LibGuides: AAST 395: Research Methods (Greene): Background Research

Getting background information and general facts about your topic is a good way to start your research. This not only helps you better understand your topic, but it also helps you formulate the boundaries of your research and key terms for your thesis statement. It can be a helpful guide to begin to narrow down your topic into a coherent and specific area.

Remember! Never cite an article from an encyclopedia in your research papers! You should be using these references as a jumping-off point or consulting and citing possible bibliographies at the end of an article.

Credo Reference

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Credo is a library database containing digital versions of encyclopedias and other reference works. Think of it as an academic Wikipedia, only curated by librarians instead of the general public.

Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History
This new set identifies and addresses broad themes critical to understanding the texture of the cultures, achievements, challenges, and promise of the 150 million people of African descent who live in North America, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. It is an authoritative and comprehensive source of Black history, figures, and accomplishments throughout the Americas now have a defining and current reference.
Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present
Focusing on the making of African American society from the 1896 "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson up to the contemporary period, this encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brown ruling that overturned Plessy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African American culture on the American cultural landscape.
Encyclopedia of Black Studies
The Encyclopedia of Black Studies will be the leading reference source for dynamic and innovative research on the Black Experience. More than a chronicle of black culture or black people, this encyclopedia deals with the emergence and maturity of an intellectual field over the past four decades.
Encyclopedia of African-American writing five centuries of contribution
A timely survey of an important sector of American letters, The Encyclopedia of African-American Writing covers the role and influence of African American cultural leaders, from all walks of life, from the 18th century to the present. Readers will explore what inspired various African-American writers to create poems, plays, short stories, novels, essays, opinion pieces and numerous other works, and how those writings contributed to culture in America today.
Encyclopedia of African American Business History
Black business activity has been sustained in America for almost four centuries. From the marketing and trading activities of African slaves in Colonial America to the rise of 20th-century black corporate America, African American participation in self-employed economic activities has been a persistent theme in the black experience. This invaluable encyclopedia is the only reference source providing information on the broad range of topics that illuminate black business history.