Library Research Guides: History Research Guide: Background Research

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Oxford University Press has published numerous reference collections that are often a great place to start a history research project.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias
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Lengthy articles on a wide variety of subjects in the areas of:
- African History
- American History
- Anthropology
- Asian History
- International Studies
- Latin American History
- Literature
- Politics
- Religion
- And More!
Oxford Handbooks Online: History
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Access to texts in the Oxford handbooks history series. Includes introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in history.
Offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in history.

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Annotated bibliographies on the following topics:
- African Studies
- Art History
- Cinema and Media Studies
- Islamic Studies
- Jewish Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Latino Studies
- Medieval Studies
- Music
- Public Health
- Renaissance and Reformation

Select Topical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Blackwell Companions
The Blackwell Companion series cover a huge range of topics, including topics of interest to historians and history students.

Brepolis Medieval Encyclopedia
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Combines access to the Lexikon des Mittelalters with a supplement, the International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages. The Lexikon des Mittelalters online contains some 37,000 signed articles and covers all aspects of medieval studies for the period 300 to 1500.
Geographically it includes all of Europe and parts of Western Asia and North Africa. The International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages Online complements the Lexikon and fills in gaps in its coverage. New material is added each year.
New Pauly Online
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Unrivalled reference work for the ancient world, including fifteen volumes on Greco-Roman antiquity, and five volumes on the Classical Tradition.
Brill's New Pauly is the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world.

The section on Antiquity of Brill´s New Pauly are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity and cover two thousand years of history, ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Special emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco-Roman culture on the one hand, and Semitic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavonic culture, and ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on the other hand.

The section on the Classical Tradition is concerned with the aftermath of antiquity and the process of continuous reinterpretation and revaluation of the ancient heritage, including the history of classical scholarship. Many entries include maps and illustrations and the English edition will include updated bibliographic references.
Brill's Medieval Reference Library
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Access to reference works in medieval studies. Includes four Brill encyclopedias - Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage, Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle, Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450, and Brill's Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages.
Digital Encyclopedia of European History
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Offers an interdisciplinary approach to the European history of gender, wars, art, circulations and networks, as well as major ideologies and political debates.
Created in 2012 as part of the Investissements d'avenir, the LabEx EHNE aims to offer a new history of Europe, conceived from a global perspective, and which goes beyond solely institutional aspects. This major project involves many historians who are committed to sharing knowledge and are convinced that the history of Europe is still to be written.
Encyclopaedia Brittanica This link opens in a new window
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Encyclopaedia Judaica
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Authoritative reference resource for Jewish knowledge and life
Encyclopaedia of Islam Online (English)
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The standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies; electronic access to the 2nd ed., enhanced by the inclusion of an Index of proper names and an Index of subjects, and the ongoing 3rd ed.
Oxford Classical Dictionary, Third Edition
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Reference work on the classical world. Covers all aspects of ancient life - political, economic, philosophical, religious, artistic, and social. Includes over six thousand entries ranging from long articles to brief definitions. There is substantial coverage of women in the ancient world, sexuality, Asia and the Far East, Judaism, and early Christians. Thematic articles reflect the current emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches to classical studies.
Oxford Reference Library
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Reference resources from the Oxford University Press. Includes English dictionaries and thesauruses, English language reference books, bilingual dictionaries, quotations, maps and illustrations, timelines and subject reference sources.
Wiley Online Library
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Provides access to over 3 million journal articles, online books, major reference works, and leading industry databases. See especially their overviews of many historical topics.

Biographical Information

American National Biography
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Includes over 19,000 biographies of significant, influential, or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars, reflecting the diversity of American life from pre-colonial times to the present day.
Also includes illustrations, and hyperlinked cross-references and links.
Ancestry Library Edition
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Popular consumer online genealogy resource that includes birth, death, and marriage records as well as searchable manuscript census records for the U.S. 1790-1930. Similar records are also available for the U.K., Germany, and a few other countries. Only works with the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari browsers.
Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
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Biography is built on a foundation of more than 600,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study.
Providing coverage of the most searched and studied people, Biography includes over 5,000 portal pages on contemporary and historical figures. Reference content is offered alongside videos, audio selections, images, primary sources, and magazine and journal articles from hundreds of major periodicals and newspapers. This resource is continuously updated.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
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Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) provides more than 20 million biographical citations on more than 6 millions persons, living and deceased, from all fields of activity, covering more than 2,000 years of human history.
BGMI indexes entries from reference books such as Who's Who in America or the Dictionary of National Biography. It covers contemporary and historical figures, indicates birth and death dates and gives the title and edition in which relevant entries can be found.
Current Biography Illustrated (H.W. Wilson)
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Full text biographies, images, and obituaries from the entire run of Current Biography
Marquis Who’s Who
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Database containing profiles on over 1.5 million individuals from all fields, including: government, business, science and technology, the arts, entertainment, and sports. Search by name, gender, occupation, geography, hobbies and interests, religion and more.
Includes access to current biographies of all individuals who appeared in any one of the following Marquis print titles since 1985:

Marquis Biographies Online
Who’s Who in America
Who’s Who in the World
Who’s Who of American Women
Who’s Who in Science and Engineering
Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare
Who’s Who in American Art
Who’s Who in American History
Who’s Who in American Politics

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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Biographies of those who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century.
Online version of the 60-volume print Oxford DNB, published September, 2004, a major revision of the original Dictionary of National Biography and its supplements. Since 2005 regular updates have extended the Dictionary’s coverage, now including biographies of more than 60,000 people who died in or before the year 2016.

History Research Guide

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Select Topical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Biographical Information

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History Research Guide

Best Bets

Select Topical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Biographical Information

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Featured Databases

IU Libraries