Reference books provide background information on a topic, such as definitions of terms, key figures and events, and well written overviews. They can be a useful starting point for any research project, because they fill in missing knowledge about the topic or provide you with the language of the discipline.
Selected books from our Reference collection:
The Grove dictionary of art. From renaissance to impressionism : styles and movements in western art 1400-1900
William Shakespeare: his world, his work, his influence
Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
Search selected dictionaries and encyclopedias from Oxford University Press:
Examples:
Examples:
Search Sage Knowledge for indepth, authoritative background information on social sciences topics.
Formerly known as the Blackwell Reference Online, here you will be provided with authoritative, scholarly reference sources (dictionaries, handbooks and companions) in the social sciences and humanities.
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"The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. "
