The Reference section of Cook Library has many useful books like  subject encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and bibliographies that provide background information or overviews of a wide variety of topics. 

Increasingly, the Cook Library will be providing you with online access to encyclopedias. Currently, a number of these are listed alphabetically with the Research Databases or in the Subject Guides. Full text of over sixty encyclopedias, mostly in the Social Sciences, can be found in Sage eReference available through Research Databases. The library is beginning to add the words "electronic reference sources" to other items available online through the Cook Library Catalog so that you will be able to easily search for and/or identify online reference sources.

These types of resources can be an excellent place to start your research.

Ask a Librarian to suggest which books will be most useful for you in your research.

Librarian’s Internet Index

Search this Web directory, created by librarians, to find links to reliable Web sites on a variety of popular topics.

Look for your topic in CQ Researcher, available online through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]

This magazine provides encyclopedic-like articles on current topics. Each article, of about 20 pages in length, identifies major issues surrounding a topic, and provides a chronology, statistics, charts & graphs, a debate question, and a bibliography of additional articles from current periodicals.

MedlinePlus
This Web site, sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, is a great place to begin research on medical topics.

Also try Merck Manuals, another good source of medical information.

For articles on current academic topics:

Use Academic Search [Ebsco], available through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]

Some examples of academic topics might be: pollution; space shuttle; AIDS; eating disorders; suicide; and juvenile delinquency. For more extensive coverage of topics, use the subject-oriented databases such as SocINDEX, PsycINFO, Historical Absracts, and Medline.

For articles on current popular topics:

Use MasterFILE [Ebsco], available through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]

Some examples of popular topics might be: travel; haunted houses; pets; and movie stars. This database indexes more magazines and nonprofessional-type publications than Academic Search.

For articles on medical topics:

Use Health Reference Center - Academic or Health Source: Consumer Edition, available through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]

When searching in Health Reference Center - Academic, click on the Subject-Guide Search tab and type in the name of the medical condition that you are researching.

• If you click on the subject, you will then be able to find encyclopedia (book) articles that will provide overviews of a medical condition.
• If you instead click on the link Subdivisions, you will be able to search by subtopics such as care & treatment, causes, diagnosis, personal narratives, and research.

Some examples of medical topics might be: anorexia; Down's Syndrome; diabetes; and depression. These databases index a wider selection of medical publications than Academic Search.

For biographical information:

This database not only provides biographies that were originally published in books, but may also provide a select group of magazine articles about a person.

FedStats: One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics

• Topic Links - Alphabetical list of topics with links to statistical sources
• Statistical Reference Shelf - Links to government statistical publications on various topics
• Search the entire site by keyword
  

Statistical Resources on the Web (University of Michigan)  

This site lists links to organizational, federal, state, and international providers of statistical information.

World Almanac.  1918- [annual]
Latest edition kept at Reference desk. [Ref AY67 N5W7]

Also available in Academic Search from 2000 to date, available through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]

Once in Academic Search, type   world almanac   next to the box that is labeled Publications: and enter your keyword search in the search box.

Newspaper articles are a good source of quotes. Search for newspaper articles on your topic in the New York Times, available through the Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. [Access through Research Port from off campus.]  

For famous quotations on various subjects try:

Librarian’s Internet Index
 
Type the word quotations and click on [Search LII]. This Web sites is a reliable source that is maintained by librarians.