Why Reference Sources?
Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper? Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?
Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases. Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run. Use reference sources to:
- find a topic
- narrow your topic
- find keywords
- get background information on your topic
Many general Economic reference books can be found near the Call Number HB 61, in both the Reference and General collections.
Collections of Many Online Reference Books in one place:
Credo Reference and Gale eBooks / Gale Virtual Reference Library and Salem Press
Oxford Reference and Sage Knowledge Reference also have thousands of scholarly, academic articles, but they are a bit more difficult to use. Click here to find instructions on how to use these collections of reference books.
A to Z of the Welfare State
Allsides Red Blue Dictionary
A Biographical Dictionary of Dissenting Economists
A Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists
Collins Dictionary of Economics
Economics A to Z (from The Economist)
The Economics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Encyclopedia of Business in Today's World
Encyclopedia of Keynesian Economics
Encyclopedia of Macroeconomics
Encyclopedia of Political Economy. Reference HB 61 .E 554 2001
Encyclopedia of Public Choice
Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
50 Economics Classics and 50 More Economics Classics (summaries of important books)
Government and the Economy: An Encyclopedia
Investopedia Dictionary
International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. Reference HM 548 .I 58 2006
Rogue Money and the Underground Economy : An Encyclopedia of Alternative and Cryptocurrencies.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society.
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Who's Who in Economics
List of COD databases about Statistics