Why start with reference sources?
Here are a few reasons:
- Get an overview of a new or complex topic
- Find authoritative information
- Find out the names of key players in a given area
- Locate terms that you can use in your research
- Help narrow (or expand) your topic
- Locate a bibliography of sources to help you start your research.
Online Resources
- Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new windowA good starting point to see principal recommended sources for your research.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American HistoryExcellent starting point for overviews of topics and key resources on Latin American history and politics. Topics range from cultural to diplomatic to urban history; from runaway slavery to digital innovations in Latin American studies..
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican CulturesThe Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures is the first comprehensive reference source to chronicle Pre-Hispanic, colonial, and modern Mesoamerica, defined as the lands stretching from Mexico to the southern tip of Central America.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new windowIncludes language dictionaries, reference works, Oxford companions to many disciplines.
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new windowUseful essays on works such as the Oxford Handbook of Borderlands of the Iberian World (e.g., on trade, indigenous networks, diaspora, smugglers), Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, etc..
- The Cambridge History of Latin AmericaThe Cambridge History of Latin America consists of 11 volumes, which range in topics from Colonial Latin America to Latin America since the 1930s. The final bibliographic volume (v.11) contains recommended sources and is organized by chapters that correspond to the volumes in the set. The print version is in Reference F1410.C1834 1984 on the 4th floor.
- Latin America: A Guide to the Historical Literature (Griffin)A selective and annotated bibliography of books and articles on Latin American history including topics with historical dimension from archaeology to art. Organized by historical period and geographic region, it covers the pre-conquest through the twentieth century.
- Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Journals, books, reference works, laboratory protocols and databases covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities.
- Encyclopedia of Race and RacismUseful articles on racial themes in the history of Latin America through contemporary times (e.g., affirmative action programs in Brazil).
- Encyclopedia of Latin American History and CultureGood beginning point to help refine your topic and to find basic recommended books and articles on your subject or individual.
- LACLI (Latin American, Caribbean, U.S. Latinx, and Iberian Free Online Resources)Searchable database of free online Latin American/Latinx resources with full content (e.g., digital collections from archives, libraries, organizations).
Print Resources
Latin America and the Caribbean: A Critical Guide to Research Sources by Call Number: Reference Z1601 .L3225 1992ISBN: 9780313264030Publication Date: 1992This volume is a guide to research sources on Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides information by discipline on the key reference sources for research in each field (over 6,000 reference sources), accompanying essays on research trends, and notes special collections in U.S. research libraries. The book includes a general chapter on interdisciplinary sources followed by chapters covering disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Though dated, still useful for identifying research sources and special Latin American collections in the United States.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean by Call Number: F1406 .C36 1992ISBN: 9780521413220Publication Date: 1992Encyclopedia for the generalist, it provides an overview on contemporary issues such as economic and population growth, trade and international debt, tourism and the environment, and the longer term factors that have molded Latin America. In addition to articles on history, politics and economy, it includes music, literature, architecture, painting, and intellectual life.
Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americanaCall Number: AE61 .E6 v. 1-70Publication Date: 1907-1930 with supplementsUseful historic encyclopedia for Latin American and Iberian topics, especially strong for its biographies and historic information on places.
