Before you begin to search for research, think about what you need. Do you need an answer a specific question? Are you comparing different subjects? After all, if you simply type "exercise" and hit submit, then thousands of sources will appear.
An encyclopedia, handbook, or other reference source can be a good starting point for learning about major concepts on a broad topic. Lengthy articles can outline the subdivisions of a topic, give different perspectives, and report recent trends or scholarship.
Reference works are all about the FACTS! Encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, and other collections of information are useful for quickly identifying key facts or researching background information. You can locate them by searching Worldcat@SU. Below are just a few of the reference books in our collection you may find useful.
Not all reference works are in the reference collection. And not all reference works are dictionaries and encyclopedias. Search for reference works with "guide" or "handbook" in the title [or replace with different indicative words " "]. However, some materials don't always use these key words in the title, so read its description first before determining whether it is a reference work.
add from catalog a reference book. provide title, author, image, WorldCat url
Your professors do not want you to cite Wikipedia in your papers, but it can be a good place to start finding background information on your topic. The video below can show you how to use Wikipedia to your benefit when starting scholarly research.
The following links provide insight into how often Wikipedia changes and Wikipedia's accuracy: