The Library has many reference materials, which are helpful when you are starting your research as they give background information in a concise, authoritative, intuitive way.
There are general encyclopedias that contain all kinds of information as well as subject encyclopedias, which focus on one particular subject such as religion, nursing, education, or management. For example, there is The Encyclopedia of Gambling in America and The Dictionary of Social Work Terms. These reference books can help you select a topic and also narrow your topic down so you can focus on one aspect of it.
There are two ways to access reference materials. The first is by coming to the Library and using the ones here in print. These books cannot be checked out, but you can photocopy their pages. The second way is by looking at those we have available online.
Gale Virtual Reference Library - a collection of electronic encyclopedias on a variety of subjects. There are several encyclopedias from the health sciences including The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, The Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health and The Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health.
IGI Global Research - A collection of over 450 online reference titles which focus on the use of computers in the health sciences. This is our best reference source for information on medical informatics and electronic health records.
Here is a sample of what is available in our collection of electronic encyclopedias for the Health Sciences.