Find Encyclopedias & Background: List of encyclopedias
Many of our encyclopedias are online and many are specialty reference books about specific topics. GVRL, IEP, Encyclopedia of Gender, Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Reliable, Credible, & Factual
Encyclopedias are a great place to start your research. They can help you get acquainted with a topic without wading into the opinions or perspectives often seen in journalistic resources such as newspaper or magazine articles.
The five-volume Encyclopedia of Human Rights, edited by David Forsythe, offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of human rights theory, practice, law, and history in over 300 entries signed by leading scholars and human rights experts. The coverage includes major figures, organizations and institutions, human rights events and crises, and human rights norms.
American Decades Primary Sources, 10v, 2004
American Inaugurals: The Speeches, The Presidents, and Their Times, 2002
Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, 5v, 2005
Datapedia of the United States: American History in Numbers, 4th ed., 2007
Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America, 3v, 2004
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, 2nd ed., 4v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Sex & Gender, 2007
Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations, 2nd ed., 2007
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, 6v, 2005
Law
Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, 3rd ed., 14v, 2011
Literature
African Writers, 2v, 1997
Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome, 2v, 1982
Gothic Literature: A Gale Critical Companion, 3v, 2006
Latin American Writers, 3v, 1989
Latin American Writers: Supplement 1, 2002
Latino and Latina Writers, 2v, 2004
Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage, 2v, 1998
Poets: American and British, 3v, 1998
Science Fiction Writers: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, 2nd ed., 1999
Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror, 2nd ed., 2v, 2003
World Poets, 3v, 2000
Writers for Children: Critical Studies of Major Authors Since the Seventeenth Century, 1988
Writers for Young Adults, 3v, 1997
Writers for Young Adults: Supplement 1, 2000
Medicine
Complete Human Diseases and Conditions, 3v, 2008
The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 3rd ed., 4v, 2009
The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 2nd ed., 4v, 2005
The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2v, 2003
The Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders, 2v, 2005
Multicultural Studies
Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America, 3v, 2004
Nation and World
New Encyclopedia of Africa, 2nd ed., 5v, 2008
Terrorism Reference Library, 4v, 2003
Religion
The Books of the Bible, 2v, 1989
Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2v, 2003
Science
Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, 4v, 2005
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) was founded in 1995 as a non-profit organization to provide open access to detailed, scholarly information on key topics and philosophers in all areas of philosophy. This is a peer reviewed, academic resource.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.
As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You’ll still find these in the OED, but you’ll also find the history of individual words, and of the language—traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to films scripts and cookery books.
From the description: "Welcome to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP). From its inception, the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public. Consequently, our dynamic reference work maintains academic standards while evolving and adapting in response to new research.:
Original, comprehensive weekly reporting and analysis by seasoned journalists on health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Includes introductory overview, background and chronology, current assessment, tables, maps; pro/con statements, and bibliographies of key sources.
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Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present by 
Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media by 
Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste by 
