LibGuides: Off-Campus Library Services: Home

Getting Started

You've gotten an assignment from your instructor that requires research. Where do you begin? The Library Home Page! It's your gateway to doing research when you're off campus.

Encyclopedias and Background Information

If you are not familiar with your topic, the resources below can provide an overview and introduce you to the associated vocabulary. This will help you later when you are trying to think of search terms to enter in a database.

Encyclopædia Britannica This link opens in a new window One of the oldest and most well-known reference sources, with both short and book-length overview articles in almost all disciplines. Also includes historical timelines, multimedia, selected magazine articles, notable quotations, and a dictionary and thesaurus.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Reference offers background information on topics from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference/encyclopedia titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Biography in Context This link opens in a new window Comprehensive biographical reference collection in the areas of literature, science, multicultural studies, business, entertainment, politics, sports, government, history, arts and newsmakers. Contains more than 422,000 biographies on more than 335,000 people from around the world and throughout history. Combines more than 135 frequently consulted biographical databases with nearly 300 full-text periodicals.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. Controversial topics are addressed in a balanced, unbiased manner. Every 12,000-word report is written by an experienced journalist and features comments from experts, lawmakers and citizens on all sides of every issue. Numerous charts, graphs and sidebar articles -- plus a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts -- round out each report.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window One-stop shopping for information on a variety of controversial social issues. Contains articles from pro-con essays, journals, magazines, and news sources, as well as statistics, biographies, court cases, profiles of special interest groups and more.

Off-Campus Access

For off-campus access to the online databases and eBooks, you'll need your student ID number and portal password. Make sure you are accessing the databases directly from the library website.