What Are Reference Sources?
Reference materials provide well-researched, usually concise, information—for example, facts, definitions, histories, overviews of a topic, statistics—on a large subject area (e.g., sociology or dance) or for a type of data (e.g., biographies or directories). They pack lots of information into one easy-to-find place, and support student research in a number of ways:
- Quick access to simple, reliable, factual information in sources such as dictionaries, polls, and biographies.
- General overviews and introductions to fields and terms you may not be familiar with in sources such as encyclopedias and topical guidebooks.
- Referral to additional information sources that offer more detail or lead to journal articles and other kinds of materials, such as subject-specific indexes and encyclopedias.
Many reference works are available online and are accessible through links from the library catalog and from subject or course guides, but many valuable reference resources are still available only in print. Because print-only reference books can be in high demand, most recent editions are kept in separate, non-circulating reference collection in most UCLA Library locations..
General Online Reference Resources
Use these reference resources to provide an overview of your topic. If connecting from home, make sure that your computer is configured for off-campus access and that you have logged in to the proxy server or VPN.
- Gale E-Books (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
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Online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and specialized reference sources, primarily in the social sciences and humanities.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Spans 25 different subject areas, bringing together 2 million digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias. UC subscription allows limited simultaneous users, so if you can't connect try again later.
- Reference Universe This link opens in a new window
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A good place to start, but note that it is an index to over 15 million articles in 11,000 subject encyclopedias and handbooks, both print and online and does not provide full-text articles. Instead, it will connect you to our catalog so you know where to find the appropriate encyclopedia, dictionary or other reference work. You will be linked to UCLA's holdings for any entries you find.
Online Encyclopedias, Biographies, and Other Reference Tools
- American National Biography Online This link opens in a new window
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Biographies of more than 19,000 men and women who have influenced American history.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
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See articles on Anthropology and/or Archaeology. - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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An illustrated collection of 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2000.
- SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
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E-books and reference works in the social sciences. Includes scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more. Includes books published by both Sage and CQ Press. UCLA subscribes to only a small fraction of the books available, and not all content from Sage. - World Biographical Information System Online (WBIS) This link opens in a new window
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Contains biographical profiles of people from all centuries as well as all countries and regions worldwide. Compiles biographical articles from printed reference works published from the 16th to the 20th century, and reproduces these original documents as facsimile images on the screen.
Print and Online Reference Works
The UCLA Library has many useful reference sources available in print or online, including the titles below.
Routledge Handbook of Asian American Studies by Call Number: YRL : E184.A75 R68 2017, and onlineISBN: 9780415738255Date: 2016The Routledge Handbook of Asian American Studies brings together leading scholars and scholarship to capture the state of the field of Asian American Studies, as a generation of researchers have expanded the field with new paradigms and methodological tools. Inviting readers to consider new understandings of the historical work done in the past decades and the place of Asian Americans in a larger global context, this ground-breaking volume illuminates how research in the field of Asian American Studies has progressed.
Asian American Short Story Writers by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : PS153.A84 A828 2003ISBN: 9780313322297Date: 2003Asian America has produced numerous short-story writers in the 20th century. Some emerged after World War II, yet most of these writers have flourished since 1980. The first reference of its kind, this volume includes alphabetically arranged entries for 49 nationally and internationally acclaimed Asian American writers of short fiction. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a survey of the writer's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies.
Cambridge History of Asian American Literature by Call Number: onlineISBN: 9781107053953Date: 2015The Cambridge History of Asian American Literature presents a comprehensive history of the field, from its origins in the nineteenth century to the present day. It offers an unparalleled examination of all facets of Asian American writing that help readers to understand how authors have sought to make their experiences meaningful.
Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature Since 1945 by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : PS153.A84 C65 2006ISBN: 9780231126205Date: 2006Guiyou Huang traces the history of Asian American literature from the end of World War II to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Huang covers six genres: anthology, autobiography/memoir, drama, fiction, poetry, and short fiction; reviews major historical developments and social movements; explains key literary terms; and offers a narrative, A-to-Z guide of major Asian American writers and their works, plus their critical reception. This guide covers Canadian and U.S. authors with cultural and ethnic origins in East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife by Call Number: YRL : GR111.A75 E63 2011, and onlineISBN: 9780313350665Date: 2010This comprehensive compilation of entries documents the origins, transmissions, and transformations of Asian American folklore and folklife. Surveying the histories, peoples, and cultures of numerous Asian American ethnic and cultural groups, the work covers everything from ancient Asian folklore, folktales, and folk practices that have been transmitted and transformed in America to new expressions of Asian American folklore and folktales unique to the Asian American historical and contemporary experiences.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian American Literature and Culture by Call Number: onlineISBN: 9780190699819Date: 2020In the past four decades, the field of Asian American literary and cultural studies has grown enormously, expanding its areas of inquiry beyond reflection on the straight-line patterns of immigration, assimilation, and citizenship to encompass issues such as transnational and diasporic identities and communities, the workings of imperialism, the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality, and social justice/human rights in a global context.
Routledge Companion to Asian American Media by Call Number: YRL : PN94.5.A75 R68 2017, and onlineISBN: 9781138846012Date: 2017The Routledge Companion to Asian American Media offers readers a comprehensive examination of the way that Asian Americans have engaged with media, from the long history of Asian American actors and stories that have been featured in mainstream film and television, to the birth and development of a distinctly Asian American cinema, to the ever-shifting frontiers of Asian American digital media.
Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : N6538.A83 H35 2007ISBN: 9780313334511Date: 2007Painters, photographers, sculptors, and installation artists are among the seventy-five artists represented in this guide to Asian American artists. Within each entry, Kara Hallmark describes the artists' early life, education and training, and impact on the art world both in their country of heritage as well as the U.S.
Local Invisibility, Postcolonial Feminisms : Asian American Contemporary Artists in California by Call Number: Arts Library : N6538.A83 F36 2018, and onlineISBN: 9781137506696Date: 2018This book offers gendered, postcolonial insights into the poetic and artistic work of four generations of female Asian American artists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Asian American History Day by Day by Call Number: onlineISBN: 9780313399275Date: 2018For student research, this reference highlights the importance of Asian Americans in U.S. history, the impact of specific individuals, and this ethnic group as a whole across time; documenting evolving policies, issues, and feelings concerning this particular American population.
Atlas of Asian-American History by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : E184.O6 .A89 2002ISBN: 9780816036998Date: 2001Featuring detailed maps and authoritative text, Atlas of Asian-American History offers an in-depth look at the political and social history of this diverse ethnic group. This important volume addresses an often-neglected area of our cultural studies, telling the story of not one group of people but many.
Columbia Guide to Asian American History by Call Number: Powell Library, and YRL Reference Reading Room : E184.O6 C64 2001ISBN: 9780231115100Date: 2001Offering a rich and insightful road map of Asian American history as it has evolved over more than 200 years, this book marks the first systematic attempt to take stock of this history. It examines, comments, and questions the changing assumptions and contexts underlying the experiences and contributions of an incredibly diverse population of Americans, who began arriving in the 1790s.
Asian American Leadership by Call Number: YRL : E184.A75 A841442 2015ISBN: 9780990730040Date: 2015An authoritative, up-to-date reference guide organized in A to Z fashion covering all the major inter-disciplinary themes related to individual and group leadership in the Asian American communities and beyond. Key themes include Asian American academic, business, political, scientific and sports leadership.
Distinguished Asian American Political and Governmental Leaders by Call Number: YRL Reference Biographical Resources : E184.O6 .N35 2002ISBN: 9781573563253Date: 2002Asian Americans have made countless distinguished contributions to American society. Like other American racial minorities who have historically been denied opportunities within the American electoral system, Asian Americans have worked steadily to participate in U.S. politics and its judicial system. Asian Americans have a long history of seeking social justice and equal treatment by challenging discriminatory laws and practices in education, employment, housing, land ownership, immigration, and other significant public-policy issue areas.
Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : E184.A75 E53 2010ISBN: 9780313347498Date: 2009This is a revealing compilation of essays on the latest research and debates on Asian Americans, a growing and influential ethnic group today. Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today is the first major reference work focused on the full expanse of contemporary Asian American experiences in the United States. Drawing on over two decades of research, it takes an unprecedented look at the major issues confronting the Asian American community as a whole, and the specific ethnic identities within that community.
Asian American Society by Call Number: YRL : E184.A75 A84167 2014, and onlineISBN: 9781452281902Date: 2014Asian Americans are a growing minority population in the United States. After a 46 percent population growth between 2000 and 2010 according to the 2010 Census, there are 17.3 million Asian Americans today. Yet Asian Americans as a category are a diverse set of peoples from over 30 distinctive Asian-origin subgroups that defy simplistic descriptions or generalizations. They face a wide range of issues and problems within the larger American social universe despite the persistence of common stereotypes.
Asian America : Sociological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives by Call Number: onlineISBN: 9780745647043Date: 2014Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority population in the country. In this timely new text, Pawan Dhingra and Robyn Magalit Rodriguez critically examine key sociological topics through the experiences of Asian Americans, including social hierarchies (of race, gender, and sexuality), work, education, family, culture, identity, media, pan-ethnicity, social movements, and politics.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Directory : For Los Angeles and Orange Counties by Call Number: YRL Reference Reading Room : HV3186.L6 A87Date: 2008Directory of service providers for Asians and Asian Americans who reside in Los Angeles and Orange County.- Asian Americans : A Statistical Sourcebook by Call Number: YRL : E184.A75 A842647Date: 2009A statistical periodical about Asian Americans.
Dissertations and Theses
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
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Index to doctoral dissertations from 1637 to the present, with abstracts since 1980. A number of master's theses are also indexed, with abstracts since 1988. Many are available for download in pdf format. UCLA has access to all full text dissertations in the database. Non-UCLA users may use Dissertations Express to purchase digital or print copies of individual dissertations. - WorldCat Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window
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Over 5 million dissertations and theses available in OCLC member libraries. Many theses are available electronically, at no charge, directly from the publishing institution. UCLA students, faculty, and staff can request non-UCLA dissertations via interlibrary loan.
- Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Foreign DissertationsSearch the CRL Catalog for dissertations already held at the Center. If a foreign dissertation is not at CRL, UCLA's Interlibrary Loan Service will request that CRL acquire it for your use. This special issue of Focus on Global Resources describes CRL's extensive collection of foreign dissertations.