Judy Reading & Mat Andrews

WISER: looking things upReference sources onlineThis session will introduce some useful online reference resources such as biographical sources, encyclopaedias, dictionaries and handbooks for questions requiring quick answers.

What will you learn in this session?

• Which general online databases on OxLIP can be used to find quick answers to a range of questions

• Which subject- or area- specific online databases will help most in finding quick answers, in particular questions about people and statistics

• How to make basic searches on these databases

Why not just use Wikipedia or Google?

• Facts not opinion: anyone can edit Wikipedia or put up a webpage; Wikipedia has a bias towards certain countries and types of information

• Go to the source: these resources are based on printed works which employ professional research teams – if facts on the internet are right, this is often where they will have originated

• Don’t waste time: you will find lots of inappropriate search results on Google

General online reference tools

• KnowUK

• Oxford Reference Online

• Science Direct

• Blackwell Reference Online

• CREDO

• Encyclopaedia Britannica

Ken Livingstone; sub-prime mortgages

Afon; St. Catherine; Jewish calendar

[conversions]; spleen

Blavatsky

Coeducation; asbestosis

Tidal power;[statistics]

Key individual resources

Look in Title list or within Subject List in OxLIP eg

•Oxford English Dictionary

•World of Learning

Look within the collections to see the titles they include eg Whitaker’s Almanack is in KnowUK

Subject or area specific resources

Look under Subject in OxLIP eg

•Grove Art Online

•Knovel Critical Tables

•If you have a query you can’t answer ask your subject librarian – see http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/collections/librarians

Biographical resources

Historical:

•Who Was Who (via KnowUK)

•Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

•American National Biography

•World Biographical Information System

Current:

KnowUK: Who’s Who, etc

Statistical resources

Statistical sources:

Social Science Library Data Search

CIA World FactFile

Nationmaster.com

National statistics

International organisations: UNESCO, OECD, World Bank, IMF

Databanks:Economic and Social Data Service for National and International data

UK Data Archive

SourceOECD

OU Data Library at Nuffield

Help from Mark Janes at Social Science Library and Jane Roberts at Nuffield

Any questions?

Ask an Oxford Librarian: http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/ask/

Bodleian Main Enquiry Desk (2)77162

Subject librarians listed at http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/collections/librarians

Your presenters:Judy Reading judy.reading@ouls.ox.ac.uk Mat Andrews matt.andrews@ouls.ox.ac.uk