Why Dictionaries?
You want to sure you are using the correct word to express your ideas. If you are not sure, you should check the definition in a dictionary.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
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Includes the complete text of the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. plus quarterly updates of new and revised entries. Trace the origin and history of words and their meanings in this etymological dictionary.
- Merriam Webster OnlineA commercial site that has both a dictionary and thesaurus.
Online Encyclopedias and Other Sources
Encyclopedias can give you an overview or background of a new or unfamiliar topic you are working on.
- Africa Yearbook Online
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The Africa Yearbook covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socio-economic trends in sub-Sahara Africa. Volumes cover 2004-2016. - African Studies Companion Online: a guide to information sources
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An indispensable handbook; continuously updated e-version of the printed 4th edition (2006); covers all categories of information. Print edition is available at the UCLA Library. - The Cambridge History of AfricaFull-text searchable 8-volume history published by Cambridge University Press.
- Dictionary of African Christian BiographyA database containing the essential biographical facts of African Christian leaders, evangelists, and lay workers in Christian communities across Africa.
- Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and SocietyBrowse entries, look in the index or search for specific terms.
- Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and CultureMore than 500 entries cover history, literature, art, popular culture, politics, geography, sociology, demographics, and civil rights relating to Africans dispersed from their home continent in forced and voluntary migrations for economic, military, or mercantile reasons.
- Gale E-Books (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
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Searchable online, fulltext versions of subject encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, Encyclopedia of Social Problems and Encyclopedia of Sociology.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
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Check for overview articles in the various social sciences: e.g., Anthropology; Economics; Geography; Political Science; Psychology; Science; Social Welfare; Sociology
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Oxford University Press searchable versions of the latest edition of published dictionaries and encyclopedias. Search "african american" or africa* to find relevant entries. - Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History This link opens in a new window
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One of a series of Oxford Research Encyclopedias, presenting peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of topics, such as Anthropology, Business and Management, Climate Science, Communication, Criminology, Economics, Education, Global Public Health, History, Linguistics, Literature, Planetary Science, Politics, Psychology and Religion.
- UNESCO General History of AfricaThis 8-volume set is one of many resources on the UNESCO website that are about Africa. Search for africa in the search box to begin your search.
- UNESDOC - UNESCO Digital LibraryThe UNESCO Digital Library is the repository of UNESCO’s institutional memory and a source of high-quality information on UNESCO activities (in education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information), with more than 350,000 documents dating back to 1945.
Country Information
- ASC Country PortalLinks to many types of information about each African country-archives and institutions, map collections & interesting statistics, newsfeeds, economic & human rights information.
- Europa World Plus This link opens in a new window
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The online version of the Europa World Year Book and Europa Publications' nine-volume Regional Surveys of the World series, which cover political and economic information in more than 250 countries and territories and provide information on a variety of international organizations. Select Africa South of the Sahara.
Selected Print Reference Sources
A VERY selected list of print reference sources located in the YRL Reference Collection, the Powell Library Main Reading Room or the stack collection in either library. Click on the title to see the UCLA Library Catalog record to find the location and call number. When looking at the catalog record, you can click on a subject heading to see other books on the same topic.
- General History of AfricaIn 1964, UNESCO launched the General History of Africa project with a view to remedy the general ignorance of Africa’s history. The challenge consisted of reconstructing Africa’s history, promoting an African perspective. Also available online.
- The Kaiser Index to Black Resources, 1948-1986Also searchable as part of the Black Studies Center -- see link on the ONLINE RESOURCES tab.