Reference materials are the best source for finding essential basic facts (a.k.a. background information) for any topic of research. Reference resources arrange information on people, events, times, dates, locations, statistics, and other useful facts. Reference sources are available in paper and as searchable electronic databases.
Examples of reference resources include bibliographies, biographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, statistics, atlases, and almanacs.
Check out our Reference Sources Research Guide for more options!
The library staff have found that these databases are excellent places to start!
