Books and articles are great. But, they are not always the best place to start! You can save a lot of time by starting with reference type resources —like encyclopedia articles.
Why we ♥ academic encyclopedia articles
- They present concise summaries (aka, SHORT - not a lot to read)
- Academic encyclopedia articles are written by scholars who are experts in their fields, scholars whose work you may want to use
- These articles often include short bibliographies that identify the most important works on a topic (again, you may want to cite these in your work)
- Scholarly encyclopedia articles are a quick way to get up to speed on subject-specific jargon, important people and places, critical events, etc.
How to find great subject-specific encyclopedias
- Search the FAMU library catalog using the Advanced Search feature. Enter your search terms and using the LOCATION field, limit results to 'Coleman, Reference'
- Search our online encyclopedias - see the box below.
- Ask a librarian or your professor what the most important reference work is for this class!
Timesaver! Remember, even if you can't use an encyclopedia article as a source for your final project, encyclopedias can give you a jump start, lead you to quality sources you CAN cite, and save a lot of time!
