How to Use Encyclopedias
Why Use Reference Sources (encyclopedias, handbooks, or Wikipedia)?
- Get a good and quick summary and history of a topic, term or issue.
- Focus your topic and place it properly within the context of the field of study
- Find alternate search words to help locate relevant materials in the scholarly literature.
Can I Cite an Encyclopedia (or Wikipedia) in my Paper?
Ask your instructor, but normally, encyclopedias provide insufficient information when researching a topic. Instead, use them as a starting point to understand the scope and terminology associated with your topic, so that you can begin in-depth research.
Opposing Viewpoints: Health Issues
These are great places to get pro/con and overview information about broad topics in health and medicine:
Reference Tools
- DSM-5 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition
A guide for classification of mental disorders with associated criteria designed to facilitate more reliable diagnoses of these disorders. SUNY Empire Login Required
- Drug Information PortalSearch several gov't resources at one time for more than 12,000 drugs.
- MedlinePlusFrom the National Library of Medicine. Includes an encyclopedia, overviews of most medical conditions, drugs, supplements and health topics, etc.
- Merck ManualsManuals of Diagnosis and Therapy, Health and Aging, and Geriatrics
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