Research Guides: Humanities Research: Background Information

Using General Sources for Background Research

General sources compile, summarize, index, or help identify scholarly sources on a topic. They are useful for background research or to get an overview of a topic before delving into secondary or primary sources. Common general sources for humanities include encyclopedias and established texts. A few recommended resources are listed below.

From this page you can

Access key resources for background research in humanities

Resources for Background Research in Humanities

General Humanities Books
This link will take you to the results list for "humanities" in the NJIT Library catalog, filtered by type of material (books) and subject (humanities). These general humanities texts will contain background information on subjects within the field.

Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)
Offers collection of peer-reviewed, full-text journals as well as magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos. Virtually covers every discipline ranging from astronomy, anthropology, biomedicine, engineering, health, law and literacy to mathematics, pharmacology, women’s studies, zoology and more.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (EBSCO)
Provides thousands of encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context)
Opposing Viewpoints is the online resource covering today's hottest social issues. This cross-curricular resource supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills and draw their own conclusions.
Literary Reference Center (EBSCO)
A comprehensive literary reference database, which provides users with a broad spectrum of reference information from antiquity to the present day. It contains detailed information on the most studied authors and their works and is an essential resource for public, academic and high school libraries.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP)
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an authoritative and comprehensive reference work devoted to philosophy that will remain useful to those in academia and the general public.