| Using Subject Reference Collections Effectively |
| Uses of Subject Encyclopedias |
| Topic Discovery: An excellent source of potential research paper topics on a given subject. |
| Background and Summary: Concise essays on specific topics that may be hard to find elsewhere or that screen massive quantities of publications (i.e., Shakespeare) and summarize the current thinking, and present the most useful titles. Historical and topical survey articles set a clear and understandable context for further research work. Useful for undergraduates or specialists looking for authoritative information outside their own discipline. |
| Access to "Best Titles:" Authoritative citations to a selection of books and articles for further reading/research on a topic. |
| Teaching Tools: Article bibliographies provide clear and varied citation examples for in-class exercises on how to read and use citations. |
| Generating Synonyms: Article titles, article essays, and index entries are useful for generating synonyms for subject searching and alternative forms of proper names (wars, persons, geography) more useful than your initial search word choice. |
| Ways of Approaching Subject Reference. Example: Psychology |
| By Sub-discipline | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Developmental
|
Experimental |
Educational |
|
| Social |
Clinical |
Physiological/ Neurological |
| By Mental Function | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence |
Memory |
Learning |
Sleep |
Phobias |
| By Type of Training [main LC Class] Typical degrees granted |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology or Counseling Psychology [BF] PhD or MS |
Psychiatry [RC] MD + additional training |
Psychoanalysis [RC] any degree + specialized training |
Social Work [HV] MSW |
| By Type of Encyclopedia or Dictionary. Example: Psychology. |
| Multi-disciplinary Encyclopedias: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. (Elsevier, Olin Ref, 26 volumes) |
| Encyclopedias of the Discipline: Encyclopedia of Psychology. (Oxford/APA, Olin & Uris Ref, 8 volumes) |
| Sub-disciplinary Encyclopedias: Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming. (Maxwell, Uris Ref) |
| Dictionaries of Terminology: Dictionary of Psychology. (Oxford, Uris Ref and online) |
| Dictionaries of Big Ideas: Dictionary of Theories, Laws, and Concepts in Psychology. (Greenwood, Olin Ref) |
| Biographical Dictionaries: Biographical Dictionary of Psychology. (Routledge, Olin Ref) [also ANB, DNB] |
| Through Bibliographic Sources |
| Online Subject Guides: Psychology, A Research Guide. - List of all guides. |
| Searchable Databases of Encyclopedias: Reference Universe. Remember to click "Restrict Search to Titles in your Library " |
| Reference Bibliography: Guide to Reference Books. 11th ed. edited by Robert Balay. [aka Sheehy, Winchell, etc.] (ALA) |
| Library Gateway: Find Databases. [go to Social Sciences section; click Psychology] |
| Online Reference Collections: Xreferplus and Oxford Reference Online. |
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/psyc.html
Last updated on 15 September 2005 [w/ page breaks for printing]
Comments to Michael Engle
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu