University Library at St. Cloud State University

Topic Ideas, Facts, and Overviews

Explore Popular Research Topics
AllSides
Examines current topics and issues through multiple news sources that represent different political viewpoints.

Points of View Reference Center
Presents multiple sides on current controversial topics. Each topic may include topical essays, supporting articles, primary source documents, images, and videos.

ProCon.org
Professionally-researched pro, con, and related information on more than 50 controversial issues.
Authoritative Background Information

General Reference


Credo Reference Restricted Resource Some full text availabledatabase eref ebook
Provides online access to over 500 reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.) in all subject areas. This is the premier place to look up a quick fact or to search for background information on a research topic.

Discovering Collection Restricted Resource Some full text availableelm database
A good resource for very basic information on virtually any topic. This comprehensive reference resource includes essays, critical analyses, biographies, and primary sources in both text and multimedia.

MasterFILE Premier Restricted Resource Some full text availablefindit elm database
Popular magazines covering all subject areas. Includes Consumer Reports, Parenting, Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, People, and thousands of other titles.

SAGE Reference Online Restricted Resource Some full text availabledatabase eref ebook
Provides access to 90 full-text specialized encyclopedias that offer excellent background information on a topic.
 

Arts and Music




Oxford Music Online Restricted Resource Some full text availabledatabase
Includes the complete full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Grove Music Online.


Literature and Language


Dictionary of Literary Biography
Print Location: REFERENCE PN451 .D54 and online Restricted Resource Some full text availabledatabase
Contains in-depth biographical information on writers, poets, and playwrights world-wide. Each entry places the major works in the context of that person's life. Entries include a list of major works of the author, and a list of references.

Literature Criticism Online Restricted Resource database
Provides online full-text scholarly essays and commentary on classic books and authors. Includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, and Shakespearean Criticism.

Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
REF PN761 .N5 Restricted Resource database Check MnPALS Catalog for Location and Availability
This multi-volume set includes critical articles and excerpts from criticism about literary works. Within each volume, criticism is arranged first by author, then chronologically. Citation for each literary critique is included. An individual author may be located in a number of volumes, depending on the number of works published. Use the Cumulative Title Index, a paperbound volume at the end of the series, to look up particular titles (novels, short stories, plays, poems) and find the appropriate volumes. Index available on the Web at http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex

Literature Resource Center Restricted Resource database
Provides access to full-text articles from scholarly journals and literary magazines combined with critical essays, work and topic overviews, full-text works, biographies, and more to provide a wealth of information on authors, their works, and literary movements.

Something About the Author Online
Print Location: REF PN451 .S6 and online Restricted Resource database
Biographical and bibliographical information on children's authors and illustrators. Often includes interviews and personal information. For the print version (in the library), use most recent cumulative index volume to determine volume of entries or look on the Web at http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex
Note: 1971 to present
Biographies
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Find which books contain biographic information about individuals both living and deceased. Search more than 13.3 million biographical entries. NOTE: BGMI does not include full text. Check SCSU MnPALS to see if we have a title listed in the search results. Subscription cancelled; access ended on 30 Sept 2014.

African American Biographical Database
This extraordinary collection contains narratives of African American activists, business people, former slaves, performing artists, educators, lawyers, physicians, writers, church leaders, homemakers, religious workers, government workers, athletes, farmers, scientists, factory workers, and more--assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources. Their stories are pivotal to an understanding of the Black American experience over the last two centuries. Coverage is from 1790 to 1950, so it does not include biographies of contemporary individuals. Note: Access to this database will end on 28 February 2015. The subscription was cancelled.

American Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century (Harvard Business School)

Biography.com

Celebration of Women Writers

Dictionary of Literary Biography
Print Location: REFERENCE PN451 .D54 and online
Contains in-depth biographical information on writers, poets, and playwrights world-wide. Each entry places the major works in the context of that person's life. Entries include a list of major works of the author, and a list of references.

Distinguished Women of Past and Present

Something About the Author Online
Print Location: REF PN451 .S6 and online
Biographical and bibliographical information on children's authors and illustrators. Often includes interviews and personal information. For the print version (in the library), use most recent cumulative index volume to determine volume of entries or look on the Web at http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex
Note: 1971 to present
Images Databases
AP Images (Associated Press) Unrestricted Resource Resource contains imagesdatabase
A source of over 500,000 current and historic photo images, graphic images, audio files, and publicity. Content may be used for educational purposes.

HarpWeek: The Civil War Era Restricted Resource Some full text available Resource contains imagesdatabase
Electronic access to Harper's Weekly, 1857-1912, America's leading 19th-century illustrated newspaper.
Statistics/Numerical Data

 
Almanacs and Yearbooks
World Almanac and Book of Facts Restricted Resource database
Provides fulltext access to the The World Almanac and Book of Facts through FACTS.com.

InfoPlease Almanac

The Old Farmer's Almanac
 
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book and laptop image
Dictionaries and Thesauri
Oxford English Dictionary Restricted Resource Some full text availabledatabase
The Oxford English Dictionary is the premier guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words in the English language, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. It also offers the best in etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet.


Merriam-Webster Online Unrestricted Resource
A website which includes basic and specialized dictionaries.

Dictionary.com Unrestricted Resource
A popular online dictionary that also includes a translation service, Word of the Day feature, and more.

Roget’s International Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Unrestricted Resource
Search for synonyms and antonyms of a particular word.

Thesaurus.com Unrestricted Resource
A popular online thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms.


For additional, specialized dictionaries, go to Dictionaries, Thesauri and Translators.


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