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The Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library

Honors US History: Civil War Podcast Project: Online Reference Sources

START YOUR RESEARCH HERE

The print and electronic sources below are encyclopedias and other reference sources that will give you a broad overview of your subject:

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

This will allow you to better understand where the specific information you find later fits in the bigger picture.

Make note of terms relating to your topic which you can then use when searching for secondary sources (books and journal articles) and primary sources. Examples: Names of people; important dates; relevant legislation; words or expressions unique to your topic. These are your "keywords."  You will also use these keywords to search in the index of your ebooks.

General Search Tips:

  • Search phrases in quotation marks. For example: "New Deal" or "Great Depression".
  • Look for terms on your search results page indicating overview articles, such as Encyclopedia, Reference, Overview.
  • Look for Filter Results, Filters, or Document Type and then look for terms indicating overview articles.

Examples of Reference Sources: Almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, dictionaries / thesauruses, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes.

Databases containing encyclopedias and reference sources

Online Subscription Databases Containing Reference Sources

NoodleTools Citation Tips for Electronic Reference Sources

PLEASE NOTE: Do not copy and paste complete citations from electronic sources. NoodleTools cannot generate footnotes from copied and pasted citations.

 

For a new citation, click on +New Source.

To cite an encyclopedia / reference source, first choose the NoodleTools option that best describes where you found it.

  • Database = a Taft Subscription Database such as Gale in Context: U. S. History
  • Website = an encyclopedia found through a search engine such as Google. Here's an example: New Georgia Encyclopedia

Next, you will choose what type of source you are citing. In this case, Reference Source.

If you found the article in a Taft Subscription Database such as Gale in Context: U. S. History:

  • Enter information about your access to the article:
    • The permanent URL to the article (Look for any of the following on the article page: permalink, persistent link, stable link, durable link, "Get link", or Cite)
    • The name of the database (select from the My library's databases drop-down menu)
    • The date you accessed the article.
  • Enter information about the specific article you used.
  • Enter information about the encyclopedia as a whole.

If you are citing an article on a website you found using a search engine such as Google:

  • Information about your access to the article:
    • The URL to the article 
    • The date of publication if given (may be at the top or the bottom of the article)
    • Your date of access.
  • information about the article you used.
  • The title of the online encyclopedia (or the name of the website).

Note: Reference sources found in a Taft Subscription Database can also be cited in NoodleTools using the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) if provided. If you don't find it, we can help you.

If you have any questions,  Mr. Padgett or Ms. Taylor are happy to help!