedia Britannica This link opens in a new window
Search authoritative entries on a number of topics.
Grove Music Online This link opens in a new window
Grove Music Online is today's most comprehensive English-language encyclopedia of music.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism This link opens in a new window
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is a reference guide to literary theory. The Guide includes entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.
Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new window
The Oxford Research Encyclopedias (OREs) offer long-form overview articles written, peer-reviewed, and edited by leading scholars. Each of the twenty-five distinct encyclopedias cover both foundational and cutting-edge topics in order to develop, over time, an anchoring knowledge base for major areas of research across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online covers all aspects of philosophy, providing access to over 2,700 articles that have been edited for level and consistency by a team of subject experts. Regularly updated with new and revised articles, it is an ideal entry point for further discovery and research, with over 25,000 cross-references that link themes, concepts, and philosophers.