Research Guides: ENGL 1123 (Rader): Reference Sources and Background Materials

Reference Sources and Background Materials

Reference sources like Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks can help you better understand the background of your topic and make scholarly articles (which are very detailed) easier to read.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries available at Langara
A full list of online encyclopedias and dictionaries available at Langara Library.

Suggested resources include:

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
A collection of specialized reference works covering many topics, including literary criticism, history, and social context. Search the entire collection at once, or select specific titles to look through. You will need to login with your Langara email & password to use these resources when not on campus. Suggested titles for browsing:

International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Call Number: Online & Print
Articles and biographies contributed by scholars from around the world on a wide array of global topics in the social sciences.

Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality: Understanding Biology, Psychology, and Culture
Call Number: Online
Providing a comprehensive framework for the broad subject of human sexuality, this set offers a context of historical development, scientific discovery, and sociopolitical and sociocultural movements, and overviews major sexuality issues in American and global culture. Themes include sexual health and reproduction, sexual identity and orientation, sexual behaviors and expression, the history of sex and sexology, and sex and society.

Short Stories for Students
Call Number: Online & Print
This series provides author biographies, plot summaries, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overviews, and criticism for commonly-studied short stories.

Literature Resource Center (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Search journals, reference works, and primary sources for critical articles, literary and cultural analysis and biographies.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new window
The Oxford Research Encyclopedias (OREs) offer long-form overview articles written, peer-reviewed, and edited by leading scholars. The OREs cover both foundational and cutting-edge topics in order to develop, over time, an anchoring knowledge base for major areas of research across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.