LibGuides: Background Research: General Sources

Monarch OneSearch

Monarch OneSearch, the Libraries' general search tool is an excellent starting point for doing background research in order to understand or develop your topic. It casts a wide net, searching a variety of subjects and sources, and the "Reference Entries" limiter allows you to narrow down your search to sources like encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Reference Collections

Current Event Briefs

CQ Researcher
Coverage varies(Restricted to ODU)
A database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.

Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary
Current (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Includes the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, which contains almost the entire vocabulary of English, from Old English to the present day. Also offers publicly available editorial features, providing guides to the OED content and regular commentaries on topical issues in the story of the English language.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
4th century BC to 21st century (Restricted to ODU)
A collection of more than 57,000 specially written biographies, which describe the lives of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond from the 4th century BC to the 21st century. Allows one user at a time.

Statistics

Statistical Abstract of the United States
1878 - present (Restricted to ODU)
The authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. The online version includes monthly updates to tables, deep searching at the line-item level, powerful facets for narrowing search results, and image and spreadsheet versions of all current and historical tables.
OECD iLibrary
Coverage varies (Open Access)
The online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) features its books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data.