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What are Academic Encyclopedias?
- Also called reference works.
- Written by academics or subject specialists and sometimes peer reviewed.
- Not every academic field has them and some are more useful than others.
- Hard copy and online
- Can contain dozens, even up to thousands of short pieces on all aspects of a topic or on all issues in a discipline.
- Contains definitions and explanations of different terms.
Why do I need to use them?
- Use to understand key concepts
- You can confidently use these resources in academic research projects.
- Excellent way to find keywords, concepts and authors in the field that will help you find more information in library search tools.
- Usually contains lists of useful references.
How do I find them?
- Search Smart Subject Guides list encyclopedia in your field
- Selected Library Research Databases
- FindIt@Flinders Search:
Want to learn more?
See Wikipedia's own advice on using it as a tool for research:
What Are Academic Dictionaries?
- Subject specific dictionaries are written by specialists in the field and give definitions of the language, theorists and concepts used in that discipline.
Why do I need to use them?
- Can help to find keywords to define a topic for searching.
- Can help understand the terminology used in academic papers and books
How do I find them?
- Search Smart Subject Guides may list subject dictionaries
- Search FindIt@Flinders combining a broad keyword that defines your topic with dictionary
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Academic Word ListCollection of the most frequently occurring academic words. 570 word families that are most often found in a range of disciplines that are not often used in general Englsih.
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Oxford English DictionaryGuide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words past and present from across the English-speaking world. Traces the history of individual words, and of the language through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
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Macquarie Dictionary OnlineAustralian dictionary and thesaurus featuring easy, comprehensive and interactive searching of over 121,000 headwords and phrases and over 210,000 definitions.
What are handbooks, companions, casebooks, introductions & overviews?
- Some overlap with encyclopedias but usually provide more in depth theoretical overview of a topic.
- Often collections of overview chapters of different aspects of a subject.
- Academic publishers may specialise in a series of this kind of series. e.g. Cambridge Companions
Why would I use them?
- Good introduction to an academic discipline or specific field
- To understand the theories and research in the field, who are the important authors, as well as good reference lists of the most important contributions to the field.
- Usually academic and can be referenced in a bibilography or reference list.
How would I find them?
Search FindIt@Flinders combining a broad keyword that defines your topic with one of the folowing keywords:
- handbook
- companion
- introduction
- overview
- casebook
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